Celestial Dragon
by Silken Ink
Summary: What if – instead of Natsu bringing Lucy into Fairy Tail, it's the other way around? This is the story of a Fairy Tail celestial mage who stumbles across a red burning key…one that summons a celestial fire dragon. Nalu pairing. It will be a slow burn romance with eventual fiery lemons. ;D
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

 **Hello everyone! Here's my newest story!**

 **Before we get into it, I want to just say a few things. First of all, there will be lemons eventually in this story (it's rated M for a reason) so stay away kiddos. Second, No, I don't own Fairy Tail. Disclaimer. Big surprise right? And third, I will be posting every weekend - Saturday or Sunday - unless something major comes up and I just can't.**

 **And finally, I have a reviewing policy. If I get five reviews on a chapter, I put in a little sneak peek at the end of the next chapter I post - which will show a little piece of the following chapter. Make sense? Also, if I get ten reviews on a chapter, I will do my very best to post the next chapter on either Thursday or Friday (instead of Saturday/Sunday). So if you're really eager to read the next chapter and want it faster, review please!**

 **If you have any questions, send me a review or PM. I'm happy to answer. :D**

 **Alrighty, that's all! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia had never in her life seen or heard of a red celestial key before… and yet here she was, picking one up off the ground and staring at it in bemusement. Flipping it over in her hands, she eyed the strange design, wondering if it was a celestial key at all … or some other kind of artifact. However, with the key pulsing in her fingers and making them tingle with warm familiar magic, she had to admit that, yes, this was indeed a celestial key despite being such an odd color.

Really, she shouldn't be getting this distracted in the middle of a battle though, even if she'd stumbled upon something so fascinating, and her teammate Erza sharply reminded her of that fact from across the forest clearing.

"Lucy! Behind you!"

With a gasp she spun and then dove for the ground as the person who had previously owned the key made a mad grab for her.

"Happy!" She yelled out for her blue cat, and before she could say, "help!" she was already being whisked into the air right out from under the guy's outstretched hands.

"I got ya Lucy!"

"Thanks," she wheezed to her companion, a little out of breath from being yanked so roughly off the ground, but grateful for her friend's quick reflexes.

"Aye Sir!" he chirped happily as usual.

They did a sharp turn in the air before diving back down for a landing – aiming to put a little personal space between Lucy and the creep, but still setting her down close enough that she could speak with him at a reasonable volume.

As soon as her feet touched down on solid earth once again, she fixed her opponent with the hairiest eyeball she could muster and addressed him sternly. "What is this key?" she asked, waving it around.

The man first stared at her, then at the key, and finally started to laugh in a very patronizing way that grated on Lucy's nerves. "There's no way you can use that key, Honey, so how about being a good little girl and handing it back over, eh?"

With a scowl and some teeth grinding for good measure, she yanked her whip free and cracked it through the air, popping the upside-down heart shaped tip dangerously close to the man's face. With a ridiculously high-pitched squawk he fell back on his butt, and his expression of unadulterated shock did a lot to sooth her ruffled feathers. As amusement briefly replaced her temper, she barely stopped the snort that wanted to escape her nose and kept her stern expression in place with pure will power.

"I'm a celestial wizard…just in case you didn't know. So, I have a much better chance of being able to use it that you!"

Her opponent had already proved to use some sort of teleportation magic, so she highly doubted he could open the magical gates that these sorts of keys did. It was a pretty rare skill after all…one that Lucy herself took great pride in possessing.

No sooner had she made her statement challenging his capabilities than he had disappeared, and his voice suddenly sounded from right behind her. "I don't need to be able to use the damn thing to sell it!"

A grabby hand locked onto her neck and the other made a swipe for her hand and the red key. Before he could steal her prize back though, she had already pulled out one of her own keys and yelled, "Open! Gate of the golden bull! Taurus!"

With a bang and flash of bright golden light, a huge Minotaur type creature suddenly popped into being in response to her summons.

Taurus was one of her go-to spirits in a pinch, and it certainly helped that he was scary as heck. This particular spirit was easily ten feet tall if not more, possessed the head of a bull and the body of a man – aside from his bull's tail and cloven feet – and his black furred body rippled with thick muscle. His clothing did little to hide his impressive stature, considering he only wore a gladiator-style speedo. His adornment of a thick gold belt, matching gold cuffs on each wrist, and a golden ring through his nose somehow added an extra edge of exotic danger to him as well. He also wielded an ax of massive proportions along with a pair of impressive shiny horns that could be just as dangerous.

"Reporting for duuuuuty, miss Luuuuucy." He lowed.

His appearance freaked out the guy behind her so much that he jerked back with a high pitched, girly scream….it was just a shame that he dragged her with him. It also sucked that the arm around her neck suddenly compressed, probably from shock and fear.

Even though Lucy couldn't really give Taurus any instructions, aside from a choked, "T-t-tau…rus…ple…hel…me…" her loyal bull spirit got the message loud and clear…. and given his suddenly flared nostrils and furious brown eyes, he wasn't pleased in the slightest.

"Get your hands off my Luuuucy, you baffoooon!" the bull-man yelled, and all his muscles bunched up as one cloven hoof pawed the ground – digging a deep trench and cracking the ground a little in the process.

If he hadn't been her friend, she would have been absolutely terrified, but as it was she was relieved as he suddenly sprung forwards, much faster than his bulky body would suggest him capable of. He came barreling towards them, head lowered and arms stretched wide. The enemy behind her was apparently frozen stiff with shock and forgot to teleport, or else didn't have time to, because Taurus was on top of them before his presence disappeared from behind her.

She yelped as one of Taurus's arms wrapped around her and scooped her up onto his shoulder, yanking her rather roughly from the enemy holding her, and then plowed his meaty fist into the guy, sending him flying. It came as no surprise when she felt the large hand at her waist relocate to her butt, but under the circumstances she didn't scold him, since she was too busy hacking and coughing up a lung. Her throat felt like it was on fire and gasping in breath had really aggravated it.

Thankfully, Taurus seemed to realize that having his shoulder pushed up into her solar plexus wasn't helping her to get her breath back and he set her down gently on the grass, where she quickly collapsed to her knees and continued to cough and wheeze. He hovered around her anxiously, but she waved him off and angrily gestured towards the man who had so thoroughly choked her, and Taurus was more than happy to oblige her unspoken request. He went barreling off after the cretan, while Lucy finally managed to get enough air back into her lungs and stop herself from coughing.

Gray and Erza joined her soon, after finishing off their own tomb robbers, and with Gray's ice they were able to snag the final target – which was the teleporting jackass that Lucy had been dealing with. Taurus had chased him around in circles up till then, but when Gray created an ice floor right under the guy, he slipped and fell – which messed up his teleportation – and Taurus finally landed a blow that knocked him out cold.

"Finally, all wrapped up." Erza said with a note of satisfaction in her voice. "Now we can go get paid."

"It's about time…" Gray yawned, stretching for a moment before shoving his hands deep into what should have been his pockets…. but of course his pants had disappeared some time ago and instead he almost took off his only remaining article of clothing - his underwear.

"Gray, where are your clothes?" Lucy rasped exasperatedly, and he cussed before running off to locate his missing pants, shirt, socks, shoes, and coat – leaving the two ladies to finish up.

Erza and Lucy shared an annoyed and amused glance, while Happy snickered behind a blue paw.

This particular job had been really basic. All they had to do was catch these tomb robbers and turn them in to the local authorities. So, after Lucy and Erza popped some anti-magic handcuffs on them – and Gray had redressed – the four of them carted their targets off to the nearby village that had made the request and turned them over. They received payment and profuse thanks, but turned down the offer to stay the night since they could make it back home before dark.

It wasn't until they were on the way home on the train that Lucy once again brought out her strange new key to examine more closely. As she held it up close to her face for a detailed inspection, Erza happened to notice what she was doing and commented.

"What's that?"

"Oh…it's just a key that I got off one of the tomb robbers." Lucy mumbled absentmindedly as she flipped the ornate red piece of metal over in her hand to look at the other side. "I've never seen one like it before…"

"Me neither. Lucy's keys are all either gold or silver!" Happy announced from his spot next to her. He was happily munching on a fish he'd just snagged from inside the backpack he always carried around with him.

"Oh? Do you know anything about it?" Erza asked Lucy, as she too leaned forwards to get a closer look at it.

"No…I've never even heard of a red key before. Much less one that's so ornate." It was true, the top of the key looked like a stylized dragon and the teeth looked like flames.

"What're you two talking about so intently?" Gray asked as he rejoined them after taking a bathroom break.

"We were just discussing this fascinating key Lucy took from one of the tomb robbers. Have you seen anything like it or heard of a red celestial key before?"

He shrugged as he sat down next to Erza and leaned back in his seat before crossing his arms across a once again bare chest. "You know I don't know anything about celestial magic besides what we've seen Lucy do. But if I were you, I'd do some research on it before you try to open whatever gate it controls."

Lucy nodded at the sound advice. "That's what I was planning to do. I thought maybe Master Makarov or Levi might have an idea about it."

"That's where I'd start." Erza agreed with a nod of her own.

After looking it over thoroughly, Lucy put it away with a sigh. Understandably, the ride home seemed much longer than the one to the village, because she was impatient to get home and ask her guildmates about this new key. Gray even had to tell her to chill out a couple of times when her constant fidgeting got on his nerves.

As soon as they disembarked, she was off, heading to the guild at top speed. Erza and Gray followed at a slower pace, and she could hear them talking and laughing – probably at her – as she practically ran away. Happy naturally followed her, but chose to fly since she was walking too fast for his short legs to keep up with her on foot.

She was out of breath by the time she made it to the guild hall.

"Oh! Lucy, you're back already. The mission was a success then?" Mirajane asked from the bar as Lucy leaned against it to try and catch her breath a little.

"Yep, we got the tomb raiders just fine." She reported first, and then asked, "Where's Master Makarov? I have something I want to show him."

"Oh, he's over there." Mira pointed, and Lucy followed the gesture to see the small guild master laughing and drinking with Cana on the other side of the guildhall.

"Thanks Mira!" she called over her shoulder as she trotted over to Makarov. Happy hung back with Mira at the bar to get yet another fish. Sometimes Lucy thought that cat had a bottomless stomach.

"Welcome back Lucy!" Cana greeted as she approached, and she waved back with a smile, then turned her attention to Makarov.

"Master Makarov…"

"Ah, yes Lucy? You look like you want to ask me something."

"Would you mind taking a look at this?" She asked eagerly before producing the red key and laying it on the table in front of him. "I got it off one of the tomb raiders, and I've never seen a celestial key like it before."

"Hmmm…" he hummed as he picked it up and looked at it. "This _is_ a mystery. I'm far from an expert on gate magic, but I've certainly never seen a key like this before. Perhaps you should consult the guild library. In fact, I think Levi's there now. I'm sure she'd be thrilled to have her fellow scholar pose such a fascinating new topic of study."

"Thanks! I think I'll do that now." With a wave, Lucy was once again off in search of answers.

Walking at a brisk pace, she trotted through the halls towards the large, book lined library private to their guild where her best friend Levi tended to hang out in her spare time.

Sure enough, the bluenette was leaning over a book when Lucy burst through the doors. Her head came up at the louder than usual entrance and - judging from the fierce scowl on her face - she was gearing up to scold whoever had just come in for being so noisy. As soon as she saw Lucy however, her face melted into a broad smile and she put her book down before rushing over to give the blond a big hug.

"Lucy! It's so good to see you! How did your mission go?"

"It went well. Those tomb raiders were no match for us." Lucy answered with a big smile of her own before she joined Levi at the table her friend had just been sitting at.

"Actually, I came across something really strange on the mission, and if you're not super busy I was wondering if you could help me do some research on it."

Instantly her friend perked up visibly at the sound of ' _research._ ' "Of course! What is it?"

Lucy presented the odd key, which – if she wasn't mistaken – was starting to get warmer and warmer every time she touched it.

"Oooooh…" Levi cooed as she took a look at it. "That _is_ weird! I've never heard of a red key before!"

Without any further ado, both bookworms were thoroughly engrossed in hunting down any book that might tell them about this oddity. Before long, the once mostly clear table was strewn with books of all shapes and sizes as they methodically worked through Fairy Tail's library collection on celestial magic and gate magic.

It was a relatively small collection because celestial and gate magic were rare, so they had to expand their search to include astrology magic and summoning magic as well. It took quite some time before they turned up anything useful, but eventually with an excited exclamation, Levi suddenly jerked to attention. Happy – who joined them a while back and had been taking a nap – yelped and fell off the table when he was startled awake.

Lucy was instantly by Levi's side peering over her shoulder. "What is it? What did you find?"

"Look here!"

Lucy read the passage Levi indicated with her finger. _"Though most all celestial keys are silver or gold, there are rumors of different keys that open the gates to powerful mythic creatures of legend. They are known as mythic keys."_

After reading it, Lucy breathed out a pent-up breath. "Wow…mythic keys, huh?

"Maybe you can summon a unicorn…" Happy joked with puffed up cheeks and one paw over his mouth to hide his smirk.

Lucy swatted at him lazily. "Don't be ridiculous."

Shortly after that discovery, they had to call their investigation to a halt as the now awake Happy demanded that they get some food. Lucy tried to talk him out of it of course. He had, after all, ingested a fish on the train and another one after getting to the guild, but he insisted that he was starving and wouldn't let the matter rest. She suspected a larger part of it was boredom though. Either way, he wasn't going to let them continue their research in peace.

With a sigh, Lucy reluctantly helped Levi put up all the books and soon left with Happy in tow. Levi called after them that she would continue doing research on it.

"Okay! Thanks again for all the help!" Lucy said with a wave as she made her way through the hall, following her little blue companion.

Happy and Lucy returned home after that. As soon as they entered their apartment, Happy made a beeline for the fridge, and Lucy headed towards the bathroom and a long hot soak. Before long the large tub was full of steaming water and she was sinking into it with a sigh as she contemplated the newest addition to her key collection. There still wasn't enough information for her to safely open that gate, no matter how much her curiosity gnawed at her. She'd never had to wait before to summon a new spirit and make a contract with them, and it rubbed her the wrong way.

"Hey, what's wrong? You look sad…" Happy asked as he trotted through the door.

"Oh…nothing's wrong. I just hate having to wait to figure out who that key belongs to. It doesn't seem right to make them sit around like that."

"Do they even know that you have the key though?" the blue cat inquired as he hopped up onto the rim of her tub.

"Good question. I don't really know."

"Then don't worry about it."

Happy sighed as he hopped into the bath with her and swam up to lay on her belly. It had come as a shock that he liked baths, being a cat and all, but then again he was far from a normal cat. He was a talking cat with magical wings who had hatched from an egg after all. By now Lucy was used to his furry presence in the bath with her, since he often joined her.

After a while of soaking, they eventually exited the now tepid water and dried off before heading to bed. Without making the conscious decision to do so, Lucy found herself sitting on the edge of her mattress, holding the red key in hand and staring down at it once again. It was definitely getting hotter – the thing was warm to the touch now.

On a whim, Lucy pulled out Crux's key and summoned the Southern Cross. With a puff of smoke, an odd looking spirit popped into being, floating midair with his legs crossed. He appeared to be an owl person of some sort, with the head and neck of an owl and scruffy long feathers sticking up and out from his shoulders sort of like wings, but the rest of his body seemed like that of an old skinny man. He was dressed in a dark gray vest tailored with gold designs, a plain white shirt, dark green breeches, and on his beak he wore a pair of old-timey spectacles. Once summoned, he always floated cross-legged in midair, which Lucy had always thought a little odd but had never commented on.

With a hoarse clearing of his throat, he straightened his spectacles and blinked at her with tired looking yellow eyes. He always looked tired.

"Hi Grandpa Crux." Lucy greeted with a warm smile. The Southern Cross and she went so far back, it was no wonder she called him 'grandpa.'

With another wheezy sounding cough and a sniff, the ancient looking spirit gave her a slight smile in return and his exceptionally long, white, owl-whisker mustache twitched upwards. "Ah, Lucy my dear, it's good to see you. How may I be of assistance?"

"Well, I was wondering what you could tell me about this?" Lucy asked, and produced the perplexing red key for him to see. His eyes widened and he stared at the thing with a truly owlish expression. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen his yellow eyes as round as they currently were, and it worried her a bit.

"Hooo my goodness!" he hooted, and then coughed a little bit more. "Where in the world did you find this?!"

"Well, um, I took it from some grave robbers on a mission. I'm guessing from your reaction that you know who it belongs to?"

"Oh yes indeed." The owl-man nodded sagely. "It's the key of the celestial fire dragon, Natsu Dragneel. If I were you, I would go and bury it in a very, very deep hole somewhere and forget where you put it."

"Wha…what in the world?! Why would you say that?"

"That creature is dangerous! And the last time he was in this world, he caused so much destruction that he was locked away by the Spirit King! Only an extremely powerful celestial mage could open his gate now. No offense my dear, but I'm not sure you could summon him, even if you wanted to. And if you ever did manage to…" He paused to shudder. "He'd be impossible to lock back up. I really recommend you get rid of that key."

Lucy was absolutely shocked. Never had she heard Grandpa Crux say something so negative and descriptive about another celestial spirit. Grandpa Crux had a type of magic called archive, and could look up any information she wanted, but when it came to the spirit world he was incredibly tight lipped. On the few occasions when he had shared information about another celestial spirit, it had always been stuffily polite and brusque. It was a bit annoying sometimes to be honest… especially when Lucy needed extensive information about a spirit or celestial magic.

So, she was understandably shocked by how forthcoming he was being about this Natsu dragon person.

"You um…don't really seem to like him all that much."

He cleared his throat and smoothed his owl mustache back down – which had become a little puffed up in his perturbation. "It's not that I don't like him. He's perfectly fine...where he is. But I'm afraid for your wellbeing and safety if you summon him here."

"Well…thank you Grandpa Crux. I'll take your words into consideration." She replied, not really sure what to make of it.

"Please do." He said in parting, and then disappeared in a puff of gray feathery smoke.

Happy crawled out from behind her, where he had already snuggled down into the bed covers. "That spirit sounds scary Lucy. I don't think you should summon him."

She mostly agreed. But there was still that niggling curiosity in the back of her mind, and it was because of that that she refused to throw away the key. Instead, she put it in a little tiny lock box that she could carry in her purse, promising herself that when she found the appropriate place to hide it, she would.

…

Meanwhile, in the celestial realm, a certain pink haired spirit was pacing back and forth.

Natsu Dragneel, otherwise known as the celestial fire dragon, was positively vibrating with energy. Just a little while ago he had felt his key fall into the hands of someone who might actually be able to open his gate…which hadn't happened in….well, longer than he could remember. He just couldn't wait to get out of here and go on some adventures again. Especially if he got to fight.

The celestial world was a different sort of place, each spirit had their own "home," which was basically like an isolated floating island. Sure, they could transport themselves to other islands or the mainland and visit other spirits that way, but it took some doing, and for Natsu it was all but impossible. His was a special case.

After the last time he'd been free to roam the mortal realm – which had ended with a lot of destruction and chaos that he had mostly been responsible for – his visitation privileges had been cut short by the Celestial King as a punishment. His gate had also been sealed and locked tightly, which meant only an exceptionally strong wizard would be able to open his gate….the idea of course being that someone so strong might be able to prevent him from creating a mess like last time.

Whatever the case, Natsu was beyond stir crazy. He was an exceptionally energetic being and simply couldn't stand being cooped up for any length of time. So now that he could sense his key being held by someone who might open his gate, he was biting at the bit to be let out.

"Damn it! Just let me out already!" he bellowed, and fire exploded from his body to burn anything nearby. Thankfully most of his surroundings were flame proof. For precisely this reason.

He stomped around some more and the ground let out puffs of steam as the clouds under his feet evaporated. Of course they reformed as fast as they evaporated, but it left quite a steamy situation. Growling at it and swatting the steam away from him, he retreated into his private courtyard which was grassy and surrounded by thick trees that were also flame resistant in a way. All the plants here grew back as fast as he could burn them.

He paced that space for a while before eventually stomping up the black volcanic rock path that lead to his front door. His home was a small cottage built of cobblestones and had a massive tree growing around and in it. The tree was a celestial elder tree that had taken a shine to him and decided to park itself next to his home. Over the years it had grown thicker and thicker and eventually enveloped his home entirely. They had argued about it for centuries, but eventually Natsu had tossed in the towel and accepted the leafy presence, especially since it was one plant he couldn't even light on fire. Its bark had adapted to his fiery nature and turned black and hard – like volcanic rock – and even held a glassy shine to it that he had to admit was kind of pretty. So now his walls were lined with roots and a branch poked through his ceiling – but he had used it to hang a hammock, so it was all good in the end.

Right now though, he stomped through his home and barely even glanced at the spot he spent most of his nights. Instead he headed for the spiraling stone stairs leading down into his bathroom, and tromped down them, growling under his breath the whole way. He headed straight for the huge black glassy tub sunken into the center of the room that boiled with lava and hopped in, submerging himself up to his eyeballs and blowing bubbles in aggravation.

There he sulked for a long while, wishing his new mage would just go ahead and summon him already.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

Alright everyone! Here's the second installment!

But before we start, I have a few important things to say. First of all, I've made an amendment to my review rules. It's still five reviews for a sneak peek of the following chapter, but instead of ten reviews for a quicker update (Thursday or Friday instead of the weekend) I've lowered it to eight. Then if I get two chapters in a row with early updates, that will bring me to Tuesday or Wednesday, which will be an extra update and the following chapter will be published that same weekend. Make sense? I get two chapters reviewed eight times and you all get an extra chapter! I'm willing to do the extra work if people like it that much. :D

Anyways, that's the main thing. The other I wanted to add was that this story is going to be set up similar to an anime - in episodes and arcs. There will be some you recognize, and some you don't. ;)

Also, a huge round of thanks for everyone's reviews. You guys are all awesome!

Alrighty, on with the show! Keep your eyes peeled for the sneak peek at the bottom.

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For several weeks things proceeded normally, and Lucy had no need to open the mythic gate that was so potentially dangerous. She still carried the key though, in a small lockbox that dangled from a necklace she wore constantly around her neck. This was so that, if she ever found an appropriate place to put it where it couldn't be found, she could do so. Or at least, that's what she told herself. Truthfully, she didn't know if she would be able to do that, because she felt strangely attached to it.

This morning was no different. Before leaving her apartment for the guildhall, she put on the necklace and then set off for her place of work.

Everything seemed perfectly fine as she walked through town, it was a beautiful morning – if ridiculously early. She was attempting to be one of the first people to get to the guildhall today since she had made a bet with Mira over when Gray would show up. They had entertained an argument the previous day debating her teammate's wake up time. Lucy had stood up for him since Mira had been teasing the ice mage over his tendency to show up later in the evening, and it had ended in a stupid bet made privately between the two female wizards.

The whole way through town, Lucy was preoccupied with being disgruntled over the time and her tendency to get into stupid situations, but was instantly distracted when she turned onto the street leading to Fairy Tail's Guildhall and ran into a mass of people. There was no reason that she could think of for the crowd to be there, and it instantly triggered warning bells. She had to push her way through the packed pedestrians to get a look at what everyone was so interested in, and when she finally did…. she wished she hadn't. With a gasp that nearly caused her to go into a coughing fit, she took an automatic step back and managed to bump right into Erza.

"Lucy…" the redheaded warrior greeted lowly, but Lucy was so flabbergasted she couldn't even respond.

It took a full two or three minutes before she managed to stutter, "Wh-what the hell happened?!"

"I was just about to go take a closer look myself when I ran into you."

Lucy got the distinct feeling that Erza was also somewhat in shock, however she got over hers faster than Lucy and led the way forwards. The blond followed, Happy clutched in her arms as he silently shivered. He hadn't uttered a word since seeing the remains of their guildhall. It was pumped full of holes, huge bars of iron turning it into a crunched-up pincushion.

A few other early rising Fairy Tail members emerged from the crowd, all of them wide-eyed and horrified. Once they started emerging though, they all picked up steam, and soon every Fairy Tail member present was rushing towards the door, where a white piece of paper glared at them. All of them were wondering the same thing, "Who did this, and why?"

Erza got to the piece of paper first, and read it aloud for them all to hear, but low enough that it wouldn't be broadcasted to the crowd still lingering around them. "Fairy Tail…hand over Lucy Heartfilia, or one by one, the members of your guild will suffer the fate of your guildhall."

All eyes turned to Lucy, who felt like her stomach had dropped out entirely from her body. "What?!"

From the cradle of her arms, Happy quietly asked, "Do you think it's related to your family?"

Lucy suddenly felt even worse, like her stomach had just reinserted itself and had picked up a bag of ice during its absence. Suddenly her whole gut felt like it was chockfull of icy goo that slid into her veins and made goosebumps erupt across her skin.

As cheery and happy-go-lucky as Lucy seemed…she had a dark past, one that haunted her. Of course, most of Fairy Tail's members had a sob story before joining the guild they all now called their family and home.

As for Lucy … really, if the story was told in a certain light, her childhood would have seemed ideal. Despite being utterly broke most days now and struggling from job to job to make rent in her nice little apartment, she grew up in the lap of luxury. Her childhood home was a mansion of epic proportions and her family name came attached to a dollar tag that would make most people pass out if they saw the numbers.

However, gold did not make happiness or functional loving families, which was a lesson she learned much too early in life. Her childhood was…. less than perfect to put things mildly. Her younger years had been good, thanks to her loving mother. She had been the buffer between Lucy and her dear old dad, who was a rather angry workaholic that cared more about money than family. Their marriage had been arranged, and Lucy doubted he and her mother had truly loved each other – though over time it seemed they had at least grown to respect one another.

However, when Lucy's mother had died when she was only eight, everything had changed. Not only did she grieve her mother's passing - as any young child would - but she also suddenly had to deal with her father, who she had never really spent much time with. She had always known he was cold and uncaring, but it became blatantly obvious at that point. He never really bothered to speak to her much, aside from telling her what tutors she would be having that day or what he expected her to do. More often than not he simply used her, dressing her up in pretty dresses and parading her around at social functions where she was to be seen and not heard.

Perhaps worse than feeling like an unloved doll and possession, was how he would rage if she ever failed to do something the way he wished it. Occasionally it would even turn to violence, and she lived in terror of him.

At the tender age of 13 she ran away without looking back. She was just lucky to have ended up in Fairy Tail shortly after that, by running into Erza only weeks after hitting the streets.

Still…it wasn't impossible for her father to be attempting another 'invitation to return home.' Somehow she doubted it though.

Four years ago, when she had turned eighteen, she had received a summons from him, which she naturally ignored. Shortly thereafter, a group of hired men – thugs really – had showed up at her apartment and hauled her off to her old home, much to her absolute disgust. Upon her arrival, she had been shown to her old room, shoved in a gown that fit perfectly - which meant her father had sent someone to gather those details - and then taken to her father's office. It was just as she had remembered it…the ceiling much too high, the window behind him much too large, and the enormous mahogany desk behind which he sat much too imposing.

There, they had faced off. Another young man had been present for the encounter…a man from a wealthy family that he intended to marry her off to. Instead of greetings, she had been told, "Lucy, meet your fiancé. Danny is the heir to the Bonham Estate and Silk Company. His parents and I have arranged for the two of you to marry for our mutual benefit."

The man she was supposedly going to marry had seemed thrilled, judging by the ways his eyes raked her from head to toe. While she was busy wrapping her mind around what she had just been told, he had stepped forwards, grabbed her hand, and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Heartfilia! I just know you will make a beautiful bride!" …then he had leaned in and said in a quieter tone, "And many beautiful babies!"

At that, she had snapped. She had yanked her hand from his, promptly gave him a fierce Lucy Kick that sent him across the room to land in a stunned heap. "Keep your paws off me! That's no way to talk to anyone, you perverted creep!"

"LUCY!" her father had bellowed, but unlike when she was a child, she didn't cower under the threat of his anger. Instead, she rounded on him.

Stalking right up to him, she poked her finger into his chest and snapped, "I am a grown woman now, MR. HEARTFILIA! I am legally of age to make all my decisions myself, thank you very much! There is no way in hell I am marrying THAT man, or ANY man that you choose for me. Are we clear?"

Naturally he hadn't taken her rebellion well, and he grabbed her by the wrist … hard enough to leave a bruise. "You are my daughter and you will do as I say! I was kind enough to let you run around with that little magic guild of yours for the past five years, and now you _will_ return and do your duty to this family!"

"That 'little magic guild' IS my family! You have absolutely no control over me whatsoever! I am a Fairy Tail Mage, not Lucky Lucy Heartfilia, heir to the Heartfilia Estate! I haven't been that since I ran out of here five years ago. It's laughable that you would even say the word 'family,' when it's obvious you don't even know the meaning of it!"

"You WILL do as I say!"

"Or what? You can't make me do anything! Just how do you intend to keep me here? Force?"

"If needs be. Guards!"

She had just rolled her eyes and summoned Taurus, much to her father's shock. Once all the guards he had summoned were out cold – from basically being flicked in the forehead by one of Taurus's fingers – Lucy had turned to him and growled, "Like I said, I'm my own woman now. You can't force me to do anything anymore."

"What kind of barbarian whore have you turned into?! Summoning such vile and vulgar creatures to do your bidding."

Her hand had ripped from his grip and she had soundly cracked it across his cheek in a solid slap. "Don't you dare call my spirits ugly names! They're my friends and comrades, just as my guild is! I don't care what you call me, but you will NOT insult any of them!"

After saying that she had turned to stalk out of the room, fully intending to leave and never look back, but her father had yelled, "If you leave I'll just have you dragged back with more hired men!"

She scoffed and spun back around. "I could have easily taken out those men, just for your information. And if this turns into some kind of habit, my guild will have a bone to pick with you. Do NOT underestimate Fairy Tail!"

Right on cue, Erza and Gray had shown up, led by Happy who had flown off to get them as soon as Lucy arrived. After the crash of their entry, Erza had shouted, "Lucy! Where are you?!"

"Here, Erza!" she had called back, and both her team mates immediately made their way to her.

"Who is this?! Is this the man who kidnapped you?!" Erza snarled as she stepped into the room – stepping over the unconscious guards without even looking at them.

Sighing, Lucy introduced them. "Gray, Erza, meet my father, Jude Heartfilia. He sent those men to 'collect' me so that he could tell me that I now have a fiancé."

"Fiancé!? What the hell are ya talkin' about?!" Gray asked, looking thoroughly confused, but pissed nonetheless. Both Erza and Gray were aware of what she had run away from, or at least some of it.

"Ex-Fiancé," Lucy corrected, smirking and pointing to the man who was only just now coming to and had started to whimper about his beautiful nose – which was now very bloody.

Gray laughed and Erza covered a smile with one armored hand. "I see. Well then, is your business here concluded?"

"Yes, let's go home." Lucy nodded, and they turned to leave.

However, her father just didn't know what was good for him, because instead of letting them go, he started throwing threats around again. "How dare you come barging into my house! I don't know who you people think you are, but you will not be leaving with Lucy! She is staying here and will marry who I choose. Do you plebeians even understand how much money is riding on this transaction? Of course not!"

Suddenly a new voice piped up … Danny's. "No way! I'm not marrying that madwoman!"

Jude rounded on him. "Oh yes you are…your father has already signed a contract with me. Don't worry, she might be a little wild right now, but she will be easily tamed." Then he'd turned back to the three in the doorway. "And as for you two…you can just take a little message back to your guild. It is in your best interest to forget Lucy. As I'm sure you are aware, money and influence can buy many things…including the ruination of an entire guild."

Erza hadn't taken kindly to that, and in short order she had reequipped into one of her most terrifying armors, crossed the room, and had cowed Jude Heartfilia back into his desk just by looming over him. An evil aura emitted from her, making it feel like the whole room had darkened and she was glowing red with fury as she leaned close to the man. Lucy didn't even hear what she said to him, but it must have been terrifying, based off how pale her father's face had gone. After that, Erza had reequipped back into her normal armor, spun around, and walked out as if nothing had happened.

"Come on. We're leaving."

Jude had called out one last thing as she left. "If you leave now, I will disinherit you! You will be penniless!"

To him of course, that was the greatest threat, since he cared for money more than his very life it seemed. But to Lucy, it was like being set free. "Fine! Do it! I don't want your money," she had called back to him, and caught the look of utter disbelief on his face as they left.

Since that debacle, she hadn't heard from her father. She had also hidden her identity to a certain extent … or at least simply never brought it up. Partly that was simply due to the fact that she was ashamed of her father and hated to even be related to the guy. But also, she didn't want to risk the word getting out and someone thinking that they could kidnap her for ransom. Of course, her father wouldn't pay, but that was besides the point.

Whether these people knew about her family, she didn't know for sure, but it seemed likely. Why else would they go to such extremes against a famously strong guild like Fairy Tail? They had to think there was a huge payoff.

She turned her eyes to Master Makarov and asked silently what she should do. He met her stare firmly for a moment, and then called everyone together and announced to the crowd. "Nothing to see here folks. Off with you."

As the surrounding pedestrians thinned, Lucy and her guildmates slowly made their way into the guildhall basement, which was the only untouched piece of what had been a second home to them all.

Once everyone was assembled, Makarov cleared his throat and drew all attention to him. "We have ourselves a situation, as you heard plainly from Erza. That note was not only a threat against one of our members, but against all of us as a whole. There's no way we'll give one of our own to such barbarians!" He cleared his throat after that statement, since his voice croaked a little with fury. After calming himself back down, he continued. "As of yet, there's no way to know who did this, so watch your backs."

He paused again, this time to glance at Lucy, and she nodded in answer to the question she could see in his eyes. It was probably wise to tell everyone about her situation, so they could be prepared.

With a deep sigh he continued. "Up till now I chose to keep Lucy's identity a secret, so that something like this wouldn't happen. However - now that it has - there's no reason to not tell you. She is the daughter of a very wealthy merchant, and this is very likely an attempt to kidnap her for a ransom. But! We will keep her safe! No matter what!"

There was a deafening round of cheers, agreements, and various war cries … the enormity of which triggered tears to streak down Lucy's cheeks. She couldn't believe the extent of everyone's feelings – of how they were willing to pick up arms just to protect her – and her heart felt like it would pop out of her chest and float away with how big it swelled up. She loved everyone in Fairy Tail so much, and it meant the world to know that they felt the same for her.

On the other hand, she was also simultaneously crushed under the knowledge that she had put her beloved guild and family into such a terrible situation in the first place.

She was distracted from her down trailing thoughts as someone yelled, "So what's the plan? How are we gonna find these assholes so we can kick their butts?"

Makarov sighed. "There's no way to know really, but I'm sure they will show themselves soon, and when they do, they will pay." There was a round of hoots and hollers, which quieted down as he raised his hands. "BUT! IF they are a fellow guild…our hands are somewhat tied until they commit a direct act of violence towards us and we can claim self-defense. Otherwise, it's possible that Fairy Tail could be disbanded by the Magic Council for breaking the law against inter-guild fighting. So the ball is in their court for now. As such, I recommend everyone stick together. Do not go out by yourself. Stay in groups of at least three, but preferably five or more. We aren't going to make this easy for them."

There was a mix of disgruntled sounds from having been told they had to wait and loud promises to stay together.

After that, the crowd somewhat broke up and settled into groups to talk and drink. This was the basement after all… there were plenty of barrels of alcohol around for everyone, and the whole guild seemed like in a drinking mood. Cana of course hogged a whole barrel to herself, but that was normal for her.

As for Lucy, she just wanted to go back home and curl up into a ball under her covers. She felt so miserable. Yes, the care that everyone had shown for her made her practically ache with happiness, but that made the heartbreak only sharper in comparison. The guilt and sadness at causing everyone so much pain was eating her alive.

Even so, she didn't want to bring anyone down with her, so she tried her best to keep the misery off her face and present a façade of optimism and comradery. That was hard, since everyone had a frown going – or at least everyone who was still sober enough to do so. Drunkenness was already spreading pretty quickly. Thankfully someone was smart enough to put a spell on the door that wouldn't let drunk people leave the basement without two sober persons accompanying them.

For a while Lucy stuck around and mingled some, trying to express how sorry she was for everything, but everyone told her it wasn't her fault.

After a little time, she approached the master. An idea had occurred to her, which she was sure that he would say no to, but she couldn't help but feel like it might be the right thing to do.

"Um, Master Makarov?"

"Yesh Lushy?!" he asked as he spun around to face her. The rosy tint to his cheeks and his lisp told her he was already pretty drunk, but she still plowed forth with her question.

"I…I think it might be best if I just turn myself over to whoever these people are." Instantly the master's eyes sobered up and he fixed her with a hard expression, so she hurried to explain. "I mean, this is really my problem. They probably want to ransom me or something, and if I just hand myself over no one else has to get hurt. The guild shouldn't have been dragged into something like this just because…"

It was at this point that Makarov interrupted. "No Lucy. This was a direct assault on Fairy Tail. They may be using you as an excuse, and maybe they really are planning to ransom you for money, but it's obvious that they intended to attack Fairy Tail too. It's probably someone that we've somehow angered and now has a grudge. Turning yourself over likely wouldn't do anything anyways… they'd still probably continue to attack us." Then his eyes softened. "Even if it would protect the rest of the guild, there's no way we'd let you do something like that. I would disband Fairy Tail before willingly hand over one of our family to an enemy…. It goes against everything Fairy Tail stands for."

Those were pretty strong arguments that the master presented, and Lucy was left at a loss for how to combat them. In fact, she got the feeling that turning herself in against the master's wishes would be an exceptionally bad idea…so really the only thing she had left was to just accept the situation and try fixing it by fighting alongside everyone else.

As soon as Makarov got a nod in reply to his previous words, he went right back to being a happy drunk and waved her off with a burp and chuckle.

Lucy wandered away and eventually started heading towards the door, feeling distraught and deflated. Soon she was flanked by Erza and Gray. It went without saying that they would be the ones to stay with her, since they were a team. Before they left of course, Lucy went and collected Happy, since he had run off to raid the fish freezer that Mira kept down here just for him. Naturally he was never allowed in the cellar because he would demolish her whole supply in one day, and it was meant as a treat after they came back from a job well done.

"Come on Happy, we're going home."

"Aweady?" the blue cat asked, his word somewhat lost since it had to come out around two fish stuffed in his face. It seemed that he had sought comfort in over-imbibing food.

Lucy couldn't help but smile at him. He was so ridiculous. "Yeah, already. Let's head out before Mira catches you and stuffs _**you**_ in that freezer instead of the fish."

His eyes widened, and he nodded quickly before grabbing and stuffing as many fish as he could into his backpack, then hurried over to her.

They set back off to her place, which was already kind of the hang out spot for their team. Gray and Erza tended to just show up at her place without her consent, but in this case it was fine. She really just wanted to go home anyways, so it worked.

…

It was a day or two before the enemy made their next move.

Since everyone was staying in groups, it prevented their mystery opponent from going with the threat of picking them off one by one. So instead…they went after a whole team.

It was only a few days after the first incident when another crowd amassed in Magnolia. Lucy, Gray, and Erza all approached slowly and laden with dread when they first saw the mass of people surrounding a famously large tree situated in the center of the park near their guildhall.

Lucy's gut was sinking from the get-go, and the feeling only got worse as the crowd parted to let them through. Every face she could see had some sort of pitying expression on it, and it didn't give her warm fuzzy feelings about what they were going to find.

Sure enough, the sight that greeted them was enough to knock the wind right out of their lungs.

It was probably dumb luck, but it just had to be one of Lucy's closest friends who was tacked up to the trunk of the huge tree that everyone was staring at. Levy was flanked by Jet and Droy, her team mates, who had apparently been taken out along with her. All three of them were beaten badly and had been stripped, leaving them naked, bloody, and bruised. Even worse, they had been tacked up to the tree with iron shackles around their wrists and an iron band around their throats.

Lucy was already yelling before she had made the decision to. "Stop just staring at them, for god's sake! Someone hurry and get them down!"

Erza leapt at the task and quickly carved the shackles out of the tree with one of her swords. It seemed like they were the first to arrive from Fairy Tail, because it took a few more minutes before others appeared out of the crowd – all of them wearing that same apprehensive look on their faces. By that point Lucy, Gray, and Erza had covered Levi, Jet, and Droy to the best of their ability with offered coats and had already called for an emergency vehicle. Their lives weren't in danger thankfully, but they were badly hurt and needed medical attention ASAP.

It wasn't long before Master Makarov was shoving his way through the crowd to get to them.

"What happened here?!"

There was a long pause as they all let him get a good look at the three injured Fairy Tail members. Then Gray spoke up.

"They were strung up on that tree with these…" He held up the shackles that Erza had cut from the tree.

Makarov's eyes were absolutely murderous. Golden light seemed to radiate from him in waves, and everyone who wasn't a member of Fairy Tail took more than a few steps back. Most left entirely as the waves of anger rolled off the short man in a way that made sweat pop out onto your skin. Even the guild all flinched back just a little. Nobody had ever seen him quite this mad before. His aura was positively …. deadly.

"Whoever did this…will _**pay**_." he growled and punctuated the promise by crushing his staff in his fist.

Unfortunately, they didn't know who had done it yet … although another note had been left, saying much the same as the first. It did give a location as to where Lucy could be handed over, which was naturally the first place everyone ran to investigate. But it just turned out to be an empty warehouse with another note that simply said to leave Lucy tied up there. Nobody believed that would end it though. These attacks were much too violent.

So, they were basically left waiting. It was the only thing they could do. However, the groups of Fairy Tail members grew bigger, and it would be much harder to take one out. In fact, mostly they all just stayed in the basement of the guildhall for the time being. They weren't hiding though, they were just waiting until they could attack.

They didn't have to wait long.

One day, Lucy was in the guildhall basement, doing the same thing everyone had been doing for the past few days – making battle plans. They had gone so far as to send out some small groups, which were secretly protected by larger groups, in the hopes that they might lure in the attackers. It hadn't worked though – since the one time that the enemy had actually taken the bait, they managed to escape. The only thing it had gotten them was information. At least now they knew who they were fighting, because they had definitely been able to identify one of the people attacking. It had been Gajeel Redfox, a known mage in Phantom Lord, which was a dark guild that Fairy Tail had some history with.

It made Lucy feel somewhat better to know that at least she wasn't the sole reason why Fairy Tail was being attacked, though it still sucked to be the excuse.

So now they knew who they were up against, but that didn't help too much since they didn't know how to go about finding Phantom Lord. As a dark guild, they didn't exactly advertise their hangouts, and it was rumored that their entire guildhall was actually able to move locations somehow. Nobody had seen this magical moving building though, as far as they could find out, because apparently it also had some sort of invisibility spell on it…or something to that effect. There were so many rumors, it was hard to really decide what to believe on the matter.

What they did know, was that Phantom Lord had a notoriously short fuse. Its guild master, Jose Porla, was patient up to a point, but apparently he had a history of eventually coming in guns blazing … so it was already obvious that a huge all-out war between the two guilds was eminent. In fact, it was so obvious, that the whole town had taken precautions. A lot of people had taken vacations to get out of dodge – which was probably the smart idea. Both Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord had super powerful mages that could probably destroy the whole town if they put their minds to it.

Fairy Tail of course had their S-Class wizards: Erza, Mira, Laxus, Mystogan, and Gildarts. Not to mention Master Makarov, who was one of the Ten Wizard Saints.

The only problem really, was that three out of those five top wizards were generally hard to find. Mira had tried to call Laxus, but as usual he was being a pissy brat and refused to make an appearance. He was going through this whole rebellious phase that reminded Lucy a little of when she had run away from home. It was obvious that he was dealing with some rough shit though …... After all, his grandfather was Master Makarov, so he lived under a pretty deep shadow. Making things even worse, his father had been kicked out of the guild years ago, and they'd all heard the rumor that he was now the master of a dark guild. In a way, she didn't blame Laxus for being such an ass…it just sucked for the rest of them when he refused to come help out when they needed it.

As for the other four…Gildarts was always away on a mission and only checked in every now and then, so she barely even knew the guy. Mystogan on the other hand … well he was also always out on jobs, but Lucy had never even seen him, since he always made everyone go to sleep when he popped in for a new job. There was no way they could even contact him. So that left them with just Erza and Mira. Of those two, Mira had lost touch with her powers when her sister died seven years ago. Since then, she had tried to regain that magic, but hadn't quite managed it yet.

Outside of their S-Class mages, they still had a powerhouse full of mages though, so Lucy wasn't too worried for Fairy Tail.

Still, it was a little concerning, because apparently Phantom Lord also had four elite mages – similar in power to their S-Class mages – known as the Element Four. Aside from that, they had a dragon slayer, Gajeel, and he was supposed to be as tough as nails – tougher than actually, since he was rumored to eat them for breakfast. So they might be in for a really difficult fight.

Thus, all the battle planning and strategy meetings … one of which they were currently engaged in.

"So…if they attack us all at once, what do we do?"

"Well, they have the Element Four, and it will probably take several mages to defeat each one." Erza pointed out.

They had already compiled all the information gathered from scouting around and getting as many rumors as they could. Grandpa Crux had helped immensely when it came to assembling that information and doing research into finding out even more information on Phantom Lord's members using Archive. Through all that, they had found that - just as their names suggested - each member of the element four controlled one of the four elements.

"…fire, earth, water, and air. So if possible, it would be good to pair up our most likely wizards to defeat them based on their elements and known abilities." Cana slurred, sitting on her barrel of wine. "Since I can use element magic through my cards, I can be in one of the groups up against them."

Macao spoke up. "I call the fire mage."

That made sense, he was the resident Fairy Tail fire mage after all and everyone nodded in agreement.

"You may do okay against wind or earth too, but we should be sure to keep you away from their water mage. Since she's so strong I doubt you'd be able to boil her water away." Gray suggested. "I'll take her on. When I'm done with her, I'll take on the earth user second."

As usual, Gray was being a little over cocky. It wasn't like he was arrogant, he just liked to fight and win.

"I could help with her, since I have Aquarius." Lucy added, and just secretly hoped that her spirit didn't also kill her and Gray with their enemy. Aquarius was undoubtedly one of her most powerful spirits, but she was also incredibly temperamental.

And on it went.

Suddenly though, their meeting was rudely interrupted by an enormous crashing sound, followed by an iron bar plowing a hole through the ceiling. Thankfully everyone got out of the way and weren't crushed, but it was a near thing.

Everyone rushed outside to see what the hell was going on. It was obvious that Phantom Lord was finally making their move, and they were eager to get in on the action.

After pouring out of the basement doors, everyone came to a standstill and stared in shock at the monstrosity glaring at them from the lake behind their guildhall. Sure enough, apparently Phantom Lord's guildhall could move, because they were confronted by a shockingly large castle … which just so happened to stand on four tall legs.

It was ridiculous.

Everyone gaped at the thing, but quickly snapped to attention as the sound of a loud voice came from the castle, obviously originating from some sort of lacrima speakers.

"Fairy Tail! You're all so stubborn that I knew it would come to this! However, I'll be gentlemanly and give you one last chance. Hand over Lucy Heartfilia, and we will leave peacefully."

Nobody believed that for a hot second. There was no way in hell and they all knew it. As soon as Phantom Lord got ahold of her, they'd turn on the rest of the guild.

Still … it didn't make it any easier for Lucy to hear.

The Master answered for them all. With a blast of light and magic power that had everyone stepping back a little to give him room, he started growing. Light blazed from his eyes and his mouth as his magic spilled out from his body, and his muscles bulged with power as he took on the massive form and stature of a giant.

In a deep voice he bellowed, "You won't touch any of my children, Jose! Prepare to be crushed!"

He stepped off the cliff like it was just a stairstep and waded through the water – obviously gearing up to simply punch out the lights of this weird walking castle. As he reached it, his fist cocked and he reared back his arm in a punch that would have knocked the thing completely over … if it had landed. Much to everyone's shock and horror though, the master's blow never did make it to its intended target, because at that same moment a horde of black wispy things flooded out of the castle, and every single one of them ran the master through.

He teetered, and then fell backwards, thankfully landing on the ground instead of the lake, as he immediately shrunk back to his normal size. Everyone ran over to him and exclaimed in distress as they saw him ghostly pale and out cold.

"Wh-what could have done this to the master?!" Mira gasped, her hands clamped over her mouth as tears pooled on her cheeks.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything take down the master…" Erza muttered, crouching near him and gingerly lifting him into her arms. "Hurry, get him into the basement." she ordered, handing him to Elfman.

With a solemn nod, the tall muscular man gathered their guild master into his thick arms and hustled him inside to safety.

"Well that's such a shame…I can't imagine him surviving that. My phantoms suck out the magic of anyone they touch, and with that many at once…my, my, they should have sucked out his very soul. What an anticlimactic finish. I was hoping for a bit more entertainment, but oh well, I suppose the rest of you will have to do."

"So that was phantom magic…" Gray muttered, grimacing.

They had uncovered some rumors of a dark magic that Jose wielded, but it was worse than they had feared. How do you fight a phantom? It was like fighting ghosts, immaterial and without a body to attack. And they were fast too, as everyone quickly found out when the horde zipped from the castle to their guildhall and immediately started an assault that none of them were quite sure how to handle.

They soon figured out that the only way to fight them was by hitting them with magic. Physical attacks did not work one little bit against these phantom beasts, but magic attacks seemed to shred them at least temporarily and drive them back. They were impossible to kill though. So, all the Fairy Tail mages could do was to drive the creepy things back.

There was only one way to fight them, and that was to get some mages in that castle and attack Phantom Lord from the inside.

As soon as this was realized, they all held a kind of impromptu strategy meeting – mostly shouted over attacking and defending and aided by Warren's telepathy magic. The only thing they could think of was to send whoever could make it over there to deal with the enemy, while the rest of them played decoy and continued to protect the guildhall and their master.

As soon as the decision was made, Erza flew over there with her black wing armor, and Gray managed to make an ice bridge. Macao flew on a plume of purple fire and Wakaba follow on a plume of smoke. Lucy couldn't make it though, as she was a bit preoccupied with the ghastly beings swarming her. They were mostly making a beeline for her now, and it was obvious to see that they knew who she was already.

So, she ended up in the center of her guild, who were all fighting to keep them off her. However, plenty of the ghastly vermin made it through her comrades and posed a problem for her. She absolutely hated the arrangement – the last thing she would ever want was to hide behind her friends who were all getting hurt because of her – but they insisted on protecting her in their midst. Happy was on her shoulders with his wings spread, helping to dodge the spirits, but at her guildmate's insistence, they stayed low to the ground so that everyone else could help as well.

It was harder for her to fight the ghosts with her magic, since all she had really was a whip and her spirits. Taurus wasn't going to help against these guys, neither was Grandpa Crox. Aquarius would, but she couldn't reach the water to summon her without leaving the rest of her guild behind. She could probably make it with Happy, since he was super-fast and great at evasive maneuvers, but it was risky to leave the safety of her friends. There was a mild chance that Cancer could help, but somehow she doubted his pincers could cut ghosts. Still, she gave it a shot.

"Open! Gate of the Crab! Cancer!"

With a flash of brilliant red light, her crab spirit popped into being. He was an attractive, dark skinned man with neat cornrows laced with red beads. The only thing that seemed even remotely unusual about him were the three crab legs that sprouted from his ribs. As usual, he showed up in his casual form - dressed in black pants, a red silk shirt, and a golden chain around his neck - and he greeted her with, "Hey there, Baby. What can I do for you today?"

"I need some help with these guys, I don't know if you can do anything about them though." Lucy yelped, dodging one sweeping phantom by throwing herself to the ground.

Instantly Cancer disappeared and reappeared in his battle gear, which consisted of – appropriately – armor that looked very much like it was made from shiny red crab shell. He also now sported enormous red pinchers on each hand, unlike the normal long red shears that he wielded with quite human hands in his other form. One pincher was huge while the other was super long and sharp, and she knew he tended to use the large one more as a shield or a bludgeon, while the long skinny one he used more like a sword. They could cut through literally anything…but maybe ghosts were pushing the envelope a little.

Lucy managed to spring back to her feet and dust herself off … in time to dodge the next attack. So far she hadn't mastered any celestial magic aside from summoning her spirits, and though she knew spells were out there that would let her harness the power of the stars themselves, she had nothing to fight these phantoms with as of yet.

Cancer quickly took a protective stance and went to his business mode, which only consisted of a few less "baby"s and a more serious expression. He seemed as skeptical as she was about these phantoms, but he still gave it a go on the next one that went for Lucy. As she had expected and dreaded, his claws merely passed right through them, and instead of hurting them, it hurt him instead as they sucked out his energy. With a grunt, he went to one knee.

"It's okay Cancer, you can go back! Thank you for trying." Lucy was quick to say and closed his gate before he could protest. She didn't want him to be hurt, especially if he couldn't fight back.

It was soon decided – through another impromptu strategy meeting – that the best course of action would be to smuggle Lucy out of here. Lucy found out about the plan when Mira joined her in the center and everyone pressed close to help mask the two girls. Quickly Mira whispered that she would be changing into Lucy, since her powers that still remained were those of a shapeshifter, and Lucy would be disguised with a temporary paint job on her hair and face by Reedus. Lucy reluctantly agreed, hating the thought of leaving the fight while her friends continued it without her, but it was obvious she was just causing more problems for them by staying. So, they quickly switched, and Lucy was smuggled out under someone's long coat with a different hair color and makeup, while Mira made a big scene to get everyone's attention.

The only trouble with this plan was that Happy stayed with Mira and helped fly her around to get attention … which meant that Lucy had to leave Happy behind. That didn't sit well with either of them, but it seemed like the best course of action. It was common knowledge that Lucy and Happy were attached at the hip, and if the other guild knew that then it would be hard for Mira to pretend to be her without him. So, with one last sad look shared between the pair, Lucy left.

* * *

 *** Sneak Peek of Chapter 3 ***

 _For a long moment she lay there, feeling a sinking sensation in her gut that just got worse and worse as she came up with one plan after another that were doomed to fail. Then, suddenly a shot of heat hit her breast when something warm shifted ever so slightly on her chest as she breathed. With a bolt of adrenaline, she realized that she wasn't entirely up a creek, because she did in fact have one key left…the one she had decided to never use._

 _It was her only option now…but to get to it she would have to get herself untied._


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

Hello! It's that time again! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's a fun one. ;)

Also, on a fun note, I just wanted to say that I'm going to start personally thanking everyone who does review. I'll also answer any questions here that I think other readers will benefit from. (And don't worry, all feedback is welcome, including constructive criticism.) So, a huge shout out to **Elphaba818** and **dihan**. You guys are awesome! Thank you for reviewing chapter 2! And since I missed chapter 1: big hugs and thanks to **WisdomDragon27** , **dihan** , **Elphaba818** , **Missy63** , **pixiecatost** , and 1 anonymous reader.

Alrighty, and on to the next topic...unfortunately there's no sneak peek for Ch.4 since there weren't enough reviews. As always, 5 reviews for a sneak peek and 8 for an early posting. So if you enjoy this chapter and want the next one early, be sure to send me a review!

Okay, I'm done. Happy Reading!

* * *

Soon, she was riding in a small cart that had been drawn into existence by Reedus. The two of them were heading to a safehouse nearby that had been decided on as a backup during one of their planning sessions. It was a ten-minute drive at least, but thankfully they seemed to have thrown off the phantoms with their feint. The plan was for Mira to impersonate Lucy as long as possible, and then expose that she wasn't there, so the phantoms would hopefully disperse and stop attacking the others. That would give _them_ a chance to attack instead as the phantoms hunted Lucy down.

Of course Lucy wouldn't be hunted down easily. Their safehouse was located in a tiny little shed, which led to the sewer systems and then to an ironclad bunker. It was one of Fairy Tail's secrets, only one of many that anyone outside of the guild wasn't privy to. There were even secrets that the members of Fairy Tail didn't know.

Soon enough, they reached the entrance and made a quick swap from the cart to the shack, and Reedus dispersed their craft. The great thing about his drawn transportation was that it didn't leave any tracks, as if it hadn't been there at all, so their pursuers would find it harder to follow them. After hustling inside the shed, they moved around some boxes and Lucy descended down the stairs that were revealed, while Reedus painted someone to cover back up the hole behind them and then disappear. Reedus shortly followed Lucy and soon his creation was sealing off the exit behind them as they walked down the stone steps into the sewer.

The smell wasn't great by any means, and Lucy found herself gagging a little. Still, she didn't complain. This was for the good of her guild after all.

It took a little while to get to the bunker, but hopefully being underground would prevent the phantoms from finding her if Mira lost their attention before Lucy and Reedus could get to the safehouse. Once in the bunker, there was no way they would be found. A magical spell was gridded into the ground surrounding it and would prevent all forms of magical detection as well as any form of penetration, be it physical or magical. They weren't truly safe until then though, so they were distinctly on edge as they treaded the narrow path alongside the river of sewage.

The roof was pretty short, so Lucy had to duck, but Reedus had it much worse since he was quite a hefty fellow. Eventually, he gave up on size and released some of his stored magic so he could shrink to a much thinner version of himself. It was risky, since not only was he giving up a good chunk of his magic, but it also eliminated his sketchpad – which was normally his wide stomach. Thankfully he had brought a small sketchpad with him in the artist's bag he slung around his shoulder.

They made much faster progress though, so perhaps it was worth it.

They were only a block or two away from the bunker when they heard something that sent a chill down both their spines. The noise of destruction reached their ears, and it sounded like it was getting closer by the second. It was a godawful sound, crashing and crunching accompanied by the screech of metal against rock, and it echoed through the tunnel like the apocalypse was upon them.

Lucy and Reedus picked up their pace, desperate to reach safety.

Long before they saw the steps that would lead to the bunker though, huge cracks started to appear in the ceiling.

"What is going on?!" Lucy whispered desperately, starting to panic in earnest. Obviously they were being pursued, but by who?! Or maybe she should ask, by _**what**_?!

By now they were both running, which was nearly impossible stooped over and crowded against the side of the small tunnel, but somehow they managed. Reedus suddenly stopped though, and Lucy stalled out too and turned back to look at him.

"Hurry up Reedus! We've got to get to the bunker!" she whispered urgently, wondering what the hell he was thinking.

"You go ahead Lucy, I'll stay behind and slow them down for a while."

"What?! No way!" Lucy almost shouted, but quickly lowered her voice.

She wasn't given much of a choice though, because Reedus drew a purple boar that started driving her down the path against her will. "Come on Reedus! Stop this!" she cried, tears springing to her eyes.

"Go on Lucy. I'll be just fine." He called back, and obviously there wasn't really anything she could do about it.

"You better!" she eventually said, and finally turned and started to run again with that boar hot on her heels to make sure she didn't change her mind. There were crashing sounds behind her, and soon it turned into the discernable sounds of battle. The enemy was gaining much too fast for such a small space.

No matter how fast she ran, more cracks kept chasing her, and soon they were spreading far in front of her. Soon, chunks of the ceiling began to rain down on her and she had to cover her head as she ran. Her lungs burned and her feet ached, but she kept running at a full tilt. Now, not only did the boar drive her, but pure panic as well – to the point that when the boar eventually disappeared she didn't even notice. Whatever was after her was apparently not too perturbed with the thought of potentially killing her first, since the tunnel was starting to cave in. Rocks pelted her head and shoulders, leaving bruises and a few shallow cuts.

Soon, one particularly large rock hit her shoulder and knocked her off balance, sending her sprawling out flat on her stomach. Thankfully she managed to somehow stay on the ledge and not fall headfirst into the river of offal, but it sent a different sort of panic jolt through her as she fell.

With a groan, she pushed herself up and started running again, despite the sharp pain in her shoulder.

That awful screeching sound was gaining volume and soon it was deafening. When she risked a glance back, she saw a figure coming after her through all the dust and falling rocks, and it seemed like he was actually just beating his way through the tunnel with some sort of…sword? Chainsaw? It was really hard to tell, but it was allowing him to stand and run at a pace far faster than her, which was ridiculous since Lucy would have thought that it would slow someone down to deconstruct the tunnel. But apparently not.

She was distracted sharply though from the terrifying sight, when a hefty rock fell and beaned her on the head, and suddenly her vision went black. She struggled against going unconscious for a second, but it was useless.

….

The next time she opened her eyes, it was not to see the sewer. Instead, she gasped to realize that she was being carried – rather roughly in fact – and whoever it was that had gotten her was jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

' _How long have I been out?'_ she wondered. It must have been a good chunk of time for the enemy to have left the sewer already, unless they just busted up through the ground…which was probably what had happened, given the amount of dirt and bruises she seemed to have been covered with while being passed out.

There wasn't any time for her to be contemplating these things though, because she had to attempt an escape. Her captor was holding her under his arm, which wasn't comfortable by any means, but it did give her a great opportunity. His crotch was pretty close. Keeping herself lax until he had landed on the next roof and was positioned correctly, she suddenly lashed out and landed a fist solidly in his family jewels. He dropped her like a sack of turnips and yelped some very interesting words that she didn't think she'd heard in those particular combinations before.

Rolling away quickly, she staggered to her feet and reached for her keys, taking in the sight of her opponent as she did so. He was tall, muscular, pierced in all kinds of strange ways, and had a mane of spiky black hair that went down his back all the way to his butt. This was undoubtedly Gajeel she was dealing with, and Lucy felt the pit of her stomach go tight. There was no way she could take on a dragon slayer in a fight. But she didn't really have a choice.

Pulling Taurus's key, she summoned him while Gajeel was still busy clutching his crotch and glaring at her with unnerving red eyes. He noted the motion with her key, and then his eyes widened slightly as Taurus made an appearance.

"Moooo!" the spirit bellowed as he popped into being in a shower of sparks and bright light. "Helloooo, miss Luuuucy. What can I do for yooou?"

She managed to gasp and point at Gajeel. "Take out that guy!"

Taurus gave her a glance, and when he saw the state of her – bloody, bruised, and beyond dirty – his nostrils flared and his eyes went feral, the way they always did when he saw her hurt. He turned to Gajeel and planted one hoof into the roof hard enough to crack it and send a few shingles flying.

"Now yoooou've done it! How dare yooou hurt miss Luuuucy!"

With another low, he charged, his ax raised high. However, instead of looking afraid like most of her opponents had in the past at this particular moment, Gajeel looked downright happy. With a fanged grin, he laughed, "Alright Girlie, it looks like you might be fun after all! Come on, give me all you've got!"

The battle didn't last nearly long enough. Taurus proved no match against Gajeel, much to Lucy's horror, and she sent him back to the celestial realm bloody and hurt in ways that made her want to throw up.

Before she could summon another spirit, Gajeel was on top of her, and he ripped her keys from her belt like he was pulling a leaf off a branch. The broken ring and all her keys went falling to the ground far below. Lucy made a mad dive for them, sliding down the side of the slanted roof in a deadly way. She had one hand ready for her whip, to hopefully snap it out and grab onto something to save her ass. Before her reaching fingers could snag the metal ring just in front of them, her foot was grabbed, and she was yanked back harshly.

With a scream she went flying, all the way to the next roof where she landed with a bone shattering impact. With a cough and a weak cry, she managed to peel herself from the shingles as Gajeel landed neatly on her roof. She stood shakily and drew her whip, ready to battle it out. Thankfully it didn't seem like any bones had been broken, hopefully, although the sharp aches and pains felt like bone deep bruises at the very least. But she could stand, and that was the important thing.

Gajeel was in the middle of gloating.

"Well you're putting up more of a fight than I expected, Blondie. But you're still done."

"Not yet I'm not." she countered and snapped her whip across his face. Obviously it had caught him by surprise and he was sent reeling back with a yell and some curses.

Before he could regain his balance, she cracked her whip at him again, hitting him hard enough to knock him off balance, and he tumbled off the roof. She heard him crash to the ground on the other side but didn't stick around to find out if he was hurt. She turned and ran in the opposite direction, limping a little but going as fast as she could. Glancing around, the only option she could see was to force a nearby gable window to open for her – which she could do easily enough with her gate powers. She could open any lock with a spell that produced a golden glowing key.

Rushing through the open window, she tripped and tumbled to the carpet inside the room, but hurried back to her feet and made a mad dash for the door. Down the halls she went, and thanked her lucky stars when she determined that no one was home. She made it all the way to the front door and then yanked it open, only to come face to face with a very mad looking dragon slayer. He had blood dripping down the whiplash across his face, but otherwise he seemed unharmed.

With a gasp she tried to slam the door shut, but he just punched it back open, sending Lucy crashing into the nearby table and wall. The table broke, cutting up her back in a few places as sharp wooden shards dug into her skin, and she yelled a few expletives of her own. Heavy bootsteps proceeded Gajeel as he approached, and before she could do much he had grabbed her, seized her whip, and tied her hands up with it. He gave a heavy sigh, seeming depressed that the fight was over, and then slung her over his shoulder without any mind to her injuries. She squawked as more than one bone protested the treatment, and all her bruises screamed at her.

She tried kicking but that didn't work at all, and only resulted in a fist to her spine. Lucy pretty much went limp then as pain stunned her into silence and immobility.

The trip to Phantom Lord's guildhall was both the shortest and longest she had ever experienced. It passed by faster than she would have liked, since she never wanted to get there, but it seemed to last forever as all her injuries ached at every harsh movement that the bastard made. Soon, she was being dumped in an inelegant heap at the feet of what she had to assume was Phantom Lord's guild master. He was certainly fancy enough for it, wearing a long cloak, bat wings, and dark purple lipstick.

"Ah, I see you have a present for me, Gajeel. Well done."

The dragon slayer just sniffed and tapped his nose. "Never underestimate the nose of a dragon slayer."

"I see that." The fancy man chortled and then turned to her and fixed her with a polite smile that didn't seem nice at all. "And you must be Lucy. My name is Jose, the guild master of Phantom Lord. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"The pleasure's all yours, I assure you." Lucy snapped back and struggled to her knees.

He just laughed in a way that – had it been a different situation – would have sounded friendly. "Well aren't you spunky? Now, how about we let your little guild down there know the situation."

So saying, he turned and fiddled with something, and suddenly the quality of his voice changed as he cleared his throat and said, "Attention, Fairy Tail! I have now come into the possession of Miss Lucy Heartfilia." He was obviously broadcasting this now to the outside world, and Lucy felt downright sick knowing that her friends were going to be hearing this and how they would feel about it.

Jose turned to her and said, "Lucy dear, how about greeting your guild and letting them know that I'm not lying?" With that, he reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her into a much straighter upright position as he did his best to apparently scalp her.

Burning pain shot through her scalp and skull as her hair was used as a handle, but despite that she refused to give this sick man the satisfaction of crying out in pain. There was no way she wanted her scream to be broadcasted to her friends in a form of phycological and emotional warfare. She refused. So she just gritted her teeth and grunted as softly as possible.

With a murderous glare, she hissed between her teeth, "…fuck…you…"

Normally Lucy wasn't one to cuss - at least not like that. A few milder words would pop out of her mouth from time to time, but she rarely ever dropped the F-bomb. Now seemed as good as any situation to use it though in her opinion.

At her response she heard a snort come from behind her, as apparently she amused Gajeel. Jose seemed less than impressed by Gajeel's response and sent him a nasty look, then turned his attention back to her.

"My, my, young lady, how is that any way to greet your guild? Shall we try that again?" Jose crooned pleasantly. Out of his free hand came a black and purple ball of magic that sparked ominously. It was the exact same colors as his phantoms.

Lucy had a feeling it wasn't magic of the happy sort, so she eyed it with a good deal of aversion as he held his hand out to her. Sure enough, the ball leapt from his palm and hit her in the chest. It sent shards of pain sparking through her entire body from the entry point and felt like she was being simultaneously electrocuted - complete with the sensation of burning - and frozen as a sharp ache encompassed her chest reminiscent of brain freeze.

She hadn't even realized she'd screamed until the sound was out, and even then that was really the least of her concerns. It took a moment for the pain to fade and her body struggled to hold itself up. If Jose hadn't been grabbing her hair to keep her upright, she would have just let herself plop over – but with his grip on her it hurt too much to let her muscles go limp.

She didn't even really hear much of what Jose said after that. The only part she really tuned into, was when he said, "And now comes the fun part. Since I have my prize, I can safely eliminate all of you without fear of killing her."

"You bastard…" she hissed. "What happened to leaving after you'd got me?"

He shrugged. "Plans change."

"Typical."

It seemed he had no more use for her, and so he tossed her aside. Without her hands, there was no way to catch herself, so she landed hard on her shoulder and did her very best to keep her head from cracking into the hard ground simply by straining her neck muscles.

"Gajeel, take her. I have other things to attend to for now."

"Geehee, sure thing boss." The black-haired man stomped forwards and grabbed her up, again handling her like a sack of potatoes.

As he turned to take her who-knows-where, Jose said, "Do _**not**_ kill her. We need her alive for the ransom."

Gajeel grumbled something in response, but Lucy didn't feel any safer at all. Really, the fact that Jose had felt the need to caution Gajeel sent fear shooting through her.

She was carted away, and this time she didn't bother to struggle. It was probably smarter to wait for an opportunity to actually escape before she attempted anything, and doing something right now would just get her hurt worse. Soon enough she was dropped, quite literally, onto a stone floor, and Lucy couldn't quite hold back a soft groan as her body made its displeasure known. Everything hurt.

Thoughts ran lightning fast through her head and she went with the first one that seemed like a good idea. Play dead. Maybe, if she pretended to be passed out, she could steal a few moments to think up an escape plan. So, with this thought in mind, she stayed where he dropped her and didn't move a muscle.

There was a long silence as apparently Gajeel stared down at her, and then a hard kick to her side nearly sent her plan into the trash bin. Somehow, she managed to remain unmoved and just clenched up all her inside muscles to keep from flinching or crying out.

With a disgusted sigh she heard the sound of his steps seem to walk away from her. Lucy risked letting out a very shallow breath of relief. It seemed like her ploy had worked…for the moment. Frantically her brain rushed to think up an escape plan.

She was somewhat distracted by the sound of two new voices entering the room and greeting Gajeel.

"Yo! Gajeel!"

"Hey Boss…woah. Is this the girl? Damn, she sure is a looker, just check out that ass! But shit, man, you really did a number on her."

Lucy could just imagine how bad she looked right about now. And she would look much worse if she couldn't figure out how to get away from this crazy dragon slayer guy, so she tuned out most of what they were saying in favor of thinking.

The way she saw it, she had three big problems here. One, she was beat up and couldn't really fight or run. Normally that wouldn't be too terrible a problem since she could just summon one of her spirits, but that brought her to problem number two. She had lost her keys, and therefore couldn't summon anyone to help her. And the last hurdle to overcome was the fact that she was tied up, which just reduced her chances of running or fighting even more.

For a long moment she lay there, feeling a sinking sensation in her gut that just got worse and worse as she came up with one plan after another that were doomed to fail. Then, suddenly a shot of heat hit her breast when something warm shifted ever so slightly on her chest as she breathed. With a bolt of adrenaline, she realized that she wasn't entirely up a creek, because she did in fact have one key left…the one she had decided to never use.

It was her only option now…but to get to it she would have to get herself untied.

Subtly, she tried shifting her wrists inside the wrapped whip, trying to loosen it just enough to slip a hand free. Risking it, one eye cracked open just a little to figure out where the other three in the room were. Unfortunately, her body was facing the wrong way and she couldn't see if they were facing her or not, so she would just have to wing it.

After a few minutes of carefully twisting and extending her wrists to stretch the whip out a little, it gave her just enough room. Thankfully her whip was leather, which did stretch, even though it cut into her wrists as she did so. Very carefully and slowly, she started to ease the one hand out, ignoring how her other hand started to go to sleep due to how tight the tether was around that wrist. Her hand was almost free when Gajeel apparently heard her or saw her movements, because suddenly he was addressing her.

"Oi, Bimbo, think you're getting away?"

This was accompanied with a boot planting itself into her upper arm and stomping down to pin her to the floor. Her opposite shoulder ground down into the floor and she grunted, her body flinching with pain.

"Neat trick you pulled. Looks like we might have some fun after all." Gajeel sounded much too pleased.

Lucy gritted her teeth and waited. All she needed was an opportunity to give one or two good yanks on that one arm and her hand would pop free.

"Oh come on, give me a scream. I'm so fucking bored…." he groaned, and his foot stomped down on her again.

She barely had a split second before the sole of his boot crashed back into her arm, but in that time she managed to get in half a yank and more of her hand slid free. It was maddening … she was almost there.

When all he got was another mild grunt from her in response to his stomp, he made a disgusted sound and kicked her. It was so strong that it lifted her and tossed her into the wall face first, but she didn't waste the opportunity to get her hand free…finally. She crashed into the wall before she could get her arms in front of her to protect herself, so all she could do was turn her face into the impact to at least prevent her nose from breaking. Hopefully if she needed plastic surgery after this she could get Porlyusica to help her out.

With both hands free she pushed herself up onto all fours, right in time for Gajeel to angrily stomp over and give her a solid kick to the stomach. That put her right back down onto the ground as she coughed up what tasted like blood. A bit of fear spiked through her. She really hoped he wasn't doing irreparable damage to her. She needed to get to a doctor…. fast.

Worming her hand up between her body and the floor, she stayed put as she grabbed hold of the little box that held her key. The tiny safe popped open as she willed a key to form and unlock it, and then something blisteringly hot fell into her palm. With a gasp she nearly fumbled it due to just how hot it was, but through force of will she kept hold of it even though it burned her. Gajeel lost patience – again – and grabbed a handful of her hair to yank her onto her knees and get close to her face in a move meant to intimidate her.

"Give me a scream!" he growled into her face and gave her head a shake as his hand tightened painfully in her hair.

Instead of responding to him, she instead thrust the key forwards between them and shouted, "Open! Gate of the Dragon!"

He jerked back and released her as the key touched his chest and burned a hole through his shirt to singe his skin.

Lucy gasped and nearly doubled forwards as the instant drain on her magic made her dizzy. Never had she been forced to use this much magic to open a gate before. She could feel the gate bend, but not open, as if the lock was jammed tight. With a harsh yell she forced even more magic into it, almost completely draining herself as she put every last bit of magic, will power, hope, and strength she had left into it. Her vision went a little wonky and a wave of exhaustion crashed into her like a tsunami into a house of cards, but she held forth. Digging deep, she forced out the last little bit it needed, putting all of herself into it. Golden light created a blinding ring around her, power blasting hot and loud and tossing her hair around her head.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she resorted to praying and pleading. "Please…please open…please…"

The power built to a crescendo … and finally broke. With a blast like a bomb had gone off, the gate finally opened, releasing a wave of heat that nearly cooked Lucy alive. She was sent flying back, as were Gajeel and his two lackies.

The heat and light were so intense that Lucy had to shield her face for a moment. When it seemed to pass, she gingerly lowered her arm to look and see just what she had done. She half expected to see a dragon standing there in front of her, but instead what she saw was a young man. He didn't even seem much older than her and sported vivid pink hair of all things. Gaping at him in surprise, her eyes did a full once over.

He was wearing white baggy pants that tied with a drawstring right under his knee, and they were covered by a weird black skirt-tunic-thing with a slit up the front. Up top all he wore was an open vest that exposed a rather impressive physique, and a white scaly scarf wrapped around his neck. In terms of shoes, he wore a pair of plain sandals.

For a dragon he was kind of … normal looking.

The only thing that told her he wasn't human was the tail. He had a long red scaly appendage poking out from behind him, and it was currently wagging in what appeared to be excitement. It looked kind of like a lizard's tail, being taller than it was wide, and iended in a delicate point.

"Wha…um…" She cleared her throat. "I'm guessing you're the celestial fire dragon?"

His dark eyes squinted a little as he sent her a blinding grin, showing off pointy canines. "Sure am! My name's Natsu Dragneel. It's about fucking time you summoned me."

"Um…sorry about that." Lucy mumbled with a blush. No need to tell him she hadn't planned to summon him at all. "And also, I'm sorry, but we don't really have time to make a contract right now. I'm in the middle of a fight so…is that all right?"

Normally it was considered incredibly bad manners to ask a spirit to serve you before making a contract with them, so she really hoped he wouldn't be too pissed.

To her surprise he scoffed. "No problem there! I'm all fired up! Who do you want me to beat up?!" Fire burst around one fist as he punched it into the open palm of his other hand. He gave her an excited grin.

She wordlessly pointed at Gajeel, who was already back on his feet and was stomping forwards with a broad grin.

Lucy could only hope that she had enough magic to keep Natsu out. Then again…strangely after summoning him, the drain on her magic entirely stopped. Normally it took magic to both open a gate and also maintain a spirit's presence as they helped her, but this time it was as if it took absolutely no magic for her to keep Natsu in this world. Weird.

Lucy refocused on the fight and pushed thoughts of that off till later.

Natsu turned to Gajeel and gave him a once over. They sized each other up.

"So…did I hear Blondie right? You're supposed to be some kind of dragon?" Gajeel asked, while his toothy grin widened. "If so, then you're in for a bad surprise, cause I'm a dragon slayer."

Natsu just cracked his knuckles. "Oh yeah? Great! Maybe you'll help me vent some of this energy. I could really use some exercise!" Based on his voice Lucy could just imagine how broadly he must also be grinning right now.

Without saying anything else, Natsu lunged forwards and clocked Gajeel across the jaw with a flaming fist, sending him flying back and crashing through the adjacent wall. Lucy's jaw dropped as she stared at the gaping hole in the wall, as did Gajeel's two lackies. They got over their shock fast though and hightailed it out of the room at top speed, obviously picking up on the fact that they had no chance against Natsu.

Natsu ran at the wall and hopped through the hole he'd just made in pursuit of Gajeel. Lucy stayed where she lay and listened to the sounds of intense battle coming from next door. It sounded not only dangerous to Gajeel, but also to the entire structure as resounding crashes and bangs shook the walls, ceiling, and floor. Lucy cringed at a particularly loud boom, and then yelped as cracks suddenly sprung up all across the ceiling and upper portion of the wall. She could see a blast of rubble through the hole Gajeel had created, and a few loose stones flew through it.

The sounds of battle grew different, as if the location had changed, and it took her a moment to realize that they were now coming from above. Once again, Lucy was left gaping in disbelief. She looked up and tried to judge just where they were, and then flinched as another huge sound resounded and a section of the ceiling cracked. Then, she threw herself forwards with a grunt as another immense bang crashed through the room and the wall behind her shuddered violently, huge cracks suddenly running down it and showering her with pebbles. She covered her head and wondered if she was going to survive this fight after all. Grandpa Crux had been right…this dragon spirit was beyond destructive.

That thought was underlined as the entire center of the ceiling suddenly gave way and collapsed down on top of her. She managed to throw herself back again and squeezed up against the cracked wall to avoid the falling chunks of rock. Natsu and Gajeel crashed down in front of her in a rain of fire and rocks. To Lucy's shock, Gajeel seemed to now be made of metal and she had to do a double take when she saw the shiny metal scales covering his body. He was holding up not too badly against Natsu, and even got in a few hits of his own.

One of his arms turned into a massive chainsaw sword and he swung it at Natsu with full force, taking out another wall. Suddenly they had a view of the outside as the exterior crumbled away, and Lucy glanced up to see that they had taken out a really good chunk of the building above her as well. This whole castle was going to go caput if they didn't finish this up really quick.

She shrieked as an especially strong attack caused the floor to crack and shudder. Natsu glanced her way and seemed to realize the problem. He turned back to Gajeel and said, "Well, it's been fun, but it looks like I'm gonna have to finish this up."

Gajeel laughed and launched an attack that sent a tornado of iron bits at him. "Iron dragon roar!"

Lucy blinked at the odd attack. She had never seen Laxus spit lightning, but then again, she hadn't been on any missions with him either. The only thing she could figure, was that a dragon slayer's magic was the same as a dragon's…sort of. Only, Natsu's magic seemed significantly more powerful than Gajeel's, because he answered with his own roar of fire that blew away the iron completely … and Gajeel with it.

Gajeel recovered though pretty well, but his armor was definitely cracked in a few places. Still, he had the audacity to laugh at Natsu. "Nice try! But like I said, my magic is made to destroy dragons! So you can't win against me!"

Natsu laughed right back. "I think you were lied to! You can't beat me! Maybe several slayers could _bruise_ me a little, but just you…nah. No way."

The whole castle seemed to shudder, and Lucy wondered how much more it could take. As if to say ' _not very much_ ' a huge chunk from somewhere up above them fell down across the room from her. That toppled over more of the wall and made the room even larger and more destroyed. It felt about as stable as a house of cards right now, and she was pretty sure that if the wrong thing collapsed it would set off a chain reaction.

The next flurry of attacks managed to knock down the wall behind Lucy, and the meager ceiling bits above her collapsed. She managed to get out of the way, but not without bruising herself and getting a good yell in. That seemed to get Natsu's attention, and he turned serious.

"Alright. Fight's over." He almost seemed disappointed by that.

Gajeel didn't seem to believe him. "Oh yeah? Where I'm standing, we're just getting started!"

In answer to that Natsu released a blast of power that had Lucy scrambling back behind some nearby rubble for cover. The amount of heat and power coming off him was enough to make her feel like she'd gone through a fryer. However, when she peeked out from behind her makeshift shelter, she saw that Natsu was doing quite a bit more than just blowing fire at Gajeel like she had assumed.

What she thought was just another fire attack turned out to be a transformation.

Long glossy black horns sprouted from Natsu's temples – growing from short little horns that she hadn't even noticed before. They swept back along his skull before the tips spiraled up and around to point forwards. Red scales erupted across his skin, covering the back of his neck, across his shoulders, and down his arms and legs. His hands and feet shifted into more pawlike ones with long sharp claws, and his sandals disappeared. His tail significantly thickened and lengthened, and a row of shiny black spikes popped out along the top of its spine and continued up the length of his back, poking out of holes in his vest that had previously been unnoticeable. Perhaps most impressive though were the massive red wings that sprouted from his back.

His power signature from before was completely blown out of the water by these additions, and as he spread his leathery crimson wings with a snap that sent a gust of wind careening through the room, Lucy's thoughts consisted of little more than, _'oh shit_.'

He started a powerful inhale which seemed to last forever, until eventually he reached his max. There was a split second for Lucy to cringe back further behind her shelter, and then Natsu roared. The sound was massive, like the roar of what she thought a dragon would sound like, and a blast of flame spewed from him. It made his previous roar look like a sneeze in comparison. It literally took out that entire side of the building, and Gajeel of course went flying. Lucy didn't know what happened to him …. but she did know what happened to her.

The floor under her feet collapsed, and with a scream she started to fall. ' _This is it, I'm going to die now,'_ she thought, and covered her head with her hands while squeezing her eyes closed. Suddenly though, she was being yanked out of her free fall. With a gasp her eyes flew open to see Natsu giving her a bright grin. He had his arms around her in sort of a bridal hold, although he fumbled her a little until he got his arms in the proper places after catching her on the fly like that.

The building was collapsing around them, so Natsu quickly flew them out through the huge gaping hole in its side and they watched as it crumbled. Lucy really hoped all her comrades had been able to get out alright….

"So … I didn't get your name by the way."

Lucy started. "Oh right! My name is Lucy! And thank you for … saving me." Even if he'd also nearly killed her, it was definitely true that he had saved her life. Twice really, once from Gajeel and once from himself.

"No problem!" he said with another of those easy grins that she was starting to think might be a signature of his. "Now let's get you to some solid ground."

His upper body tipped forwards as he started to fly, his chest getting basically horizontal as his wings beat, and she squeaked and wrapped her arms around his neck when she swung a little in his arms. He kept her body tight to his chest though and she felt his arm muscles working under her back and legs.

"Over there…if you don't mind." she said, motioning in the direction of Fairy Tail.

"No problem." he answered and swerved towards her guild, getting there quickly with only a few strong wing beats.

They landed a little ways away from her guildmates and Natsu put her down. She took a shaky step back, and then nearly tipped over as her legs went out on her.

"Woah!" Natsu yelped and quickly grabbed her again, looping her arm over his shoulders. "You okay, Looney?"

She didn't even bother to glare at him for the horrible slaughter of her name. "Uh…I think so," she groaned. "But I definitely need to get to a doctor, so let's head back to my guild." She pointed to her guildhall.

It was obvious that the fight was over, especially after a glaring light blasted from the guildhall. Lucy recognized the sight and feel of Fairy Law and breathed a sigh of relief. It was definitely safe for them to go back now.

"What the hell was that?!" Natsu sputtered, pulling up short and tightening his grip on her protectively as the wave of light passed harmlessly over them.

"Don't worry, it's Fairy Law … a spell that my guild master uses. It means the fight's over now."

"Wow…that's pretty cool."

He sounded impressed, but after a small wince from her he snapped back to attention and continued to help her limp towards the guildhall.

After a brief silence he asked, "So, did that guy really beat you up this bad?"

"Well, yeah. Pretty much."

"Maybe I should have pounded on him a little more…" She heard Natsu mumble under his breath, and he sounded pissed. Apparently he hadn't realized until just now how badly she was hurt.

She staggered on slowly, the pain in her whole body throbbing. It hurt…so bad. But she pressed on through the pain. She was shocked that Natsu was still here and hadn't gone back to the spirit realm yet, but it wasn't like she was going to complain. She honestly didn't think she could make it the short distance to the guildhall without him. Well, she probably could have just crawled, or sat here and waited for one of her guildmates to find her. It wouldn't have taken long, they were already pretty much at the guildhall now after just walking for a couple of minutes.

Everyone who saw her looked positively shocked and rushed over to see if she was alright and ask how she had gotten away. Of course the first to come was Happy, and he made a beeline straight for her and plowed right into her chest where he clung like a barnacle and sobbed.

"Luuuuucccyyy! I was so woooorriiiiied!" he wailed.

She was distracted from soothing him by another voice asking her if she was alright.

"I'm fine, really, but…well I should probably see Porlyusica," Lucy said with a wince to both Happy and Cana as the brown-haired mage rushed over.

Mira also soon popped over and joined the conversation. "Oh my! I should say so! You look absolutely terrible Lucy, what in the world did they do to you?"

"I just put up a really good fight, that's all." Lucy boasted with a weak grin and gingerly separated herself from Natsu. "By the way, this is Natsu, my new spirit. Thanks for all your help." She addressed him for the last bit and fully expected him to return the spirit realm after being thanked.

He didn't though. All he did was grin and say, "No problem Looney!"

At that, her two girl friends both stifled a snicker and Lucy flushed. "Uh, it's Lucy actually."

"Okay, cool." he said airily, and Lucy was ninety percent sure he had just totally blown her off as his eyes drifted around to take in their destroyed guildhall.

"Damn, you got really beat hard by those guys, huh?"

"That's just because they weren't MANLY enough to attack in broad daylight! They destroyed the guildhall at night when no one was around!" Elfman bellowed from nearby as he approached.

"Oh." Natsu grunted and a little puff of flame escaped his lips in what Lucy assumed was an expression of his annoyance. He definitely seemed disapproving, judging by the deep frown on his face. "Yeah, that's a real shitty move."

Suddenly another of those broad grins split his lips and he did a 180 on his mood. "But hey! I got their castle pretty good for you guys, so don't worry too hard."

"Really? You did all that? I was wondering what had caused that much destruction." A new voice said, and Lucy turned to see Erza approaching.

"Oh thank goodness! I was worried you'd been hurt by the castle imploding. Do you know if Gray, Macao, and Wakaba got out okay?"

"They're fine."

"Good!" Lucy sighed with relief.

At that point Master Makarov tottered over, still looking a little green around the gills. Fairy Law had obviously taken a lot out of him, which didn't surprise Lucy since he'd been drained so badly by those phantom things.

"Lucy!" he gasped, bending over to clutch his knees and wheeze a little. "I'm so glad that you're safe!"

"It's all thanks to Natsu here." Lucy said, giving his shoulder a pat, and then gripping it to steady herself.

"As Master of Fairy Tail, I give you our sincerest thanks for rescuing one of our family members."

Natsu just grinned and shrugged it off. "Geez, it's no big deal! I mean, she is my master, so it's my job to keep her alive."

"Master? Oh! So he's a new spirit we haven't met then Lucy?"

"Yeah, he's uh…the celestial fire dragon." she said with a very slight cringe, since they all knew she hadn't planned to summon him in the first place.

All their eyes grew wide. "I see. Well that explains things." Erza said with a nod and then turned to Lucy. "Whatever the case, we need to get you to Porlyusica, because it looks like you're about ready to fall over."

Lucy nodded eagerly and then turned to Natsu. "Um, it's probably best for you to go back now. Thank you again for all your help."

He grimaced, "Awww! Why?!"

Lucy wondered just what the heck was wrong with this spirit. Most returned even before she told them to because her magic ran out. And here he was arguing with her about it!

She gave him a stern look. "Because I'm going to see the doctor that tends to my guild! And that probably means an examination, which means clothes off, which means no boys!"

With a disgusted sigh he groaned and poofed out of existence with a spark of flame and wisp of smoke.

Mira and Cana took over as her support and both gave her similar looks. "That's quite an … interesting spirit you've acquired."

"Oh save it." Lucy grumbled, knowing they were probably going to give her sass about how he was so argumentative … and maybe how he was walking around with his abs out, considering how much they teased her over Taurus's pervy attitude and nearly nonexistent outfit and Cancer calling her "baby" all the time.

She wasn't in the mood.

They both just chuckled and led her off to the basement, where Porlyusica had set up shop in a corner. Apparently she had already come, probably because she'd heard the ruckus and knew they would need her help, so all Lucy had to do was go and find her. That was easy, since she already had a line waiting in front of her to be seen to.

Most of them she sent away with a scowl and sharp words like, "Go get yourself a bandage! I'm not a nurse! There's people who actually need my help here! Stop hogging the line!"

When everyone saw Lucy approaching – on the arms of both Cana and Mira and with a still teary eyed Happy sitting on her shoulder – they all stepped aside to let her through and empathetic murmurs sounded in her ears. Even Porlyusica seemed shocked by the sight of her.

"Good gracious girl, what the hell happened to you?" she barked and quickly whisked her behind a privacy curtain and stripped her.

Soon she was being looked over and Porlyusica was tutting and making displeased comments on her condition. Finally, after examining her thoroughly and prodding her and doing some diagnostic spells, she started bandaging her from head to toe, smearing all kinds of poultices on her as she went.

Happy kept pestering her, asking, "Is she gonna be okay?" until the healer snapped "yes!" and then threatened to neuter him. He took cover under Lucy's chair after that, and Porlyusica was able to finish bandaging Lucy in peace and quiet.

After she was done, she mixed a bubbling concoction and handed it to Lucy.

"Here. Drink this."

Lucy did and grimaced at the taste.

"Good. Now, take these bottles and drink one every hour. Change your bandages once a day and use this poultice. You should be fine in several weeks, but you'll need to spend them _resting_. Go home and sleep. I'll check in on you tomorrow."

Lucy nodded and stood with a wince. She already felt much better, but now she was dead tired and about to fall asleep on her feet.

Suddenly she felt familiar paws land on her shoulders and gently pick her up by the subtle harness she always wore for exactly this purpose. "It's okay! I got ya Lucy! I'll fly us home so quick you won't know what hit ya."

She murmured something probably incomprehensible back, and felt her feet leave the ground.

She must have dozed on the way home, because the next thing she knew she was being set on her feet. Her first few steps were beyond wobbly and uncoordinated, but she managed to stagger forward and get the door open, then shut behind her. Happy thankfully took over again and flew her to bed, where she collapsed in a pile and almost instantly passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

Hello people! Here's the new chapter. Yay! :D

There are no announcements that I can think of to make, so we'll just skip to reviews.

As always, a huge fiery Natsu hug in thanks for everyone's wonderful reviews! Thank you so much WisdomDragon27, dihan, Missy63, and Elphaba 818 for your repeated reviewing, you are all totally awesome super stars! And a big thanks to bluecat76 for your first review! Welcome!

Also, as you can see, we got five reviews for chapter 3, so there will be a sneak peek at the end of this chapter! Stay tuned! As always, if you want me to post early, be sure to review. If I get eight I post early, and five gets a sneak peek of the following chapter.

Now, enough pontificating, on with the story!

* * *

~ about 1 month later

Lucy woke slowly…to the feel of something incredibly warm in her bed. It was heavy and halfway on top of her. A few breaths later, her still half-asleep brain recognized the feel of hot scales brushing one foot. By the time her eyes blinked open, she already knew that Natsu was in bed with her…AGAIN.

With a fairly draconic growl of her own, she woke fully and sat up, with a bit of a struggle since the still sleeping dragon tried to snuggle. While she simultaneously set about scrubbing her eyes clear of grit, she yanked off the sheets and began her normal morning greeting of, "NATSU DRAGNEEL!"

The bellow woke up her uninvited bedmate and he jerked awake.

"Get your butt out of my bed!" she yelled, and gave him a solid Lucy kick to toss him out on his ass.

He groaned and sat up, gingerly rubbing his butt upon which he had landed rather hard. "Oh come on Lucccyyyy." He whined. It had taken at least two weeks to ween him from calling her Loony, but at least that was one bad habit he had dropped.

"No! How many times have I told you that it's unacceptable to sneak into a girl's bed in the middle of the night while she's sleeping?! You have lost house privileges for 2 hours! Now out!"

With a pout he poofed out of existence in a puff of smoke, and Lucy sat down hard on the side of her bed to scrub her eyes some more.

Her new spirit was absolutely ridiculous. If she'd known she was signing up for a new housemate, bedmate, and all-around playmate, she might have thought harder about her decision to make a contract with him about a month ago.

The very first time he'd popped into being out of nowhere without her summoning him, she had nearly fallen over out of pure shock. It had been a day after she first summoned him, and the first words out of her mouth were, "Wait…what are you doing here? I didn't summon you did I?"

She'd been pretty well drugged at that particular moment, so she hadn't been entirely sure.

He had quickly explained to her that, no, she hadn't summoned him … and didn't need to for him to show up.

"I'm a mythic celestial spirit! We have super powerful magic, so we can come and go as we please, but only when we have a contract with a wizard of course. Although…some of us don't even need a contract…" he grumbled the last bit, sounding a little jealous and slightly put out.

The fact that he could come and go as he pleased had freaked Lucy out at first, and she hadn't responded too well. "Wait! You can't! If you do that, it'll use up all my magic power and I won't be able to do any jobs. How the heck am I supposed to summon any of my other spirits with you using up all my magic?"

He just blinked at her. "Uh…Looney? I just told you that I use my own magic to come here…it doesn't use up any of your magic at all."

To her shock, he'd been proven correct. No matter how often or how long he came, there was never any drain at all on her magic. In fact, the closer they became and the more he hung around her, it almost felt like his magic was seeping into hers somehow and bolstering it to be even stronger. She didn't know how that was possible, but it seemed to be a side effect of having a contract with a mythic celestial spirit. When she asked about it, he confirmed the theory and said he'd been giving her a little of his as payment for letting him come out. Of course he had also given her that puzzled look that said he was confused about why she didn't know that, as if it was common knowledge or something.

And then he'd made his typical comment of, "You sure are dumb Lucy!" And she had kicked him.

Insults and violence seemed to be a big part of their relationship, but she was never truly offended by any of his rude comments, and he was never particularly hurt by her kicks or swats. He had incredibly thick dragon skin after all.

It was hard to believe that it had only been one month. She knew him so well by now that it felt kind of like they had known each other for years. That was probably since he seemed attached to her at the hip. Spending that much time with anyone was bound to get you to know them super quickly.

She was distracted from her thoughts as Happy finally trotted over to her. He'd been sleeping on his own bed next to hers, but her yelling had obviously woken him up too.

"Luuucy, do you have to be so loud when you kick Natsu out in the mornings?"

"Sorry Happy. But that jerk deserves it."

He just sighed. They'd had this conversation before, so he dropped it at that and wandered off in the direction of the kitchen, leaving her to her thoughts again. With a sigh she got up and made her way to the bathroom to take care of getting ready for the day. Even as she brushed her teeth, she couldn't quite keep her mind from wandering back to Natsu.

As this morning had just underlined, he was terrible with rules. He knew she didn't like it when he snuck into her bed, and yet he insisted on doing it for some unknown reason. She didn't freak out about it nearly as badly as she used to, since she had quickly realized it wasn't anything sexual and he wasn't being a perv. In fact, she wasn't sure the guy had a sex drive at all. She'd never seen him look at her in any kind of weird way…even when he had popped in during truly inopportune moments, like while she was in the middle of dressing.

He tended to do that…poofing in on her at all hours of the day. Thankfully he hadn't done it yet while she was bathing or using the toilet, but she just knew it was going to happen one of these days. It was like she didn't have any privacy anymore.

Not to mention he ate so much…she'd never known that celestial spirits even ate human food, but apparently mythical spirits had no problem doing so. It was a good thing he helped pay her bills by going on missions with her – allowing her to take many more single missions – because otherwise he would be a complete pain in the butt.

Speaking of food, she made her way into the kitchen and putted around a little, finally deciding on making an omelet for breakfast. Happy was already contentedly munching on his morning fish, and she knew from experience that he would probably go back to bed for a little bit after that while she dressed for the day.

While she cooked, once again her brain veered to thoughts of Natsu as she mentally gave in and stopped being quite so irritated at him.

If she was honest, there were a lot of reasons why she didn't complain nearly as much as she could about his ridiculous antics (although she complained plenty). Weirdly, she didn't mind having him around all the time. In fact, she kind of liked it. It wasn't like she was lonely or anything – after all, she had all her friends in Fairy Tail – but he'd found a little hole in her heart to fill somehow.

At first she'd been strictly irritated with his unplanned visits, but lately it hadn't been just irritation she felt at having him around. It was still aggravating sometimes, especially when he popped up in her bed or when she was dressing, but mostly it was starting to be a welcomed surprise. More and more, she was happy to see him. He'd become a friend without her knowing it, despite all his faults – of which there were many.

Along with barging in whenever he wanted and eating all her food, he was also impulsive, had precisely zero patience, possessed way too much energy for any person to handle, and tended to barge into any fight with guns blazing – whether or not she wanted to engage. At the very least, his aggression was innocent; he didn't have any malicious anger in him, just fighting spirit. Still, that – paired with a competitive streak a mile wide – was a pain in the ass to keep up with. Not to mention his mental prowess, which was sorely lacking in some key areas. Oh, he was smart, but in a way that was based more on animal instinct than higher thinking. Which meant he was seemingly incapable of strategy, and that posed some problems for Lucy when stealth was necessary on a mission.

In essence, he was actually quite simple to understand. He liked to fight, enjoyed a good competition, and was loud and boisterous to a fault. Nothing seemed to upset him … at least not really. He'd get pissed for sure, especially at Gray. The two had butted heads as soon as they met, and Lucy had a theory that it was because Gray possessed ice magic, while Natsu was a fire dragon. Still, she'd never seen Natsu truly _**angry**_. Whenever he got mad at Gray (or anyone else) it was more of a jovial competitiveness, like he just couldn't wait to beat them. And as easily as he was angered, that anger was harmless in the end because it never stuck around. He'd fight, and then he was back to normal Natsu – happy and loud. He was as quick to forgive as he was to get pissed.

No matter how annoying he could be, his good qualities greatly outweighed the bad somehow. Not only did he forgive almost instantly, but he was generally good natured to everyone. There was this strange innocence about him, as if he didn't have a suspicious bone in his body. He was loud sure, but it was happy and somehow always brought a smile to her face. It was very appropriate that his element was fire, because he was such a warm person – his personality was like the sun itself. She found it impossible to not like being around him most of the time.

It was lucky that he and Happy had also hit it off right away, because otherwise things would have gotten very difficult. But as it was, they had become fast friends, to the point where they sometimes even plotted mischief behind her back. It was like mothering two rambunctious toddlers sometimes, which did get exasperating.

By this point in her internal consideration of her new partner, she'd eaten and gotten dressed, and was working on putting on her shoes when the source of her consternation popped back into existence.

"Yo!"

The sudden voice behind her made her lose her balance out of surprise, and she teetered on one foot, the other held up as she worked to get her shoe on while standing. With a yelp of surprise she tried to right herself by cartwheeling her arms through the air. Her flailing limps managed to catch the nearby table, and knocked over a pitcher of juice, but did absolutely nothing to stop her fall. She continued to fall despite her best efforts. Up until an exceptionally warm arm wrapped tight around her middle and stopped her downward momentum in its tracks.

Lucy wheezed at the tight grip and abrupt compression of her lungs, but ultimately sighed in relief. It wasn't like a fall was really a big deal, but in this case it might have been bad given her location. She could have easily bashed her head on the table, or the hard floor if she hadn't been able to fall right.

Once she caught her breath, she instantly squirmed in his grip and yelled, "Natsu! Don't surprise me like that!"

"Sorry!" he responded cheerfully, and Lucy sighed, letting more of her weight rest on his arm as she slumped in defeat.

He was ridiculous.

After a moment of abject defeat, she pushed away and turned around to give him a stiff glare. "It also hasn't been two hours!" She reminded him of her previous punishment.

He just shrugged, gave her an unrepentant grin, and wandered over to the fridge. Lucy face-palmed and simply let him go. He was impossible to control.

After he had eaten way too much of her food, they were off to the guildhall with Happy in tow.

As they approached the mostly rebuilt structure, Lucy felt a swell of pride. Everyone had worked their butts off to get the hall back up and running after the Phantom Lord incident. It was a miracle that they had managed to do so much in such a short period of time.

As she walked through the doors, she caught a flash of blue off to the side and grinned.

There was a blue haired woman that had taken a liking to Gray. Apparently she had been a member of Phantom Lord but had managed to escape when the members had been rounded up by the Magic Council. Most had been captured though, and their castle had been disposed of by the Magic Council as well, which was nice. That broken up hunk of junk really ruined the view of their lovely lake.

Stalling at the doorway, Lucy shooed Natsu and Happy on into the hall ahead of her – which they were happy to do – and she turned to investigate the bushes. Sure enough, she found Juvia crouching there, right next to a window that had a great view of Gray.

"Hey there…found a good Gray watching perch?"

Juvia jumped at the sound of her voice, and her head whipped around to stare at her with wide blue eyes. When the water mage saw who it was though, she relaxed.

"Oh, hi Lucy." she greeted. Then she flushed, and her eyes brightened. "Yes! I have found the perfect spot!"

Her eyes turned back to the window and she swooned.

Lucy laughed lightly. She didn't know if anyone else had spotted Juvia hanging around, but she'd quickly seen her and made friends. The bluenette seemed really nice…if more than a little crazy.

"Well, have fun!" Lucy waved to her as she made her way inside, and Juvia waved back with a slight smile.

Her first stop was at the mission board, where she located an easy one-day mission for them to whip out for a little grocery money, and then she made her way to the new bar. As usual, Mirajane was wiping it down and tending to everyone's drinks and food.

As she perched on one of the tall stools, Lucy jokingly called out, "Oh barkeep! The usual!"

Mirajane laughed and smiled at her before quickly putting together a strawberry smoothie. It was Lucy's favorite.

With a happy sigh, Lucy tucked in. After the first deep swig, she surfaced and started to make conversation. "So how are things today, Mira?"

"Going smoothly! Elfman is helping Erza finish the upstairs now."

"Wonderful!" Lucy sighed happily again, feeling like everything was right with the world. That feeling was shattered as Mira leaned on the bar and fixed her with a familiar glittering look. Lucy groaned and leaned back.

"So…did Natsu sneak into your bed again?" she whispered conspiratorially, and Lucy regretted ever letting it slip that he had a habit of doing so. Mira kept bringing it up and using it in her eternal plot to get Lucy properly paired off with a man.

"…yes."

Her grin broadened. "And?"

"And what?"

"When are you two gonna get together!? Come on…you'd make such a cute couple!"

Lucy sighed. "Not happening Mira…we've been over this. Natsu is way too big a pain in the ass to be boyfriend material."

"But he's so attractive! I mean seriously! If you don't snap him up, some other cute girl is gonna come along and put a move on him."

Lucy glanced at Natsu. She guessed she could see what Mira was talking about. His muscles were nothing to sneeze at, his pink hair was strangely hot, and his grin could be downright devilish sometimes … especially with that little hint of fang. But despite his positive physical attributes – which Lucy couldn't quite say she'd never absentmindedly admired from time to time – she was absolutely resolved to never be attracted to him. Sure he was cute, but there was no way she would ever consider pursuing a relationship with him. He was waaaaay too destructive and hard to handle.

"Mira. He's pretty. But he's also pretty dumb." she stated and sent Mira into a fit of laughter.

"He can't be that bad…" she protested though her tears of laughter.

"He is though!" Lucy exclaimed, swinging around to give her friend a serious look. "He's impossible to handle! He's got too much energy for anyone to keep up with, he destroys absolutely everything, and we usually have to take a pay cut to cover damages on every job we go on! He rushes into every fight without thinking or talking about it first, and…"

Suddenly a fight broke out behind her, and the voices definitely belonged to their resident ice and fire users.

Instead of listing more reasons, Lucy just gave Mira a look and jerked her thumb over her shoulder without looking. If that sort of ridiculousness wasn't reason enough, she didn't know what was. He was a great friend sure, but she couldn't possibly ever be attracted to, or want to be with someone like him romantically. He was just way too big a pain in the butt.

Mira just laughed a little more and wiped her eyes. "Oh yeah, he's a handful alright."

A new voice sounded from her right. "But that just means he'd be a blast in the sack."

Lucy groaned extra loud and turned to give Cana a baleful glare. The brunette had gotten in on this little, _'let's bug Lucy,'_ venture with Mira a couple weeks ago, and now they both wouldn't stop pestering her about it. Lucy suspected that in Cana's case it was simply due to her being bored and single - and was using Lucy as entertainment.

"Ew."

Cana wiggled her eyebrows. "What's _ew_ about it? He'd probably have great stamina. Could probably keep you going all night long. And just think about what all that tail could do…"

Lucy blanched a little. "Okay…double eww. Can we not go there Cana? Not all of us are pervs like you."

"Aww, what's wrong Lucy? Are you shy?" she teased, knowing full well that Lucy was a virgin and was somewhat easily flustered by mentions of kinkier things.

Lucy pursed her lips. "I'm not shy. I just don't like talking about sex. And why'd you have to bring his tail into it? That's just gross!"

Cana shrugged. "What's gross about it? He's got a tail. He's hot. Might as well use what he's got, right?"

Lucy just shook her head and sighed. Cana was impossible.

And then things got much worse as Mira joined in and showed her pervy side too, which was a rare occurrence, but never boded well. Lucy quickly had to leave the bar as they discussed all the potential pros and cons of having a tail during sex…explicitly. It put images in her head that she really didn't need in there.

As far as Lucy was concerned, she was just glad that he could wrap his tail around his thigh under his pants to hide it. It was lucky that he wore such baggy pants and that almost skirt-thing on top of them, although he didn't always wear that. Even without it though, there was plenty of loose material to cover up the shape of his tail. It was useful when they were in populated places because his tail had proven a deterrent to getting some of their jobs done. People tended to freak out when they saw it.

Of course there would be absolutely no way for him to hide it when he transformed, since it thickened and lengthened so much, but then again there would be no hiding his wings or horns either, so it didn't really matter.

One time she'd asked if it was uncomfortable to keep it wound up so tightly and confined, but he'd just shrugged. So apparently it wasn't too bad, though they occasionally had to find a secluded place for him to allow it some freedom when he had to keep it wrapped up for long periods of time.

And that was the most she had ever thought about his tail. She had never needed or wanted to think of it in the ways that Mira and Cana were currently discussing. With a shudder, she sat herself next to Happy as the blue cat munched on another fish and cheered on Natsu.

…

Speaking of Natsu, the celestial dragon was fighting on half a brain. A large part of his concentration was busy processing what he had just overheard.

He didn't know why he was kind of offended and hurt by what his mage had said about him, or why being "boyfriend material" – whatever the hell that meant – would even be important to him. It wasn't like it made him less of a friend to her, which was the really important thing in his book. Friends were everything, friends were family to him – especially after spending so much time isolated in the celestial realm for the past however many years. Being lonely had not sat well with him at all. Some dragons had a very social nature, and Natsu just happened to be one of those dragons.

And the number one person in his book, when it came to friendship, was his mage – the one who had freed him from his prison. Everyone else in the guild was great too, but Lucy was the person that he considered to be top priority.

So really, maybe he was just offended that she thought so little of him in general.

…

Of course Lucy had no way to know that dragons had incredibly sensitive hearing, or that she had just offended a certain fire breathing creature. All she knew was that she needed to distract herself from what had just happened and refocus on their new job. She would tell the others as soon as she could, but two of them were preoccupied with fighting each other, and the third hadn't shown up yet.

It was a while before she updated her team to the mission she had found for them. Thankfully as soon as Erza showed up, she set the two guys straight and stopped the fight, which made it easy for Lucy to give them all the info. It was strange, but somehow Erza had managed to scare Natsu early on, and since then he seemed to obey her without much fuss.

Lucy had asked him about it at one point and he'd given her a look and simply said, "She's scary. I mean, I could totally take her…but…yeah…" and ended with a wince.

Apparently Erza had the power to instill fear in even the most powerful of beasts. She just had a way about her.

After Lucy had told her team about the mission, they all eagerly agreed with her that it sounded cool. Erza in particular was intrigued by the location…a famous hot spring and spa village totally aimed toward tourists. The mission itself was to locate and apprehend a mage, who apparently had the ability to turn themselves invisible. They had been terrorizing the bathhouse – both the men's and women's baths, since this person apparently swung both ways. Nobody knew what they looked like, or even their gender for that matter.

Along with payment, the owner of the establishment had promised to provide them with full access tickets to every amenity offered at the hot spring as thanks for services rendered. They seemed very interested in getting this problem sorted out.

Natsu and Gray weren't as interested as Lucy and Erza in the idea of having access to all the spa's amenities, but that didn't really matter in the long run. Since Lucy had gotten Erza on board with the plan, the boys didn't really have a say in the matter. Originally, she had planned for just her and Natsu to take it, but after listening to that perverted discussion, she was strangely averted to the idea of being alone with him, so she'd invited the rest of their team. It would cut down the pay significantly, but at least it would also cut down on her discomfort.

After showing them the mission, and Erza took a keen interest in it, everyone packed up and headed out rather quickly. Of course Natsu pulled a disappearing act as they boarded the train. He had serious motion sickness when it came to any sort of vehicle, so he always poofed whenever Lucy was on a train, boat, plane, whatever.

As they settled in for a long ride, Lucy couldn't help but look forward to getting there and starting their mission…hoping that it would distract her and make her forget the irritation and discomfort brought on by Mira and Cana's unwanted interference.

They arrived not too long later, and immediately headed for the hot spring/spa where they were being hired. On the way, they noted that there were all sorts of attractions packed into the little village, which was gaudily decorated in an fantastic mish-mash of styles that Lucy had never seen before. Dragon statues were everywhere, as was bamboo and beautiful buildings. It was very touristy for sure.

"We're gonna have to try some of this stuff guys." Lucy said as they passed by some little shops and spas that advertised all sorts of services.

"Yeah! Look at all the food!" Natsu chimed in, and Happy seconded it eagerly.

"Oh wow…so much sushi…" The blue cat cooed, his mouth already started to produce a string of saliva.

"I'd be down to try some of those fancy bars…" Gray added. He wasn't a heavy drinker exactly – though of course everyone in the guild drank to some extent, especially during celebrations – but he did enjoy going to a bar more than the other members of their team.

Even Erza looked interested. As for her, she was very much a fruity cocktail type of person. She also loved desserts, so naturally she was seriously eyeballing all the bakeries they passed…. as well as any costume store or armory.

Soon they had arrived at the largest establishment, which happened to be the one they were working at. As soon as they stepped through the doors and announced their presence to an attendant, they were swept into the back to meet with the manager, who explained the situation to them. Sure enough, he was at his wit's end trying to deal with this pervert who was chasing away his customers.

They promised that the issue would be resolved quickly, and the manager gave them profuse thanks and promised all sorts of free services if they successfully managed to eradicate the problem. He had an attendant show them to a super nice suite, where they were served a first-class meal.

While they ate, they came up with a plan of attack.

"So, let's go over what we know." Erza stated, and then started listing things off. "This person always attacks in the bathing areas, or anywhere where people are partially or completely naked. He, or she, goes after both guys and girls, but only the attractive ones."

"Don't forget that the manager mentioned that the perv seemed to like busty girls and muscular guys."

Ezra nodded. "Indeed. So, here's the plan, if everyone agrees. We split up and spend time in each of the bathing areas and saunas. We will wear these-" She produced little round devices and held them out for inspection. "They are small radio lacrima that will allow us to communicate. That way, as soon as one of us has lured the perpetrator out into the open, they can signal it to the others."

"Uh, aren't they just going to run away as soon as we go after them? How are we supposed to catch someone whose invisible?" Lucy asked.

"Well I'll be able to smell and hear them, so that'll be no problem for me." Natsu boasted, and the others gave him a look.

"Well that's great Flame-for-Brains, but what about the rest of us?" Gray snarked.

"Actually, it's not a bad idea." Lucy pointed out. "If we can pinpoint the perv and keep them busy long enough for Natsu to come and get them, it might be our best shot."

"Two things. One, how are we supposed to keep them "busy" without scaring them off … and two, if they show up in the girl's bath, Natsu's not going to be able to come and help without freaking everyone out." Gray said in a deadpan.

"We'll have to lure them in, and if they touch you, grab them and don't let go. I doubt they'll be expecting that. I'm sure all their previous victims just freaked out and ran away, or maybe started throwing punches or slaps, but they probably wouldn't have grabbed for them."

"Yeah. And even if they get away, I can track their scent. You just have to try and figure out what door they left from. So you're gonna have to chase them and watch for doors opening on their own. Or windows." Natsu added.

Happy just munched on the fancy sushi that had been provided and pretty much seemed to ignore them all. But then he suddenly said, "You know, since I'm a cat, I can go between the girls' and boys' baths. So if one person is getting attacked, I can chase them between baths and keep an eye out for them from the air."

"Good idea Happy!" Natsu agreed with one of his easy grins.

Lucy also smiled at her blue friend, but then turned to her pink haired partner and fixed a firm expression on her face. "The only problem left is that you can't get into any of the bathing areas…because of your tail. You'd start a freak-out for sure and it could scare them off. So you'll need to wait in the areas where you can keep a towel wrapped around your hips."

He shrugged and nodded.

"Oh, and Natsu," Lucy added for good measure. "Do not destroy ANYTHING. I mean it."

He winced. "Sure thing Luce."

Gray snorted at her comment but otherwise ignored it in favor of continuing their strategy meeting. "If the perv goes after me, I'll ice the floor and he won't get very far without falling on his ass."

"Actually, if you entirely sealed off the room with ice, that might work even better." Erza suggested.

Then suddenly Happy voiced a thought that brought them all to a temporary halt. "Isn't all this stuff gonna scare everyone else there? What's gonna happen when a bunch of naked people all panic and start running around?"

Lucy winced at the picture he painted for them. "Maybe we should subtly tell everyone in the room what we're doing so that they can leave one by one?"

"That could scare off the enemy though. It would be best to act first. Once we've caught the culprit, we can explain the situation to the other patrons." Erza decided, and they all nodded in agreement.

After a few more minutes of discussion, they solidified the plan and retreated to their respective bedrooms to change into the wonderful kimono-like robes provided for spa use. Once they were all equipped, they split up to go to separate baths and areas of the spa. Happy kept a low profile in the comfy sitting area outside the spa/bath zones, because a cat in there might raise suspicion or cause a scene. He had his own little lacrima radio thing in his ear though, so they could maintain contact at all times.

As for Erza and Lucy, they went into the women's bathing area together, stopping in the dressing rooms to switch their robes out for towels. Both Fairy Tail mages then started at the preliminary washing area, where they set their towels aside and showered in a large tiled area that had handheld shower stations all along the wall. You could sit or stand while doing so, and luxurious soap was placed in little cubbies all along the wall.

Lucy had seen Erza naked before and vice a versa on several jobs where they had to bathe either in a river or a communal situation such as this, so it wasn't too weird. As always though, Lucy felt a little inferior next to the slightly older redheaded woman, because she had an absolutely fantastic body. Lucy was no slouch by any means, but she didn't have the kind of defined abs and muscular definition of Erza, who looked like a warrior goddess. Lucy, on the other hand, had a pretty good amount of toning but also had some jiggle in her thighs and butt that she just couldn't get rid of.

As they washed, Lucy asked, "By the way Erza, I've been meaning to ask. How do you keep your legs in such great shape? For that matter, how do you keep your arms so well-toned?"

Erza shrugged. "Not much really. I just do one hundred squats every day with weights, and one hundred pushups."

Lucy's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. No wonder Erza looked the way she did. "…right."

After they had finished scrubbing any grime and sweat off, they stepped into the next room, which was a large mineral bath. There were a few women around, and they got a few glances – some of them sharper and more jealous than others – but otherwise they had no contact with any of the other patrons.

Both women settled into the lovely water. It was warm and smelled very minerally, but in a nice way. Erza soon split off and went to the next area as they had decided, which would double their chances of running into this person. Meanwhile, Lucy let herself relax into the warm water and soak. It wasn't nearly as hot as her normal bathwater, in fact it was somewhat tepid, but the temperature was supposedly perfect for the minerals in this water to work on the skin and be absorbed.

It wasn't long before Lucy felt like she was being watched. A distinct creepy skittering sensation down her spine alerted her to it and she cringed. On the one hand, she hoped it was the perv so she could catch them, but on the other hand…it was still incredibly uncomfortable.

She gingerly got out of the bath and picked up her towel. With it draped over her arm, she made her way to the next area, hoping that if she was right, the person might follow her. There were probably too many people in this first bath for them to get close. The next area was much smaller… a little sauna that instantly had Lucy sweating. It also happened to be empty of people at the moment. If the perv was going to make a move, it would probably be in here.

Lucy wrapped the towel around her and sat on the bench. Sure enough, that creepy feeling of being watched had followed her in here, and as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, she heard a barely audible click of the door opening and closing. When she opened one eye slightly, it showed no one in the room with her.

So she patiently stayed still and intentionally let her towel droop to show plenty of cleavage. She sat and waited, biding her time until they made their mistake. Since they were obviously in here with her, Lucy jumped a little when the earbud squawked and Gray bellowed, "I found him!" and then she heard a grunt and some cussing.

This came a shock, since she was sure they were in the room with her. Instead of reacting though, she stayed quiet and still, because now she was starting to think that there was a second perv at large…unless she had completely psyched herself out and there really wasn't anyone in here with her.

Sure enough, only a few moments later, she felt a bad touch on her boobs. Her towel had been pushed down roughly and her bare boobs accosted with a simultaneous hard squeeze on both sides.

Undoubtedly, this was precisely the sort of handsyness that composed the problem they were here to fix. Lucy suspected that the person expected her to freak out, scream, and run away, but instead she just popped open her eyes and grabbed for where they were copping a feel. She managed to snag what felt like a wrist and heard her target gasp in shock.

"I caught one too!" Lucy quickly said into her ear piece while wrestling with the now-fighting invisible perv in her grasp.

The invisible perpetrator was strong, and her palm was sweaty, so right as Erza barreled into the room they managed to slip from her grasp. With an oath and a wild grab that landed her nothing, Lucy snapped, "They got away! Quick shut the door!"

Erza slammed the door closed, and there was absolutely no way the person could have snuck by her in the short span of time it took her to do so. Their opponent now only had one escape route…the door to the mineral bath.

Lucy stood and tightened the towel around her as she dashed to the other door, quickly saying into her earpiece, "Happy! We need you in here if you aren't busy on the other team!"

"Aye Sir!"

The invisible person got to the door first, and Lucy grunted as what felt like an elbow was thrown into her stomach to shove her aside. The door was thrown wide. Of course there wasn't any way to know if the person actually went through it or not, so Erza stayed by the other exit just to make sure while Lucy barreled through the open door. Panting, she looked around frantically for any odd occurrences that would alert her to their presence.

Happy then burst in through the opposite door, getting a few wild sounds from the patrons who were shocked to see a magical flying cat.

"Stay by that door Happy and block it!" she called, and saw him nod in acknowledgement. He closed the door shut firmly behind him and wrapped his tail around the handle, making it impossible for anyone to get out without getting past him.

A yelp had her head swiveling around and she saw a woman get shoved out of the way of what looked like thin air.

"They're out here!" she called back to Erza, and the redhead quickly ran and blocked the entrance to the sauna instead. Since the spa was arranged with only one entrance and one exit in each bathing space, it would be easy to corral the person, as long as they didn't lose them. Lucy rushed to the entrance, apologizing as she ran into a couple of people.

Through her headpiece, she could hear Gray cussing vibrantly, and the sound of Natsu as well as he joined the battle on their side.

"How's it going guys?" Lucy panted as she finally slid in front of the entrance to the ladies' bath. Once she was there, Happy flew up and started circling the ceiling with his eyes peeled for anything unusual.

"Shit I lost them!"

"I got them!" Natsu chimed in, and then yelped. "What the fuck!? Don't grab me there!"

Lucy winced.

All she could do was wait by the door and hope that Happy could somehow locate their perv wherever they were hiding in the bath. Her eyes darted around frantically, trying to see any sort of movement. Suddenly one woman shrieked and then went stiff in an unnatural pose, as if she was being held with her arms behind her back.

"Let me through the door, or I hurt her." A bodiless female voice sounded, and the hostage sobbed, looking understandably upset.

Lucy saw Erza step away from her door and start to make a slow approach from the rear. Thinking fast, she raised both hands in a universal sign of surrender and adopted a fake scared expression.

"Easy…just calm down, okay? I'll open the door for you …" Lucy said placatingly, then glanced up at Happy and gestured with just her eyes. He grinned and dove down, landing on the invisible person's head and digging in his claws. The enemy yelled and screamed, obviously shaking her head judging by the way Happy suddenly spun around back and forth.

By that point the hostage and invisible person were closer to Lucy than Erza, so she lunged and grabbed for the empty air. The invisible woman shrieked as Lucy snagged her, and the hostage was released in the ensuing chaos. She hadn't gotten a good hold – actually, awkwardly enough, she had managed to grab the woman's boob. If there had been any doubt as to this person's gender, it was now solved, because the soft mound in Lucy's grip was definitely female.

Normally she would have released her, but in this case Lucy kept a tight hold on the breast in her hand while she grabbed for some other body part with her free hand. They got into a very strange wrestling match as Lucy struggled to hold her, quickly trading the boob for a handful of hair. Her opponent screamed bloody murder and shoved Lucy, throwing them both off balance and toppling through the doorway. Lucy kept a firm grip on the hair in her fist even as they fell.

They hit the ground and her captive broke free, but Lucy managed to snag an ankle in passing and held on for dear life, dragging the other woman back. She scrambled to her feet, clawing up her opponent's body as she went. A fist to her face had her seeing stars and spitting a little blood out from where she had bit her lip, but she kept hold of her quarry. As Lucy tried to get a good hold of her, they slipped and slid through the bathing room, skidding and falling more than once on soap as the perpetrator slowly made her way towards the outside, attempting to shake Lucy off as she went.

By the time they reached the dressing room, they had both been knocked to the floor again, and were in the process of scrambling for top position, rolling around on the ground… and always _**towards**_ the exit. Lucy almost didn't realize that she had let her opponent drag her all the way to the sitting area until they tumbled out of the exit and landed amongst clothed people, who all made a fuss and scrambled to get away from what looked like a mostly naked woman wrestling thin air. Lucy still had her towel…but only barely, and it wasn't exactly in place anymore.

Erza and Happy had followed the two closely, but their target was crafty and had always managed to put Lucy between them and her like a shield…up until they landed in the sitting room with the crazy invisible person sitting on top of Lucy and doing her very best to claw the celestial mages eyes out.

In short order, Erza was standing over them both and an armored fist came down hard on where the invisible head of their target should be. It took her several tries, but after playing whack a mole, she finally got her. With an oof, Lucy felt the body weight of their opponent land on top of her, and she slowly turned visible.

"Nice one Erza!" Happy cheered as he floated above her head and then landed near Lucy's shoulder to get a closer look at the person they had just knocked out.

Almost at the same moment Erza had knocked their enemy out, the doors to the men's bath burst open and Gray came barreling out in a towel with Natsu hot on his heels. Natsu was still fully clothed in the spa's robe, though it was thoroughly soaked and gaped open, leaving a deep V that showed off his chest and stomach. Thankfully it looked like he was wearing boxers or something underneath, based on the peeks of black material that showed as he ran at full tilt. His tail was also out and about, wagging like a happy dog or an angry cat.

It made a funny sight and Lucy found herself watching the chaos speechlessly. Gray was wrestling thin air and Natsu was brandishing flaming fists and dancing around waiting for an opening with a big shit-eating grin on his face. Gray was accumulating a set of scratches all down his face and chest – which Lucy probably also shared.

And then, to Lucy's shock, Gray's towel was whipped off. Apparently his opponent thought that would distract him, but he didn't even seem to notice. Typical…he stripped so often, of course he wouldn't give a fuck. Lucy did her best to avert her eyes from his junk, though it wasn't like she hadn't seen it a million times before.

He couldn't quite seem to keep hold of his opponent as they gave him as much trouble as Lucy's had given her. Ice was sprouting everywhere as he tried to pin them down. When his target apparently got away from him, ice walls suddenly sprouted into being all around them, inclosing Lucy, Erza, and Happy as well. A grunt of pain and the sound of a body slamming into the ice near Lucy alerted her to the invisible person's presence and she yelled, "Over here!" and pointed.

Both guys looked at her, and then their eyes stuck. Lucy flushed and glared back. Yes, she had a totally naked woman sprawled on top of her, and her towel was…basically nonexistent, but it was totally unnecessary for them to stare with that expression on their faces.

"Stop staring and get to work!" she snapped.

Natsu was the first to snap out of it, and apparently he glanced at Gray, because with a loud laugh he cackled, "Totally uncool man! Don't pop a boner in the middle of a fight!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. She wasn't looking so she hadn't noticed, and now she definitely wasn't going to look. In fact, she averted her eyes entirely. The sound of Happy snickering near her ear didn't help either.

"Just catch the perv would you?!" she shouted at them

"Sure, but which one? I'm down for fighting Ice-Dick over here." Natsu joked and the sound of fist meeting flesh sounded through the space.

"Shut it, ya fiery mouth breather!"

Thankfully, Erza snapped them both back to attention with a clanging sound as she smacked them both upside the head, and very quickly their opponent was apprehended. Meanwhile, Lucy worked on getting the unconscious woman off her, while preserving both of their modesties as much as possible.

Once they had captured the second perv, it became clear that the two were twin girls, who apparently could both turn invisible. They were both turned in to the local authorities for proper punishment. In thanks, as promised they received tickets to all the spa treatments, and they all decided to stay for a day or two and take advantage of the perk.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek:**

 _Lucy was on her way to an almost asleep blissful daze herself when suddenly she was shocked back into full alertness as a splash indicated the sudden appearance of someone new. Out of habit, she reached for the towel she had folded next to the bath and slapped it across her front within a few seconds._

 _As it turned out, it was a good thing she had covered her private bits, because her bathing buddy was none other than the pink haired pest himself._

 _"NATSU!" she whisper-yelled, not wanting to alert the staff that a boy was in the girl's bathing area…that would get them all in trouble. "What the hell are you doing here?"_


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

Hellooooo there! Remember me? Haha, here's the new chapter~ right on time. Weelll, technically it is after 12 AM so I guess it's a tad late, but whatever. Close enough.

Anyways, for announcements I actually remembered one that I've been intending to make and kept forgetting, so here it is finally! In terms of chapter length, I promise that every chapter will be AT LEAST 10 pages worth in Word (with possibly a very few exceptions). Now, how that counts out in terms of words, I'm not entirely sure, but I just wanted to let you guys know that there is a minimum page count I'm working with, so you all are guaranteed a decent length chapter every time. :D

Alrighty, and on to the next topic. REVIEWS~ As always a humongous thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! We hit a grand total of seven! More than any other chapter so far! It got me so excited I almost posted early just for fun...if we can't hit eight I may lower my early posting limit to seven. We'll see. I just get so excited it's hard to contain myself. Anyways, I wanted to personally thank each and every one of you. So big hugs to my repeat reviewers WisdomDragon27, dihan, Elphaba818, and pixiecatost! I always look forward to your comments! And equally big hugs to all my new reviewers, Wolves silver wind, GoPackGo97, and gingerxgoddess!

And of course, we reached over five reviews, so there will be a sneak peek for the next chapter. Stay tuned. ;) And if you guys want an early post, let me know. I may just cave in after seven, you never know~

And now, on with the show!

* * *

That night, after another luxurious meal, a monster pillow fight somehow broke out.

Erza had simply asked their two male team mates why it took them so long to catch their target, since Gray should have been able to trap the invisible perv in ice.

Gray had gotten cranky and jerked his thumb accusatorily at Natsu. "That's cause Squinty-Eyes over here kept melting my ice with his fire!"

"And that's cause you couldn't catch the guy!" Natsu yelled back, fire already beginning to lick his lips as he got all riled up.

"Technically it was a girl." Lucy pointed out and Happy snickered behind a blue paw.

"Yeah…you both got molested by a _giiiiirl_." The little blue cat taunted Natsu and Gray, and both their heads whipped around to glare at him.

Lucy couldn't resist joining in. "Yeah, it must have been _terrible_ to get felt up by a hot naked chick. And I bet you both got a good feel of her too while you were trying to capture her. That must have been _really_ rough."

"Shut up!" They said in perfect unison, and Lucy burst into laughter.

Their heads whipped back around to glare at each other again, as if they were pissed that they had said the same thing at the same time.

Naturally Happy made it worse by saying, "Awe…you two make such a cute couple. You _liiiike_ each other."

Both men seemed to absolutely pop with fury at that, and they made a dive for the blue furball. Of course he just flew out of the way, so they instead pile drove into Lucy. At the absolute last possible second, she managed to snag a pillow and smacked Gray – who happened to be first in line – hard across the face. It diminished the tackle just a little, redirecting the black-haired man to the side somewhat while Natsu landed squarely on top of her. She had been aiming for both of them, but had only managed to pillow block the ice mage and totally missed her fiery partner with the wild swing. So Natsu flattened her.

Meanwhile, Gray sprung to his feet and bellowed, "Oh yeah? That's the way you wanna play?" He grabbed a pillow from a suspiciously convenient pile that suddenly appeared next to him.

Lucy noticed and glared into the bushes, knowing that a blue-haired culprit was betraying her by giving Gray ammunition. Still, she wasn't exactly surprised…nor was she even shocked that the bluenette had followed them in the first place.

She cringed as a pillow came flying at top speed towards her. However, it accidently hit Natsu instead – who had just rolled off her. Naturally, this started an epic pillow fight between the two young men, and when a fly pillow hit Erza, she joined in on the fight with gusto. Lucy tried to stay mostly behind Natsu and used him as shield – since he couldn't target her, being her spirit and all. She would pop out at key moments to bean either her red-haired or black-haired team mate and then hid back behind her partner. Of course Natsu was having a blast.

Really it was pretty fun, but it quickly got out of hand. She ended up recruiting Happy, and he flew her up into the air for an aerial attack. He was so fast that no one could hit them with a pillow, and for a short while Lucy enjoyed being the top dog of the pillow fight. Unfortunately though, her blue partner got a little carried away and ended up beaning everyone with pillows and fly-bys that would knock them over. He dropped Lucy and even she wasn't immune to his attacks from above, much to her amusement and aggravation.

Soon there were three teams, Erza and Gray teamed up while Natsu and Lucy joined forces, and Happy was a wildcard.

It all came to a head when Happy managed to knock Natsu off balance, and he got tossed into Lucy, who fell flat on her butt with him on top of her…again. Being knocked over and flattened twice in short order was not fun by any means, especially since she whacked her head on the floor this time as well and it gave her an instant headache.

"Really?" she groaned. "Stop knocking me over Natsu!"

"S'not like it was my fault!"

"Fine…whatever. Just get off would you?" Her hand pressed to the side of her head as she scrunched her eyes closed.

"You okay?"

She squinted up at him when his weight lifted off her up. However, he stayed crouching over her on hands and knees, and she gave him a grimace.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now get off!" she groused, giving him a little shove.

One of her palms managed to land on bare skin where his robe had fallen open a little. She couldn't help but notice how hot his skin was – which was something she had noted before on multiple occasions – and not for the first time, she wondered if it was a dragon thing. Her shove had very little affect, aside from giving her a really good feel of his unyielding chest and shoulder muscles. This position was somewhat compromising, and she quickly grew flustered as he just frowned down at her.

With an exasperated exclamation of, "I said I'm fine!" she gave him a much harder shove, and this time he finally sat back and removed himself, looking somewhat confused.

When she stood and brushed herself off, she noticed the other three had paused and were just watching the two of them with expressions that ranged between intrigued (from Erza) and amused (from Gray and Happy).

She quickly decided that going to the baths at this moment might be a good idea, both to relax and also to get away from Natsu. Her face still felt a little hot and she was aggravated enough with him that she just wanted to get some breathing room and space to clear her head.

Erza decided to join her, and soon the two women and Happy were trotting along towards the bathing area …. after giving the boys strict instructions to NOT fight or break anything in their absence.

It was later in the evening, really more like nighttime, and so there weren't any other people there as they entered the first room. They both scrubbed off any dirt and then soaked in the mineral bath for a moment. Happy joined them and swam around, blowing bubbles in the water and generally being silly.

They didn't stay long. Lucy wanted to get to the heated baths that Erza said were further in. So, they skipped the sauna this time and went straight to a hot tub area. As they sunk in, Lucy sighed with delight. Now this was more her style - hot enough to sting when she first got in, but then the heat seeped into her body and relaxed all her muscles completely. She rested her head against the side and stretched out.

Happy swam around a little, and then flipped over and simply floated around on his back with his eyes closed, as if he was asleep. Lucy envied him just a little for being able to do that, but he was so cute she couldn't hold a grudge. He looked like a little blue otter, and she couldn't resist reaching over and lightly tickling his belly. He wiggled and swatted at her, but otherwise didn't protest.

After a little while of silent relaxation, Erza struck up a conversation. "Soooo … how have you enjoyed having Natsu as a partner Lucy?"

"Huh? Natsu?" she asked lazily as her eyes opened. "He's fun, and I think we make a pretty good team. Although I wish he'd dial his destructive tendencies down just a notch."

It was at this point that Happy piped up with "She _looooooves_ him."

She halfheartedly swiped at her blue companion, which he was expecting and dodged easily. Ever since Mirajane and Cana started selling tickets to the 'Natsu-Lucy Ship,' Happy had hopped on board with a vengeance – never passing up an opportunity to throw in his annoying little phrase.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that seems to be the general consensus. It's a shame nobody asked me what I thought about it first…"

"Oh really? That explains why I've been hearing whispers and giggles from Cana and Mirajane." Erza said with a quirked brow, looking amused. She had never been on the receiving end of their deadly matchmaking duo, but Lucy was almost always in their crosshairs. Maybe she just wasn't scary enough.

"Those two are going to be the death of me someday."

"You'll survive."

Lucy snorted at Erza's lack of sympathy.

After a bit, she spoke up again. "Perhaps you just make it too easy for them. After all, you two do seem awfully close…that was especially obvious earlier tonight."

"What? You mean when he wouldn't get off me after the pillow fight?" Lucy scoffed, having suspected that was going to come up at some point. "If you're suggesting that there's anything sexual about it, you'd be very wrong. Our relationship is strictly platonic."

"Are you sure he feels the same as you do?"

"Absolutely. There's never been any indication he could even be attracted to me, or any other girl for that matter. The only thing that guy ever seems to care about is food, fighting, and friends."

"Hm. That is true, I don't believe I've ever seen him looking at scantily clad women the way other men do. Although he did seem interested earlier today when you were pinned under your opponent."

"Well she _was_ naked. But to me it looked like he was more shocked and amused than anything…."

"In sharp contrast with Gray, who reacted like any young man confronted with that particular sight." Erza sighed slightly in exasperated and amused agreement.

The conversation trickled away again, and they continued to soak in silence.

Soon after that, the redhead bid her goodnight and left for the night. As for Lucy, she decided to soak a little more. In fact she moved to an even hotter outdoors spring that was surrounded by lush bamboo and of course a privacy wall. There was nobody there though, so Lucy had the whole enormous pool to herself, and thoroughly luxuriated in it as Happy situated himself on a nearby hot rock. He stretched out and promptly fell soundly asleep.

Lucy was on her way to an almost asleep blissful daze herself when suddenly she was shocked back into full alertness as a splash indicated the sudden appearance of someone new. Out of habit, she reached for the towel she had folded next to the pool and slapped it across her front within a few seconds.

As it turned out, it was a good thing she had covered her private bits, because her bathing buddy was none other than the pink-haired pest himself.

"NATSU!" she whisper-yelled, not wanting to alert the staff that a boy was in the girl's bathing area…that would get them all in trouble. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Her arm clenched even tighter around her breasts, holding the top of the towel securely against her chest while her other hand pressed the tail down into her lap.

"Yo Luce!" Natsu greeted casually, and then black eyes glanced her body up and down before he cocked his head to the side. "Why are you naked?"

Lucy was left gaping at him, both from the completely outlandish question, and the totally normal way he was talking to her right now. How was he not embarrassed? Or shocked? Or _something_?!

"I'm taking a BATH Natsu." she finally hissed in response once she had gathered some of her scattered wits.

"Oh!" He finally glanced around and seemed to notice that he was now standing waist-deep in water. One hand came up to run a hand through his hair. "So this is where you disappeared off to. I thought maybe you were getting something to eat."

"You're the one with a never-ending stomach, not me. Besides that, Erza and I _**told**_ you we were going to take a soak!"

"Oh did you? I must have missed that…" He shrugged, and then said, "Oh well, whatever."

Then, of all crazy things, he shed his vest. Lucy watched him, with something akin to horror. He couldn't possibly…. yes, yes he was. As soon as his hands went to the waistband of his pants, she spoke up hastily. "What are you doing?!"

"Undressing?"

"Yeah, I can see that. But WHY?!"

"You said we were taking a bath, right?"

"NO! _**We're**_ not taking a bath! _**I'm**_ taking a bath! And this is the women's side anyways! So you're gonna get us in trouble! Get out!"

He just blinked at her in seeming confusion for a moment. "What's wrong with taking a bath together?"

All poor Lucy could think of in response to that was a blank stare. There was no earthly way she could explain something like that to him, and she didn't even try. Instead – after she got over her reoccurred shock – she simply whisper-yelled at him some more. Besides not wanting to attract staff, she also didn't want to wake Happy and get teased some more.

"Get out! If you don't understand why men and women can't take baths together, then there's no way I can explain it to you! Just shoo! Leave! Vamoose! GET!"

After said whisper-shouting, he eventually got the message and with an exasperated shake of his pink head he finally poofed.

By this point her peaceful bath had thoroughly gone down the drain and she doubted she'd be able to fully relax again, so she just got out, dressed, and gently picked up Happy without waking him. Natsu met her outside the doors to the women's bath, obviously sulking. His arms were crossed, and he had on his scowling face that he used whenever she told him to stop something he didn't want to stop. She'd seen it often enough after kicking him out of her apartment and various other similar instances that she was intimately familiar with it.

Happy was still largely asleep in her arms, and therefore when she spoke to Natsu it was in a hushed tone.

"Why do you look like someone kicked your puppy? You're the one who interrupted my bath."

He just silently pouted and glared morosely at her. It was always this way, especially when he didn't fully understand why she had yelled at him, and Lucy knew this good and well. But she honestly didn't have all that much guilt over it this time, because there was really no excuse for not knowing why hopping into someone else's bath without their permission was not okay.

And so, as Lucy walked back to the room to deposit the sleeping bundle in her arms, Natsu followed silently. After Happy had been safely tucked in, she turned and walked back out towards the exit.

"Alright fine. You said you wanted to eat right?"

Natsu instantly perked up, as she knew he would, and it was her turn to follow him as his nose led them to somewhere that smelled good.

They were only a little ways away from the dragon's chosen restaurant, when they practically tripped over Loki.

"Oh shoot! Sorry Loki, didn't see you there!" Lucy barked as she skipped back a step before falling all over him.

He was strangely kneeling in the middle of the street, looking at something on the ground. At the sound of her voice though, he went ramrod straight and snapped up into a standing position. As usual, he took several steps back to put some space between them. For as long as she'd known the sandy-haired womanizer, for some reason he had been incredibly standoffish. All she had been able to find out about it was that he apparently really didn't like celestial wizards. The theory was that he had been in a really bad relationship with one, but somehow she thought it had to go deeper than that to cause this aversion for all the years she'd known him. Still, she tended to just pretend not to notice.

"So what are you doing all the way out here Loki?"

"Um, uh, well I got a job in the, uh, next town over to track down a bunch of, um, cats…."

"Cats? Isn't that a little low level for you?"

She'd been getting significantly more worried about him lately, because it seemed that over the past year or so he had been taking less and less advanced jobs – which was the opposite way most mages went. Usually as a mage worked, their magic and skills increased, and they were able to take on increasingly advanced jobs … but that wasn't the way Loki operated. He had joined after her, and she distinctly remembered that when he first joined he had taken some of the highest-level jobs on the board and completed them without a problem. But since then he had been on the decline, and lately he hadn't even been showing up at the guildhall for weeks at a time…with no job to explain his absence. She'd talked about it with the master, and it seemed she wasn't the only one who noticed. The general consensus was that he might have some sort of terminal illness.

She couldn't remain silent any longer. Even if he didn't want to be her friend, she still considered him one.

"Y-yeah…I guess." He chuckled nervously. "I guess I just, uh, felt bad for the lady. She's a widow, no kids, and is all alone. Her cats are all she has, and some miscreant thought it would be funny to steal them. So I'm tracking him." By the end, he was talking confidently again and seemed impassioned.

Her concerns abated a little, since it seemed he had taken this job more out of sympathy than lack of ability. "That's terrible! It's a good thing you took the job, I'm sure you'll get the thief and return her cats in no time."

"Thanks…" He grinned tiredly at her and swayed a little on his feet. Taking a good look at him, her concerns returned when she saw just how worn and thin he looked.

Clearing her throat, she tried to casually throw him a bone. "By the way, we were just going to get a bite to eat in that restaurant right over there. If you're at a good pausing place would you like to join us?"

It seemed that triggered his playboy instincts and suddenly a sly grin worked over his lips. "Are you asking me on a date?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. She'd also gotten used to this part of him too, where he would temporarily seem to forget that she was a celestial mage and would – for brief moments at a time – treat her like any other girl. It never lasted long.

Sure enough, a few second later he was grimacing. "Er, I don't know if that's a good idea…"

"Oi! …" Natsu suddenly barked, making both Lucy and Loki jump. This whole time he'd been quiet and just watched the interaction from behind Lucy – which was abnormal in and of itself. He never remained silent or still for very long at all. But in her concern for her guildmate, she had almost forgotten his presence.

It seemed that Loki hadn't even noticed his presence, and then when he did he suddenly went pale. "N-Natsu?! What are you doing here?"

At the same time Loki said this, Lucy was saying, "Oh that's right! You two haven't met yet have you? You've been, uh, _out_ a lot lately Loki, and I haven't been able to … wait, do you two already know each other?"

"No! Not at all." Loki quickly said, and Natsu raised an eyebrow. When he opened his mouth, looking like he was going to argue, Loki shot him with a sharp look and repeated. "We do NOT know each other."

Natsu's mouth shut with an audible snap as both his eyebrows shot up on his head. Finally he shrugged. "Whatever you say man."

That exchange was so strange that Lucy didn't quite know what to make of it. Loki obviously knew Natsu, and vice versa, but she didn't really know how that was possible. Natsu was a celestial spirit after all. The only thing she could think of to explain it, off the top of her head, was that Loki's celestial mage ex-girlfriend maybe had Natsu's key or took Loki to the spirit world on one occasion…or something.

Blowing it off, she just started walking again towards the restaurant. "Well, if you wanna join us, you can."

"Yeah, come on!" Natsu added, and eventually Loki followed along behind somewhat warily.

Once situated in a booth, and after they had ordered, Loki finally attempted to make conversation. "So…what are you two doing here?"

"A job like you." Lucy said simply, but naturally Natsu wasn't going to leave it at that.

"Oh yeah! We had to take out this pair of pervy twins who were sneaking into the bathhouse. It was a blast."

That got Loki's attention real quick.

"Did you say pervy twins and a bathhouse? Were they women?" he asked with a somewhat smutty grin. All Lucy could do was put her forehead in her hand and groan.

"Yep. And they could go invisible, but only their bodies could, so that meant they were naked. As soon as we knocked them out they were totally bare-assed! It was hilarious. Especially when the one Lucy was fighting passed out right on top of her. Ha! And then Gray got a boner, cause Lucy was practically naked too."

"Okay, I think that's enough Natsu…" Lucy hissed, turning red now.

Her partner was pretty mouthy on a normal basis and didn't always seem to know what was shareable or not. Basically he had no filter between brain and mouth, which often left her embarrassed. Even so, he seemed awfully chummy with Loki for someone who was supposed to be a stranger, and Lucy became that much more convinced that they already knew each other quite well. Even Loki was growing comfortable around her pink-haired partner in a way she hadn't seen him do with anyone else. Although that might have been the topic.

By this point Loki's eyebrows were practically mating with his hairline, and he was glancing between Natsu and her with a perverted sparkle in his eye. "No kidding. It's a shame I missed that."

"No. It's really not." Lucy countered.

But Loki just continued to push the envelope. "So are you and Gray an item these days? He must be attracted to you considering his reaction to your nudity."

"Not you too…why does everyone want to pair me up with someone?! No! There's nothing between Gray and me, and I _**know**_ he doesn't like me like that."

"I gotta agree with her. Seeing two naked girls on top of each other was just too much for the pervy popsicle. Don't think it mattered much who the girls were." Natsu chuckled with a broad grin.

Loki grinned. "I see, so that means you're still single…" and then after a moment, once again he seemed to realize who he was talking to and blanched a little before hurriedly opening the menu. "So…uh…what were you planning to order?"

The conversation continued on from there, and for a while Lucy thought the embarrassment was over. They discussed the town and the bathhouses and then the specific bathhouse they were staying at. That's when things went down the drain again.

"By the way, why is it not okay to take a bathe with a girl?" Natsu suddenly popped out, and Lucy's drink sprayed over both boys in shock.

The sudden shower had both flinching back in surprise, but it didn't seem to distract Loki too much.

"Why is it not okay to do what now?"

Natsu sent Lucy a nasty look while he shook his pink hair to get the drops of soda out of it, before answering his friend's question. "To take a bath with a girl … cause -"

And that was where Lucy cut him off with a shrill, "NATSU!"

He flinched. "What?! What is it now?!"

The damage had already been done though, and Loki was slowly beginning to smirk. He addressed Lucy this time, once again going into his confident persona and not having any trouble talking to her. "Let me guess. This idiot here summoned himself while you were taking a bath. You justifiably got upset with him and tossed him out on his ass. Am I right?"

Lucy's blush was apparently answer enough because her fellow guildmate began to laugh. All she could do was glare at him as he snickered insensibly for a good while.

"Wow Lucy, I am so sorry…" He managed to get out in between guffaws. "You got stuck with a spirit who has absolutely zero social cues."

By this point Natsu was growling and glaring just as hotly at Loki as Lucy. "Yo! What the hell man?!"

"Sorry. But…seriously? I mean, from what I've heard-" at this he shot Lucy a sideways glance, "-about Lucy's new spirit, you've been stuck in the celestial realm for a long time. But you can't have forgotten how human society works… I mean _really_. Humans generally don't bath – or get naked – with the opposite sex unless they're lovers."

Natsu's eyes grew wide and Lucy could practically see the lightbulb pop on above his head. "Ohhhh. Right. Shit. I'd forgotten how weird humans are about nakedness. Especially with Gray going around in his skivvies all the time." He turned to Lucy then with an apologetic grin on his face. "Crap Luce, my bad."

She just blinked at him. "Um…it's okay as long as it doesn't happen again. But I thought that spirits had the same idea of modesty as humans?"

"I think that might just be him…" Loki interjected with a thumb jabbed in Natsu's direction.

Said dragon shrugged unapologetically. "Bein' naked is no problem for me. In my true form I'm a giant flying lizard…and I don't wear clothes."

It was Lucy's turn to have a lightbulb moment. "Oh! That makes sense. Actually, I didn't know you had a full dragon form. I've only seen your halfway transformation I guess, huh?"

"Yep." There was a pause, and then he added conversationally, "I've always been curious actually…why does nakedness always have something to do with sex for humans? Why can't it just be, you know, being naked?"

Lucy sighed and flushed, while Loki started chuckling again. He took pity on her and explained. "Well, it's for lots of reasons. But, the biggest one I suppose, is that it's arousing to see someone of the opposite sex naked. And that can be a problem, especially for guys."

Natsu seemed shocked, and then he wrinkled his nose. "Huh. So human guys can't control when they get horny? Damn, that's gotta suck. If ya can't help but pop a boner at the sight of a girl's boobs, no wonder nudity isn't allowed."

"Well, not exactly. A guy could try thinking unpleasant thoughts in an attempt to not get aroused, but…yeah, if he's aroused, the boner will happen."

Suddenly the dragon burst into laughter and sputtered, "No wonder Gray was so freaked out! Poor guy couldn't help it." And he continued to laugh unrepentantly at Gray's unfortunate penile situation from earlier.

Lucy just sighed and ignored him in favor of trying to figure out just what it was that she had heard. To her, it had sounded like Natsu was saying that he could control when he was attracted to someone and/or when he got physically aroused. That explained why he had never shown any sort of interest in any woman – no matter how skimpily she might be dressed. If he could just turn off his sex drive, then he really was basically asexual as she had hypothesized…which to her was actually pretty funny. In a way it also made her feel better about all those times he had snuck into her bed or popped in on her when she was dressing – since it meant that nothing perverted had ever gone through his mind.

That also just so happened to be the end of the conversation, at least as far as Natsu was concerned, because the food came, and he was completely occupied with stuffing his mouth.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Over the course of the next week, Natsu continued to vanish for hours at a time, and Lucy continued to grow more and more concerned. It was easy for her to see that Natsu was upset, which was something she'd never seen before, and it worried her enormously – especially since he refused to talk to her about it._

 _Every instinct was screaming that something was very, very wrong…and something told her that it had to do with Loki. Even though she had no proof, somehow she just knew._

 _Finally, after a long week of fruitless worrying, one day Natsu announced loudly that he was going out. "I'm uh…going to take a walk. Again. By myself. Don't uh…follow me or anything."_

 _"What?" she asked, momentarily stunned and confused by the strange statement._

 _Happy sat on the nearby couch and watched with equally confused eyes. "Lucy…Natsu's being weird."_


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:**

Woohoo! Here it is! The new chapter. And why is it being posted today you may be asking yourself? Because we reached eight reviews! I was so excited I almost posted it yesterday, but exercised a little restraint. And since it's being posted today, I'll try to get the next chapter out no later than next Friday - so that it's still about a week between chapters. Unless of course we get another eight reviews, then I'll post on Wednesday or Tuesday and post another chapter that weekend to get back on schedule...which would of course mean two chapters in one week. :D So if you want an extra chapter be sure to let me know ;)

Anyways, on with the announcements.

As I've mentioned before, if there are any questions or comments I feel need addressing from the last chapter (or that were submitted during the last week), I'll do that here. So, I would like to address a comment left by an anonymous guest who made a truly excellent point about chapter 4. They commented that it is gross to downplay sexual harassment just because the victim is a guy and the assaulter a pretty girl. And I completely agree. Though I did portray things in a humorous light, it is absolutely true that the twin girls were sexually assaulting both men and women in the hot springs. Of course, when it came to Gray and Natsu, it was still technically sexual assault as well. However, I didn't necessarily see it as such, because they didn't see it that way and were not upset by it - since it was a battle situation. That was the only reason I felt it was appropriate for Happy to joke about it (though I will confess I actually almost cut it out when I was writing the scene, for the previously mentioned reasons). So, if anyone else was concerned about these issues, I hope this cleared it up and helped to put your mind at rest. If not, please feel free to let me know. I'm totally open minded and happy to discuss these sorts of things.

Also, I would just like to specially thank Gust Fire for letting me know that Natsu and Lucy's names weren't tagged for the story! Thank you so much, I somehow totally missed that! I fixed it as soon as I saw your review. :D

And of course a huge thanks to everyone else who reviewed as well! You guys are all absolutely, positively fantastic. :D Big hugs and cheers to WisdomDragon27, Elphaba818, and Wolves silver wind for their repeat reviews! And equally big hugs and cheers to erzagf, Gust Fire, and the three guests who reviewed! Cake for everyone!

Of course there will be a preview so stay tuned for that at the end. :D

Now! On with the show!

* * *

Lucy and the gang hung around an extra day so they could take advantage of the spa and bathhouse – which was more the girls' idea than the boys' of course. After that though, they headed back to the guild to report that their mission was a success.

For the next week everything went normally, Juvia continued to stalk Gray, Happy ate his fish, and Mira and Cana pestered Lucy. Near the end of the week Lucy and Natsu went on a one-day mission and returned with enough money to pay her rent, which was due the following Monday. Everything seemed just fine and dandy.

Of course, that was always when weird things happened.

Midway through the next week, Loki returned from his cat hunting trip – which really shouldn't have taken that long – and the sight of him nearly made Lucy drag him off to a hospital. He was pale, looked like he was going to pass out, and bruises dotted his face while a limp was visibly bothering him. There was no way in hell that he should be this beaten up just from going after a simple neighborhood cat thief of all things!

She hung back and watched as he reported in, but to her surprise her pink-haired partner made a beeline for the other mage and started up what looked like a pretty heated discussion right as he turned to leave. Eventually Loki just pushed past him and stalked – or rather, limped angrily – out the doors.

They didn't see him again…at least not in the guildhall. Strangely though, Natsu kept seeking him out over the next few days. At first, Lucy wasn't entirely aware of it, but it didn't take her long to notice how he was going off on his own more than he'd ever done before. Considering he was always following her around, the frequent absences were easy to note.

Over the course of the next week, Natsu continued to vanish for hours at a time, and Lucy continued to grow more and more concerned. It was easy for her to see that Natsu was upset, which was something she'd never seen before, and it worried her enormously – especially since he refused to talk to her about it. Eventually she resorted to following him. Normally she would never do such an intrusive thing, but given the worry that seemed to radiate from him constantly, she felt it was necessary – especially when he refused to give her a straight answer about it. The first few times she tried, he lost her easily, which made her even more suspicious and concerned.

Every instinct was screaming that something was very, very wrong…and something told her that it had to do with Loki. Even though she had no proof, somehow she just knew.

Finally, after a long week of fruitless worrying, one day Natsu announced loudly that he was going out. "I'm uh…going to take a _walk_. Again. By myself. Don't uh… _follow_ me or anything."

"What?" she asked, momentarily stunned and confused by the strange statement.

Happy sat on the nearby couch and watched with equally confused eyes. "Lucy…Natsu's being weird."

For all the times he had disappeared over the past week, he had either not told her he was leaving, or else he'd tried to give some lame excuse about going to get some food. And while she had followed him before and even confronted him about it, he had never mentioned it after the fact. Sure, he had been angry at the time, but afterwards he'd simply gotten better about sneaking off without her realizing it…. so this new behavior temporarily took her aback.

"I'm uh…" Natsu coughed in a weirdly fake way. "Going OUT. By MYSELF. Don't FOLLOW me…so uh, yeah…BYE!"

She quickly caught on to what he was saying and would have laughed if she wasn't so worried. He was telling her to follow him, probably because he had finally run out of options or needed someone's help but couldn't ask for it directly.

"Oh! Right! Of _course_ I WON'T follow you! Have a good time!" she said exaggeratedly, knowing he wasn't very good with subtle cues.

He looked a little concerned, but still turned and headed out the door… _slowly_. Again, she would have laughed if it weren't so serious.

After he left, she swiftly followed.

"Lucy! He asked us not to follow him!" Happy whispered as he followed her.

"The way he said it makes me think that he actually does really want us to follow him, Happy. I think he's got a problem he doesn't know how to fix and this is his way of asking for help." she explained as she snuck around the corner and then ducked out of her apartment building to follow Natsu across the street.

Happy hurried to keep up with her. "Really? Then why didn't he just come out and say so?"

"I'm not sure…but I think this might have to do with Loki, and maybe he asked Natsu not to say anything to me."

"Oooh."

And so, the two followed Natsu all through town, hanging back behind corners and walls like before. However, this time Natsu walked at a normal, easily followable pace and went out of his way to stall whenever she lost sight of him. He led her to a small run-down apartment building and jumped into an open second-floor window. They lingered back for a moment, and then once Lucy felt the coast was probably clear, Happy flew them up to peer into the window.

Sure enough, there was Loki…looking way worse than even the last time she'd seen him. His bruises hadn't healed even a little, in fact they almost looked like they were growing, and he had lost even more weight. She hadn't even the slightest clue what could possibly be causing such a dramatic and fast decline in him, but it shot panic through her.

"Oh no…" Happy whimpered as he took in the sight. "What do we do Lucy?"

"I…I don't know. Let's go home for now and wait for Natsu. Then we can see if we can get any more information out of him."

"O-okay…"

They rushed back to their apartment and waited for Natsu to return. As soon as he hopped through the window, she pounced.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I uh…don't know what you mean…" he answered slowly as he plopped down to sit cross-legged on the bed.

"Damn it all…" Lucy hissed under her breath, impressed that Natsu was still keeping his promise to Loki, but also incredibly frustrated. She was going to have to attempt it a different way, obviously.

"Okay…" she started slowly, eyeing him. "Then, let's say that if SOMEONE was really hurt … and seemed to be losing his strength and not recovering at all from some really mild injuries … what might be the cause of that?"

His eyes brightened as he caught on. "Well if this someone had been uh … trapped for years … and had his magic slowly sucked away … he'd start to die eventually, right?"

Lucy wasn't quite sure what to make of that answer, and she shared a confused look with Happy.

"Trapped?"

"Unable to go home." Natsu clarified.

That almost sounded like her own situation, and she immediately felt a pang of sympathy go through her. But what could possibly cause him to lose his magic to the point where it would start to suck his own life force?

"Could a curse suck out someone's magic over the years?"

"Well…yes, but…no."

She decoded that to mean, 'yes a curse could cause that, but no, it wasn't responsible for Loki's predicament.' Happy just looked lost by now and really worried. She turned to him and soothingly said, "It'll be okay, Happy. We'll figure it out and then we'll fix it."

He nodded, but the little frown between his big dark eyes didn't go away.

"So…is it some kind of illness?"

By this point Natsu looked like he was ready to pop. His lips were clamped shut, his cheeks puffed out, and he had veins bulging from the effort it was taking him to not just spout out what he knew. Given the amazingly short amount of patience he possessed, Lucy was frankly shocked he hadn't already given in.

"No! It's because he's…uh…" He coughed. "I mean, if SOMEONE TOTALLY RANDOM was TRAPPED outside of their HOME then…they might lose their magic."

He shouted a couple of the words, and Lucy flinched. "You don't have to shout!"

"Sorry Luce…but hurry up already and figure it out!"

"Fine, fine! Give me a minute!" She sat back to consider what he'd told her. "So…he's losing his magic because he's trapped outside of his home?" Natsu nodded vigorously. "How in the world…? Why would being unable to go home suck the magic out of you?" She leaned forwards and braced her head between her hands, willing herself to think. "Unless…your home was the source of your magic…"

Finally something clicked, and suddenly everything fell into place. The fact that he avoided celestial mages. His declining strength over the years. Being locked out of his home. His and Natsu's friendship. If she was right…

Grabbing for her keys, she summoned Grandpa Crux. "Open! Gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!"

As always, he popped into being with a drab feathery poof, and then sat floating midair and blinked sleepily at her. "Hello my dear, what can I do for … HOOO?!"

He hooted loudly and fell back as he saw Natsu, who grinned at him. "Hey there old man, what's up?"

She had been avoiding calling on him when Natsu was around, since he had so adamantly suggested she throw away the dragon's key. But now was as good a time as ever to let him know that Natsu was going to be hanging around for the foreseeable future.

"Y-you…ahem. I see." Crux straightened his spectacles and gave Lucy a somewhat disappointed look.

She decided to ignore that, not wanting to get into it in front of Natsu, and instead focused on her inquiry. "What do you know about Loki from my guild?"

He blinked, seemingly taken aback, and then cleared his throat. "I'll…do a search on him. One moment please."

Closing his eyes, he started to snore owlishly, with every exhale being a soft hoot, and ribbons of golden magic streamed out of him, carrying information that only he could decode. After a long moment he hooted a snort loudly – loud enough to wake Happy who had started to doze as well, and he started with a yelp.

Yellow eyes opened and the old spirit cleared his raspy throat once again. "Yes, Loki from Fairy Tail. There is no information about him past 2 years 3 months and 19 days ago. He has no last name, and there are no records of his past or family."

She pursed her lips at his stuffy answer. "Grandpa Crux…he's a celestial spirit isn't he?"

The old owl choked and Natsu yelped in a happy sort of way that told her she was right.

"As you know I do not give out information on other celestial spirits, Miss Lucy."

"His life could be in danger! You've got to tell me what happened!"

His beak clicked several times in aggravation and his feathers puffed out a little as he crossed his arms firmly across his thin chest. They had a short stare-off, but finally he deflated just a bit and his eyes dimmed. "There is nothing you can do my dear…even if you knew the sad story. It would do no good. Loki…will die."

She jerked back, her heart constricting, and Natsu also flinched. "No! There's got to be a way! Please tell me!"

Crux sighed and ruffled his feathers before smoothing down his mustache and pushing up his spectacles again. "Very well. I suppose it wouldn't do any harm. A little more than 2 years ago, Leo the lion spirit of the zodiac was banished from the celestial world. To a celestial spirit, this is a death sentence, because eventually our magic would run out and we would simply cease to exist. The fact that Leo has survived for two whole years is frankly astonishing."

"Wh-what…. why was he banished?"

"He broke one of our cardinal laws…. he caused the death of his mage."

"That was an accident and not his fault! Everyone knows that!" Natsu burst out finally, his fists clenched tightly in anger.

"Well yes, but it was still partly his doing, and that's enough to get him banished. You see, his previous summoner was not a pleasant woman. Her name was Karen Lilica…"

"Karen Lilica! I recognize that name! She was a famous celestial mage from Blue Pegasus."

"Indeed. However, she was incredibly cruel to her spirits, as some celestial mages are. She merely saw them as tools and used them as such. If one failed, then she would punish them, by forcing them to stay out of their gate with a pair of magical handcuffs. It was like starving and dehydrating someone."

He paused when Lucy gasped loudly, horrified at what he was telling her. At her incredulous look, he nodded and sighed sadly before continuing. "She particularly seemed to be fond of exploiting and punishing the celestial spirit Ares, who has a very timid personality and often failed at the more horrific tasks put to her – such as being forced to ' _companion_ ' men."

He had to pause again for a moment as Lucy absorbed that bit of absolutely disturbing information. After a short moment, when she felt like she wasn't going to heave from pure disgust, she nodded for him to keep going.

"Eventually, in a fit of righteous anger, Leo took Ares's place and refused to return, while still using Karen's magic to remain out instead of his own. Karen did not possess the ability to force a gate closure, and so her magic slowly began to deplete. Leo planned to return as soon as Karen promised to treat Ares better, but she refused. When her money ran out, she grew desperate, and despite her guild and Leo warning her not to take a job, she did so anyways and was killed."

The concise end to the story nearly blindsided Lucy, and she was left gaping at Crux in shock and dismay. "But…Natsu's right! It wasn't Leo's fault that she died! If she really went out on a mission when she was out of magic…that's just dumb! It's her pride that got her killed!"

"Yes…that may be true…but our laws are very strict and he is still considered her killer. As I said, there is no way to reverse or fix this. He will die…and soon."

"Not if I have anything to do with it!" Lucy said while springing to her feet. Happy, Natsu, and Grandpa Crux all looked at her with wide eyes.

Somehow, she knew that Grandpa Crux was right. Now that she was tuned into it, she could faintly feel Leo's signature within the magic of this world, and she could also feel it fading fast. He was dying this very minute.

"Where's Karen's resting place?" she asked, and Crux quickly gave her the information.

She rushed out the door, closing Crux's gate with a shouted thanks, and Natsu and Happy ran behind her. "Quick! Happy we've got to get there as soon as possible!"

"Aye Sir!"

His wings snapped open and he scooped her up while Natsu flickered out of existence. Her blue feline companion had heard the location too, so he immediately headed there at his ultimate speed, magic pouring out of his tiny body and lighting him up with a bright blue iridescent glow. Lucy closed her eyes tight to keep bugs and debris out – which at this velocity could be very bad.

They very quickly arrived at a beautiful location. A little outside of a small picturesque town, several large rivers converged right where an incredibly deep crater or sinkhole speared into the ground …which meant that the sheer walls were all hidden by glorious waterfalls. They circled it for a moment before noticing a small area of blank wall and a zigzagging staircase that led down to a single jutting spike of earth that poked out about halfway down the cliff face. At the very tip rested a grave or monument – which to Lucy seemed incredibly rude in a way. In her opinion, this woman did not deserve such a magnificent resting place … not after how she had treated her spirits and caused the death sentence of one.

They landed in a near skid, and Natsu poofed into existence behind her again. Happy collapsed to the ground, completely spent and panting with exertion, but his effort was not in vain. They had made it in time.

Sure enough, just as Lucy suspected, Leo/Loki had chosen to die at the grave of his previous master, and he had already begun to glow ominously. Normally Lucy would have considered such a warm golden light to be quite comforting or beautiful … but in this case it terrified her, because it was his very soul escaping him.

"Lucy! What are you doing here?!"

Scowling, he glared at Natsu as if he was accusing him of betraying his trust.

In reply, Natsu shrugged and shook his head. "Don't look at me, she figured it out on her own. Although if she hadn't hurried up and done it quick enough, I would have told her."

Loki sighed exasperatedly, closed his eyes for a moment while shaking his head, and then turned back to her. "There's no point in coming here…it's already too late for me."

At this point, his face smoothed out and he glanced at the grave that he was kneeling next to, then let his eyes slide closed in an almost peaceful expression. Ignoring his pessimistic comment, she rushed over and fell to her knees beside him. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him with a good amount of force, causing his eyes to pop back open, and he gave her a wide-eyed shocked look.

"You don't deserve to die Loki! Come on! Fight it! Surely you can return to the celestial world if you try hard enough!"

He just smiled sadly at her. "But I do deserve it Lucy. It's a punishment for my crime."

"It wasn't your fault that Karen died!"

At that he jerked back, his eyes flying wide again. "You know about that?!" His eyes once again traveled to Natsu, who shook his head.

"Still not me man."

Lucy got Loki's attention again by giving him another shake. "Like I said, it wasn't your fault! You were just trying to protect your friend!"

"It was still because of me that she died."

"No! She knew better than to go on a mission! A celestial mage as experienced as her would _know_ that she couldn't summon another spirit."

"She was desperate. I had been out so long that she had no more money. She couldn't pay rent, couldn't buy food..."

"Well then she should have listened to you! Instead, she decided to throw her own life away because she wouldn't give up her own pride! And that's just because she saw you guys as her possessions!" With a disgusted click of her tongue Lucy added, "I can't stand celestial wizards like that…treating their spirits like pets or belongings. It's sick."

Loki stared at her as if he'd never really seen her before. And then he turned his head away and ducked down, but Lucy could see a few tears sneaking off his chin from under his fringe of orangey hair.

"It's still too late anyways…"

"No! It's not!" Lucy insisted. As if to prove her wrong, he started shining even more as his spirit faded, and she grabbed him close. "I won't let a friend die! Not when I can do something about it!"

She could hear his gasp in her ear as she hugged him to her, and his hands hovered out at her sides awkwardly.

Accessing her power, she dug deep and then cried out to the heavens, "Close! Gate of the Lion!"

She had no key to do so, but she had to try. No…she couldn't just try, she had to actually _do_ it. No matter what!

Holding him, she could feel the tether between him and his gate with her power, and she tracked it back all the way to where the doors were lodged open. With everything she possessed, she leaned on it with her celestial magic. Normally, a wide-open gate like this would allow a spirit to come and go as he or she wished, but in this case Lucy could feel a powerful barrier at the gate, preventing him from returning. If she could just force the gate closed, barrier or not, Loki _would_ return to the spirit realm. It was an automatic thing that happened to celestial spirits when their gates were closed.

Her magic dropped alarmingly fast as she leaned heavily on the gate, shoving with all her might. Despite that, she kept at it, intent on making that damn gate close, no matter what. It was GOING to happen, even if she had to Lucy Kick it into oblivion with her magic!

After a moment, she abruptly felt Loki's hands land urgently on her waist, and he grabbed her tight as he yelled in her ear over the roar of her powers, "Lucy stop! You'll kill yourself!"

"No she won't." A new voice chimed in, and she felt something akin to a furnace door opening as heat washed over her. "Use as much as you need Luce."

She gasped, shocked by the sensation of Natsu's magic saturating the air and the magic bond between them. Sure, he had lent her a little magic before, and seemed to let a little magic constantly flow into her, but he had never done _**this**_. It felt like he'd just opened up a thick IV between them and his magic flowed freely to her. Hesitantly she reached out and grasped that power, feeling unimaginable gratitude as she sucked it into herself and used it to replace the magic she had spent.

"I said use as much as you need, stop being so timid." Natsu chided, sounding both exasperated and amused, and she decided to take his word for it.

Drawing heavily on his magic, she used it to batter the gate like a tidal force and yelled once again, "CLOSE! GATE OF THE LION!"

Slowly she could feel the doors creaking, but it was taking massive amounts of power to even budge them. When her eyes opened, the golden light that surrounded them was blinding and the force of the power coming off her was causing their hair to whip around in an imaginary wind.

"Why are you going so far?! Just let me go Lucy, it'll be a relief!" Loki tried again, but she just grabbed him harder.

"Not happening! I meant it when I said I wouldn't let my friend die right in front of my eyes!"

Barely audibly, he murmured, "… friend…" and then a small chuckle escaped him.

The softness in his tone informed her that he was a mixture of happy and sad at the same time, and she imagined he was probably remembering his mage. With a small thud, his forehead met her shoulder.

She pushed that much harder at his seeming acceptance of her help.

Then suddenly everything stopped. Literally. The power coming off her was sucked away, the light blinked out, and the wind halted. But that wasn't all. Absolutely _**everything**_ stopped. The waterfalls surrounding them went utterly silent and still, as if frozen. Time itself stopped as the heavens opened up and burst into radiant glory.

Loki's head popped up off her shoulder as he gasped, "No way…"

Natsu even sounded astonished as he whispered. "I knew you were special Luce, but this is something else…"

From above them, an enormous spirit formed. He was massive in both stature and the power he radiated, and Lucy had absolutely no doubt that this was the Celestial King. She stood in order to address him while Loki stayed on his knees, seeming frozen in shock.

"Celestial mage Lucy Heartfilia…" the giant intoned. "Leo the Lion has been sentenced to banishment from the spiritual realm due to a grievous crime he committed. You may not force his gate closed."

Most people would probably cower under the sheer power and authority of that unwavering deep voice…but Lucy wasn't most people. She was ready to have a full-on debate with the Spirit King himself if that's what it took to free her friend. In fact, after being so horrified and furious at the unjustness of Loki's sentence, she was eager to give the massive spirit a piece of her mind.

And so, her voice held conviction, strength, and power as she stood up to the behemoth towering over them. "He hasn't done anything wrong! His mage was the one entirely at fault! He was just trying to show her that he and Ares weren't possessions for her to torture!"

Loki sucked in his breath as she commenced arguing with his king, and out of the corner of her eye she vaguely saw him looking at her with bugged out eyes and a slack jaw. The sound of Natsu's chuckles told her that he was mostly finding the whole thing amusing, though there was a note of pride and awe in the laughter too.

The Celestial King crossed his arms and scowled down at her. "Whatever the reason, he caused harm to come to his mage. A spirit may never inflict harm upon his or her wizard master. To do so is the ultimate sin."

"But _he_ didn't inflict harm on her! _She_ inflicted it on _herself_ by running off and doing something stupid. She knew perfectly well what would happen if she took a job when she had no magical power!"

"Being out of magical power caused her to die, yes. And it was Leo's fault that she was out of magical power." the Celestial King boomed back at her, and she growled in aggravation at his stubbornness. She would win this argument, even if it took all night!

"But nothing bad would have happened to her if she hadn't taken the job! Which was her own choice! I'm sure Leo told her not to go!"

"I did…" he muttered under his breath from where he was still kneeling on the ground. "I didn't actually think she would do it…"

"Still. She died. Which wouldn't have happened if Leo had not stayed in this world when she tried to close his gate."

"Yeah, but then she would have just kept on hurting Ares! Leo was just trying to make a point and stop her from hurting his friend! She never would have gotten hurt if she'd just been a decent human being and agreed to stop being cruel!"

The Celestial King glanced at Loki, and a look of sadness passed over the giant's face. "It pains me to see you like this old friend.…however, the fact remains that Leo broke one of our most sacred laws. Whether or not he intended to hurt her, and even though it was her own choices that ultimately caused her demise, he still played a part in it."

"And he's been punished enough! He's spent two whole years suffering for it!"

"The punishment for such a crime is permanent exile."

"You say he's your friend!? How can you kill your _'friend'_ for doing the right thing!? Everything about this is wrong!" Lucy screamed, crying in impotent fury and feeling her heart ache. Unbidden, her power rose up again inside of her, reaching a critical point as she yelled, "Friends care about each other! They protect and love each other! And it shouldn't be any different between a mage and her spirits! They should be a family! It's not Leo's fault that he ended up with a cruel, sad excuse for a mage! She never should have been allowed to summon him or Ares in the first place!"

As she cried out in protest, a brilliant golden glow began to surround her once again, and her spirits started to appear behind her, backing her up and supporting her claim as she summoned them all unconsciously to aid her. Aquarius, Taurus, Cancer, Horologium, Grandpa Crux, and Natsu of course all circled her inside the ring of gold that lit the ground around her feet.

For a long moment there was silence as the great king stared at her and she stared back, letting the tears flow down her face ignored. Eventually the glow ebbed and she felt an amazing drain on her magic, which didn't make sense to her since she wasn't aware she had summoned all her spirits. They all disappeared as her magic faded, but the point had been made.

"Hm…perhaps you are right." the Celestial King finally said to everyone's astonishment. "In this case, I believe that the law itself may be in error."

There was an echoing silence as the four stared up at the one in absolute shock.

"Very well. Leo the Lion. You are hereby released from your sentence of exile. But in exchange, you will be contracted to this mage who has saved your life, for the rest of her days. Do you agree to these conditions?"

Loki turned his eyes to her, and a big grin split his lips. "I do."

She returned the smile, and her tears changed to ones of happiness. She turned to the giant and smiled up at him. "Thanks 'Stashface. You're an alright guy."

Natsu had to quickly hide his laughter at her nickname for his boss, while Loki just gaped at her in astonishment as he disappeared in a burst of light. She felt his gate close behind him and sighed in relief.

The giant quirked a brow at her and then a broad sparkling grin appeared underneath his enormous, impressive mustache – which had served as the inspiration for her nickname. One of his hands came up to smooth said hair, and then he disappeared in a burst of light as well. Abruptly all the sound returned, and the massive boom of the waterfall restarting made Lucy flinch violently.

Since Happy was still too exhausted to carry her back, Natsu did the honors and carried them both back home. They were only too happy to return after all that excitement.

…

A few days later, Leo paid her a visit, once he had fully recovered his powers in the celestial world.

She was at the guild, parked on a bench and reading, when a sudden glow of sunshiny light had her flinching back and nearly dropping her reading material. When Leo appeared out of the light though, she happily smiled and stood to greet him.

However, her smile slipped somewhat in shock as she took in his new appearance. Everything about him had changed as far as she could tell.

Fuzzy leonine ears perched in his orange hair, which had grown longer. He wore an impeccably tailored black suit, instead of his normal almost punkish clothes, and his earrings had of course disappeared since he no longer had human ears. Thankfully the evidence of his punishment had also disappeared, leaving him looking much healthier than she ever remembered him, and he filled out his new suit extremely well. The only thing that stayed the same was his pair of blue-tinted sunglasses.

Over all, he gave off an air of power, grace, and elegance that she had never associated with Loki, and she could definitely see the Leo in him now. Before, the fact that he was Leo the Lion had taken her quite by surprise and she'd had trouble believing it. But now, there was no doubt who he was.

"Well…you look different."

"I hope you like it. Or, if you would prefer…" In the blink of an eye he switched back to the Loki she was familiar with.

"Um, I'm fine with either."

Giving her a slightly smug grin, he switched back and ran a hand through his hair, which was a luxurious length compared to his much shorter, somewhat spiky punk hair. "Very well. This is the form I usually pick when I'm in the spirit world, so I'll stick with this."

She nodded, and then raised her eyebrows as he took a few steps closer and leaned in. This was so unlike him that she wasn't sure how to respond. She was so used to him being absolutely standoffish with her that she didn't know what to do with this new Loki.

"Really, I came to thank you." His hazel green/gold eyes stared intently into her own and she shivered just a little. He really was quite attractive.

"Um…you're welcome."

He grinned and then edged in another inch or two, until he was almost nose to nose with her. She gulped and tried to decide if she was okay with this.

Then he abruptly leaned back and took her hand to give it a gentle kiss. "As your spirit, I will do absolutely everything I can to serve you."

She relaxed a little and scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Thanks, but I don't need you to ' _serve_ ' me. You're just my friend, like you've always been. But I do look forward to working with you."

His eyes widened, and then a softer sort of grin made its way across his face. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For still calling me your friend."

She blinked. "Of course. All my spirits are my friends. Heck, they're family."

That cause his grin to grow even softer, and then it suddenly shifted into a more mischievous expression. "Well I hope you don't think of me like a brother. That would make things awkward."

"Awkward?"

Really, she should have known better than to bite such an obvious lure.

Teeth flashed in something that turned sexual, and then he was once again leaning in really close. "Because I plan to make you mine in very non-brotherly ways."

Lucy's jaw just about dropped to the floor as she was exposed to the full force of Loki's – no, _Leo's_ – charm for the first time. No wonder he got all the girls. With anyone else, the cheese factor of that line would have been through the roof, but somehow he managed to actually pull it off. Still, she wasn't about to have another horny spirit on her tail. That position was already filled by Taurus and she had no more available.

"Um…"

Before she could come up with some sort of comeback to that, Natsu did the job for her…with a fist. Suddenly Loki was out of her face, because his was meeting the ground.

"Oi! Lay off!"

That cued an impromptu fistfight between her two spirits, and she could already tell that they were going to be the biggest pain in the butt. With an exasperated sigh and a large drop of sweat, she backed away and gave them plenty of room to vent their testosterone … or whatever it was they were venting. Just as likely, they were simply expressing their level of stupidity.

Eventually she just left with Happy and headed home, leaving them to their own devices.

…

As for Natsu, he was thoroughly enjoying the scuffle with his old friend. It had been ages since he'd seen Leo and even longer since they'd fought. The lion spirit was still obviously recovering though, because his attacks were pretty pathetic compared to the ones Natsu remembered, or maybe he was just reigning himself back. Natsu didn't have a chance to find out, because as soon as he accidently set fire to a wooden table, Erza was putting a stop to the fight. That was probably due to the fact that – along with the table – he had accidentally set fire to her cake as well.

If there was one thing that would set off Erza, it was anyone messing with her cake.

So, nursing bruised skulls, both men slunk off quietly to sit at the bar. Mirajane sympathetically handed out ice packs, which they promptly put to good use on their new goose eggs.

As soon as they weren't fighting, Leo started in on questions.

"Soooo…you and Lucy huh?"

Natsu cut him a confused sideways glance. "What d'you mean?"

"It's obvious you're into her."

If anything, the dragon just looked more confused. "Uh…still dunno what you mean."

"You launched yourself at me when I came on to her. You're always hot on her heels everywhere she goes. Hell, you summoned yourself into her bath for fuck's sake! Don't even try to tell me you aren't interested."

"I didn't know she was in the bath!" he protested, and then lowered his voice when he saw Mirajane perk up. He knew she had been giving Lucy trouble lately, and he didn't want to give the demonic barmaid any more fuel.

Despite popular opinion, he did actually know when to keep his mouth shut… most of the time at least. Generally he said shit simply because he didn't give a fuck – not because he didn't know better. Occasionally his foot-in-mouth syndrome occurred on accident rather than out of his devil-may-care attitude, but he tried to keep that to a minimum. He liked to know when he was saying something potentially irritating or embarrassing.

In a much more hushed voice, he continued their conversation. "Look, I didn't know she was in the bath, and I had totally forgotten about the nakedness thing. So that has nothing to do with whatever you're getting at."

Loki smirked at him. "Did you really forget though?"

" _Yes!_ I really did forget!"

That got a mildly surprised look out of his friend. "Huh. No kidding. How exactly does that happen?"

With a growl, Natsu exasperatedly ran his fingers through pink hair and then winced as he aggravated the bruise that still throbbed on his skull. "I already told you! I'm a fucking dragon! It's not like clothes are our top priority."

"I guess. But how do you explain the other stuff?"

"What, like protecting her against you? That's pretty obvious, Numbskull."

"I'm one of her spirits too now, don't forget. You don't have to protect her against me." Loki reminded him.

"Yeah I do. I'm not gonna have my mage pestered by a mangy cat in heat."

That got him a mildly pissed look. "Oh yeah? And it's better for her to be pestered by a flea-bitten dragon in heat?"

Natsu almost felt fire come out of his ears and growled, showing off pointy canines. "Dragons don't have fleas thank you very much. Felines like you have that covered."

They snarled at each other for a while before they both blew it off at almost the exact same moment.

"Whatever. Point is, you've got the hots for her, same as me."

Natsu rolled his eyes. "You've got the hots for everyone."

Leo just shrugged in response, and then continued, "Never mind all that. I just wanna know how into her you are. Have you kissed her yet?"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Dude. You know I'm not interested in all that romantic shit."

"Kissing doesn't have to be romantic exactly…" the other celestial spirit said with a smutty grin.

"Ew. Gross. Not everyone is a perv like you, Leo. I'm not interested in any of it. Leave me out of the love fest."

Leo grinned. "So I've got a chance with her then! I guess I shouldn't be surprised … considering you've never actually bothered to date _anyone_."

"Like I said, not interested. I'll leave all that crap up to you."

"Just as well. If you ever did go on a date, they'd never want anything to do with you after you burned down their house."

A lick of flame was blown in Leo's direction and he had to put out his singed hair with a scowl.

"Asshole. If I ever actually wanted a girlfriend, I'd get one." Natsu said with a cocky grin, and then something sparked in his memory that felt like he should remember it. Wasn't there some sort of conversation about being boyfriend material? It had to do with Lucy too…

Before he could remember it, Leo distracted him.

" _Suuure_. Right. Because they would love to be with a big fire breathing lizard that could cook them with a kiss."

"Oh come on. It's not like I'd go around kissing anyone until I knew good and well they could take it. Unless you wanna clean up a pile of ashes for me?"

"You can clean up your own messes." Leo countered. "If you go burning anyone to a pile of ashes, it's gonna be your broom that gets put into the evidence bin, not mine."

"That's not gonna happen. Like I said, I ain't kissing anyone until I'm sure they're a dragon claimant and I've claimed them."

"Can't you just control your fire and not share it?"

Natsu shrugged. "Probably, if I wasn't too interested. But what's the point in that? If I'm so disinterested that I don't have trouble controlling my fire, then they aren't for me anyways. It'd just be boring." He grimaced and seemed to think about it a moment before adding, "For me to even want to kiss someone, they'd have to be pretty special, because right now all that shit just seems really dumb to me."

"To each his own I guess." After a short pause, Leo asked, "And what about Lucy? Do you think she might be the one?"

"How the hell should I know? But either way, you ain't gonna bone her."

"And why not?!"

Natsu grinned in an evil way. "Because you're a creepy pervert that dates about 30 women at once and breaks all their hearts more times than they can count. I don't care how great in the sack you are, it ain't worth it."

Leo scowled, but didn't have a response to that. It was sort of true, although he did try not to break anyone's heart. All his girls knew about each other and accepted it. In fact, he'd been in plenty of threesomes and foursomes with many of them. They were one big happy family…a pride you could say. And he'd love to see Lucy among them. Just imagining it was enough to make his blood burn.

As if Natsu could read his thoughts, he smacked him upside the head. "Get that pervy look off your face dude, it's gross."

"Damnit Natsu!" Leo cussed as he put out his hair once again.

He wasn't entirely distracted though, because a new thought had occurred to him. He was going to have to add into his contract that he'd be popping into town under his own power relatively frequently so he could continue to court his ladies. It would be a very slight drain on Lucy's magic, but negligible as long as he used his own magic…and maybe he could convince her to go out on a date with him too while he was at it…

* * *

 **Preview ~**

 _"So what's the mission again?"_

 _Lucy heaved a sigh. "You forgot already?"_

 _"I wasn't paying close attention when you described it the first time actually."_

 _"Fine." She sighed again, rolling her eyes and unlocking the door as they reached it. The conversation paused as Lucy busied herself with heaving her luggage onto the luggage rack, and then flopped back onto the bed with the paper for their mission clutched in her hands. Reading from it, she said, "Wanted: a mage to apprehend the fiend that took over the island of Florian Bark."_

 _"Sounds interesting."_

 _"Yeah, that's what you said last time."_


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

Hello, Hello! Another shiny bright fresh chapter! Yay!

In terms of answering questions, last chapter Elphaba818 made a very good point and noted that several of Lucy's spirits are missing in the scene where she summoned them all. As for Virgo and Sagittarius, they aren't her spirits yet - and as for Plue and Lyra, they aren't actually in this story. Plue will be replaced by a different canine, so never fear. :D

Also, as for reviews, ironically we just reached 8 reviews today, so since it was too late to do an early posting, I'll just make sure to post next chapter a day or two early. If we get another 8 reviews next chapter, I'll even post as early as Wednesday, and it'll just be an extra chapter. :D

As always, a huge, sparkly, shiny thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are all absolutely amazing and wonderful. Thank you Elphaba8181, WisdomDragon27, Wolves silver wind, and GoPackGo27 for your repeat reviews! And thank you 19vanelkc, RavenAthos, Daisy Shields, moeruhoshi for your first reviews!

And of course stay tuned for the sneak peek of next chapter. ;)

* * *

A couple of weeks passed by normally for Natsu and Lucy, with several missions for food money and Lucy kicking Natsu out of her apartment.

And then, one day they got two new additions to the guild. To Lucy's excitement, one of the new members was none other than her odd friend Juvia – who tried, but failed to keep her eyes off Gray as she was introduced to them. It was only a matter of time before the bluenette exposed her true feelings for Gray, and Lucy couldn't wait to see his reaction. Juvia struck her as a really strange mixture of shy and bold – one moment she was a blushing, stuttering, flustered girl in love, and the next she was a crazy, obsessed, stalker. It was going to be beyond amusing to see how Gray dealt with her.

Above all though, Lucy hoped he might end up feeling the same way for her friend, because she would hate to see the water mage's hope go down the drain.

The other addition to their guild was someone less than pleasant, and many people complained to the master about it. Letting Gajeel Redfox into the guild was a decision that nobody could really figure out. The sulky iron dragon slayer didn't even seem to be all that happy about joining up. He just stayed by himself in the corner, brooding. If Levy hadn't agreed to it – with the stipulation that he wouldn't do anything bad of course – Lucy might not have accepted it. Even so, she wasn't entirely happy about it.

Mostly she just stayed away from him and focused on reining Natsu back as well, because for the first few days he continually tried to pick a fight. After that she just let him go, with the condition that he not kill or seriously maim Gajeel.

The day after that, it seemed the dragon and dragon slayer had come to an understanding, probably because they had beaten the snot out of each other and came to respect the other's power. From then on they almost had a relationship like Natsu and Gray – as friendly rivals in a way, although a little less friendly.

As for Juvia, Lucy made it a point to visit with her from time to time over the next week and check to make sure she was settling in. Every time Lucy found her, the stalker was hanging out behind a pillar or around a corner from Gray and was watching him as always.

It took longer than Lucy would have thought for the ice mage to notice.

One day – about a week after Juvia and Gajeel had joined up with Fairy Tail – Lucy plopped herself down at a table with Gray, and Happy quickly joined them. Natsu was picking a fight with Gajeel today instead of Gray, so she was free to join her teammate for lunch as a nice change of pace.

"What's that chick's deal?"

"Hm? Who?" Lucy murmured around the mouthful of chicken salad that she was munching on. Unlike Natsu, she covered her mouth though as she spoke.

"That blue-haired girl…Juvia. She keeps showing up everywhere I go."

Happy piped up. "She looooooves you."

"For once, Happy's right." Lucy agreed. "Juvia obviously likes you."

Gray cringed and grimaced. "Shit…"

"What's wrong? I mean, she's super pretty."

"Yeah…but I think she might be stalking me…"

Lucy refrained from confirming that right then and there. Two weeks later, he had figured it out by himself anyways.

This time, he was the one to join her table and slammed his mug of beer down so hard it made her jump, and her pen scratched across the page.

"Gray! Watch it!"

Her words were swallowed up by his hissed growl of, "Yeah, she's definitely stalking me! And now she's starting to actually talk to me too!"

"Who? Juvia?"

"Who else?! She's completely nuts! I mean look!" he shoved a lunchbox under her nose and she pulled back to see that the rice had been colored to look like his face with a heart around it.

"Nuts for you maybe…" Happy teased and Lucy hid a snort behind her napkin.

Gray showed his discomfort with a twisted facial expression. "Stop that!"

"Come on Gray…honestly, what's the harm? I mean, aside from her being a little socially awkward-"

"Oh, so now being a stalker is just, ' _a little socially awkward_?'"

Ignoring his comment, Lucy just plowed on. "-aside from that, she's lovely. What could possibly be bad about having her like you? I mean she's pretty, smart, and sweet. You just have to get to know her."

He grimaced again, but Lucy caught the tiny hint of a flush that dusted his cheeks slightly, and it gave her some hope. He was obviously uncomfortable with Juvia and the way she expressed her feelings, but maybe he wasn't entirely opposed to them.

On the way home, she mentioned it to Natsu.

"He actually blushed?" Natsu guffawed.

"I don't know…but I think so."

"He _looooves_ her," Happy sing-songed, grinning a shit-eating grin. The little cat knew just how annoying that phrase was, and never hesitated to use it…repeatedly.

"I hope so. It would be nice to see Juvia happy."

Natsu just laughed harder at his rival's predicament.

Lucy just grinned as she watched him, and then slowly an evil thought began to percolate in her mind. It was probably Cana and Mira's bad influence on her, but she just couldn't resist voicing the sudden idea that sprouted in her brain. "What if we…I dunno, set them up or something?"

An evil grin spread across Natsu's lips, probably at the thought of causing his rival discomfort. "I'm fired up now Luce! Let's do it!"

"Maybe we can get them to go fishing together! There's nothing more romantic than fishing!" Happy suggested.

"Um…I think we're gonna need something stronger this time Happy."

"Stronger than fishing?"

"Yeah." Natsu agreed with her, and then his grin widened and grew positively devilish. "How about we get Erza in on it? And maybe Mirajane?"

Lucy felt her own lips tug upwards. "Natsu Dragneel…you have a wicked mind."

His expression shifted ever so slightly and something about the look he sent her had the muscles in her stomach fluttering for some strange, unknown reason. Whatever it was disappeared before she could identify it though.

"Let's do it then." he said with a more normal smile, and with that, Gray's fate was set.

The next day they didn't waste any time getting Erza and Mirajane in on their plan to set up Gray with Juvia. Both of them lit up like Christmas trees and they were on board almost before Natsu and Lucy had finished explaining what they had in mind.

It wasn't long at all before Erza was announcing to Gray that she'd signed them up for a mission. Luckily, the board contained a mission just perfect for this prank. It was located on an island for couples, which meant he would have to pretend to be "Erza's" boyfriend while they were on the mission so that they could remain inconspicuous. He only very reluctantly agreed …. and that was when he believed he was doing it with _Erza_.

She sent him home to pack and get ready, since they would be leaving tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, Lucy quickly found Juvia and held her back from following Gray home. She looked majorly pissed, and Lucy instantly knew that Juvia had overheard them and was probably upset about Erza pretending to be his girlfriend.

She was muttering "…love rival, love rival, love rival…" under her breath and glaring at Erza.

"Juvia…" she whispered urgently, "We're gonna set you up with Gray!"

"What? With my darling Gray?" she asked, spinning around and doing a complete 180 in personality. Instead of the crazy, slightly homicidal look before, she now had hearts in her eyes and a vivid blush painted her face a pretty shade of pink.

"Yeah. Erza told him he's going to take a mission with her, but at the last second she's going to back out and you'll take her place. So go get packed."

She looked both freaked out and delighted as she hurried out of the guildhall. Meanwhile, Mirajane was informing Master Makarov about what they were doing, and getting him on board with the plan. It would be his job to say that he needed Erza for something when they were getting ready to leave tomorrow morning, _and_ he would appoint Juvia as her replacement so Gray wouldn't be able to complain. As expected, he was absolutely thrilled.

That night, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy couldn't help but laugh and talk about all the trouble Gray and Juvia might get up to on this romantic getaway.

"Oh please, there's no way that Gray would get naked with her on the first day." Lucy sputtered as she finished draining the pasta for their dinner.

"Um…Luce…"

Realization hit her hard. "Oh. Right. Yeah, this is Gray we're talking about – so, yes, he totally would. However!" she plopped the noodles back into their pot. "He wouldn't get naked WITH her. As in, sexually."

"You don't think so? He is a guy you know." This coming from the asexual Natsu was hysterical, but she contained her mirth somehow. However, she couldn't quite hold back her guffaw when he added, "And he's human so he can't control his dick."

After she got over her amusement, she countered with, "Maybe. But he's obviously freaked out by her particular brand of crazy."

"Heh heh... True. And lately she's been getting a lot bolder. Did you see the way she shoved her cleavage at him yesterday?"

"Ha! That was too funny. And his face? Priceless. It was like he didn't know whether to run or …"

"Take her up on the offer?"

"Yeah! Exactly." Lucy laughed as she poured the sauce over their pasta.

"She practically plastered herself next to him on that bench when he said she could sit there. You couldn't fit a penny in between them. And that shirt was…"

"One of mine actually. I lent it to her." Lucy interjected with a smug grin.

Natsu busted out laughing. "No wonder it looked familiar! It was just the boobs spilling out of it that was different. Yours do a lot more spilling."

"Hey! That shirt fits perfectly fine!"

"Yeah. But it definitely shows off a bunch of your chest."

"That's cause Lucy's a pervert!" Happy interjected, and Lucy scowled at him as she brought over the spaghetti and meatballs to the table.

"Watch it!" she snapped as she set down the dishes and joined them at the table.

After a moment filled with the sound of Natsu's pasta slurping, she sighed and conceded, "Okay, so it _is_ one of my lower cut shirts, I'll admit that. But I only wear it when I'm on a date, or want to feel sexy, or need to impress someone."

"I've seen you wear it a couple of times." Natsu said around a meatball.

"Both times were when we were on a mission where I needed to distract a guy…so yeah. It comes in handy. And don't talk with your mouth full!"

Happy laughed. "It's always funny to see guys get stupid around Lucy!"

"Yeah, it's too much when they start trippin' over their own tongues. Human males are so damn predictable." Natsu seconded.

"Pretty much." She grinned back and started on her own plate of spaghetti.

…

The next morning, their morning routine was rushed as they hurried to get ready, so they could get to the guild hall early enough to catch Gray's reaction when he found out about his predicament. It was so rushed in fact, that they were both fixing their hair as they walked out the door – Lucy pulling hers into a side ponytail and Natsu spiking up his bangs with heated fingers. For Lucy, breakfast was a granola bar that she munched on as they walked, and she promised to get Natsu something to eat at the guildhall, since he already scarfed his granola bar down and still complained of hunger. Luckily, thanks to their hustling, they made it with plenty of time to get settled, and Natsu tucked into a big breakfast plate at the bar while Lucy slurped up a strawberry smoothie next to him.

Just as planned, right before Erza and Gray set off on their mission, Master Makarov called them over. "Erza, I have an S-class mission that needs immediate attention."

Erza, being the great actress that she was, put maybe just a little too much gusto into her line. "I can't! I've already agreed to do this mission and backing out would be exceedingly bad form."

Lucy almost facepalmed at the exaggerated intensity she put into the words. Gray was going to catch on even sooner if she kept that up.

Erza was good when it came to putting up a bluff, but anyone who knew her as well as Gray or Lucy would quickly pick up on the excessive ferocity that always seemed to happen when she took on a role. Lucy could still remember how she'd behaved when they worked together as waitresses at a maid café…almost every one of her poor patrons had been cowed into buying the whole menu. Although, weirdly enough more than one group had actually seemed to like it.

Master was unfazed by Erza's emphatic refusal and countered with, "Oh, don't worry. I've already picked out your replacement."

Gray scowled, though thankfully still seemed oblivious to the prank being pulled. "So who am I gonna go with then?"

Makarov gestured, and out stepped Juvia, blushing wildly and shifting from foot to foot like she just couldn't contain her excitement.

Meanwhile, Gray looked like he might make a run for it at any second. He was definitely freaked for sure. "Wait just a moment! Why HER?! We don't exactly get along you know…"

Lucy had never heard that particular whiny note in Gray's voice, and she hid a smirk behind her hand.

Juvia visibly shrunk just a little, and the hopeful smile on her face faded a tiny bit – but then she bounced right back, and Lucy silently cheered her on for not giving up.

Makarov did a really good impression of a disappointed master who had absolutely no ulterior motives. "Juvia's only been a member of Fairy Tail for a few weeks Gray. She doesn't have a team and has only been on one or two solo jobs so far. I was hoping you could help her get used to how things work in our guild. Going on a job with you will give her good experience."

With an all-suffering sigh, Gray drooped and finally grumbled something resembling, "…fine whatever. Come on, let's go." He turned and gloomily grabbed up his luggage, not even looking back to see if she would follow.

Follow she did, at top speed and with an excited high-pitched sound.

"Coming, my love!" she chirped and hustled to join him as he walked out the doors. Everyone could hear his exasperated groan at her confession.

It wasn't the first time she had boldly declared that she loved him … it was becoming quite commonplace in fact. Though it had obviously shocked him the first time – near the middle of this past week – the novelty of it had worn off after the last couple of days and now he seemed to just kind of ignore her. Hopefully this little trip they had set them up on would get things rolling in the right direction.

Once the ice and water mages were safely out of the guildhall, everyone shared grins and high fives. Happy flew around in a couple of celebratory circles and then landed on her shoulder.

Since they were there anyways, after gloating for a bit over their brilliant plan, they headed over to the job board for a mission of their own. It was that time of the month again and Lucy needed her rent money.

"Erza, do you have a job?" Lucy called over her shoulder.

"I just signed up for a solo mission."

"Oh, alright. Then I guess it's a solo mission for me too."

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" Natsu sulked as he ambled over to join her at the board as well.

"No, of course not! But you _are_ one of my celestial spirits, so when I sign up for the two of us, it's technically a solo job."

He huffed.

After signing up for a promising looking mission – ironically also located on an island – Natsu mentioned casually on the way out, "Hey, do you think I could join Fairy Tail as a member too? Leo, I mean Loki, is a member."

Lucy stalled. "I never thought about it…but I don't see any problem with that if you want to. Most of my spirits can't use their own magic to come and go as they wish, but since you can…yeah, it should work just fine. Do you _want_ to be a member of a human guild?"

"Sure!" He grinned brightly at her, "It sounds like fun!"

"I think it would be fun too!" Happy offered, and they both grinned at the blue cat.

"Okay then. We'll talk to the master when we get back and see if we can't get you in."

"Cool!" Natsu crowed at the same time Happy said, "Aye Sir!"

And with that, they set off. Soon, Lucy found herself alone with Happy on the train, thinking that – at moments like this, when transportation was involved – it really was a solo mission. So, the trip to the port was basically boring, especially since Happy decided to take a nap, and as usual she spent the time working on her novel.

She repeated the process again on the boat to the island, though Happy was much more active since he'd put out his fishing line and was chattering away about any fish he saw in the ocean around them. She halfway listened, but mostly focused on her writing since their conversation was actually just a fish monologue on Happy's part.

Natsu only made an appearance once they were on solid ground again. "Yo! What's up Luce?"

"Nothing much. Just signing us in at the hotel." she responded, ignoring the way the receptionist jumped with a little scream at Natsu's sudden appearance.

"Wh-where did you come from!?"

Lucy just grinned at the young woman. "This is Natsu, my partner. We'll be sharing a room, so two beds as I requested, please."

The receptionist seemed to regain some semblance of professionalism, though her eyes darted to Natsu every few seconds. "Oh, um, r-right. Of course, Ma'am. That'll be room 225 on the second floor. Here is your key."

She grabbed the key, thanked the poor young lady, and made her way up the stairs at a fast trot with Natsu hot on her heels.

"So what's the mission again?"

Lucy heaved a sigh. "You forgot already?"

"I wasn't paying close attention when you described it the first time actually."

"Fine." She sighed again, rolling her eyes and unlocking the door as they reached it. The conversation paused as Lucy busied herself with heaving her luggage onto the luggage rack, and then flopped back onto the bed with the paper for their mission clutched in her hands. Reading from it, she said, "Wanted: a mage to apprehend the fiend that took over the island of Florian Bark."

"Sounds interesting."

"Yeah, that's what you said last time."

He shrugged unapologetically. Happy had already distracted him with the room service pamphlet.

"Hey! What's all this food?"

"It's called room service, and no we are not getting it. They charge way too much for food. If you're hungry, we can stop into one of the little restaurants nearby.

Both dragon and cat pouted but didn't complain too much.

"First thing first. Let's find the person who issued this job request." Lucy ordered, and her two companions followed her as she led the way out onto the street.

Following the directions, she found an innocuous little house and quickly knocked on the door. When a kindly elderly man opened door, she smiled and presented the job request. "I'm looking for Mr. Barsky. Am I in the right place?"

"Ah yes! You must be the wizards from Fairy Tail! Come in!"

They were ushered into a lavish living room, where tea was served promptly.

"Thank you so much for coming." the gentleman started, sipping on his tea gingerly.

"Of course. That's what we do. Now, about this job. Is there anything you can tell us about it? The request said you needed us to take out someone who had … hijacked the island?"

"Ah, yes indeed. Gekko Moriah. She has been a thorn in my side for a while now." Mister Barsky sighed, suddenly looking glum. "It was many months ago when she first showed up. I didn't think anything of it at the time. Soon though, people started disappearing. They would be reported kidnapped, and then the next day they would return out of the wild blue. Nothing seemed amiss with them at first, but soon it became apparent that they were…different."

"Different how?" Lucy prompted when he stalled.

"Well, it's difficult to describe. According to the reports, they seemed perfectly normal, but then a few odd things would happen. They would go missing for hours, sometimes days at a time. They always seemed absentminded, and the reports even said that sometimes they would forget to eat or sleep. It was as if they were possessed by something. And then…several weeks ago, all of them showed up at my doorstep, demanding that I step down."

"Step down?"

The older man blinked and then chuckled. "Oh goodness. I'm so sorry, it seems my mind has slipped after all this distressing business. You see, I was the mayor of this island. It was more of an elected kingship in a way, but we always titled the position 'mayor' and had a whole cabinet of elected advisors - one for every district - to give an equal share of power to the people. However, that changed after Gekko forced me out of my office and took over."

"Oh. I see. And I'm guessing she's not a very good mayor, huh?"

Barsky grimaced. "No. She is not. And she has decided that being a mere mayor is not enough for her. She's taken complete control and fancies herself a queen instead. She thinks this island is hers, as is everyone on it. If anyone disobeys, she performs her black magic and steals their soul, taking their will and controlling them. More than half of the people on this island are merely puppets, held as hostages to keep the rest of us in line."

"That's…awful."

Lucy cringed hard, getting creeped out beyond belief at what was being described to her. Why did they have to get the creepy island?

Natsu on the other hand didn't seem fazed in the least. That broad grin was still sitting on his face without a care in the world. "Sounds like fun! I'm all fired up now! Come on Luce, let's go roast this guy!"

"Hold up Natsu, we don't even know where to find her." she hastened to say and caught ahold of the tail of his scarf as he started to run off. By this point, she was familiar with his tendency to go off halfcocked and run head first into a fight, so she was expecting the way he dashed off the couch. Her grip on his scarf nearly strangled him, which caused Happy to smother a snicker with his blue paw.

"She's got you on a leash, Natsu." he teased, and the dragon sent him a baleful look as he slammed back down into his previous seat.

Ignoring her two teammates, she turned back to the old man, who was watching the exchange quizzically over his cup of tea.

"Mr. Barsky, would you happen to know where we might find this person?"

"Ah yes. She would be in my previous office, which she has turned into a monstrous visage. Here is the address. And be careful, she will undoubtedly use the islanders to fight you. Please remember that they are innocent and don't hurt them. I beg you."

"Of course not. We will do our best to cause as little damage to your citizens as possible."

He sighed and nodded. "I understand there may be casualties, but I just beseech that you try to keep them to a minimum."

Lucy nodded solemnly, and they headed out – her fist still firmly holding onto Natsu's scarf. He was biting at the bit to run ahead of her, but she wasn't having any of it this time. Trying to run after him was always murder because he seemed to forget that he was frickin' fast and she couldn't keep up.

Once outside, she gave him a stern tug and he winced as it tightened the scaly cloth around his neck again. As usual, she wondered just what this scarf was made of. It was incredibly strange feeling, like snakeskin or something, and had absolutely no give to it – which explained why he was so uncomfortable at the moment.

"We talked about this remember? No running off without me! I can't keep up with you, and you know it!"

"But Lucy!" he whined, his voice a little squeaky from the compression around his throat. "Happy can catch you up to me no problem!"

"Yeah, but half the time he's flying along with you, and I get left behind!"

"Sorry Luuushy." Happy murmured, giving her his big kitten eyes that she couldn't refuse.

"It's okay…but both of you have to promise not to do it again!" she gave a yank on the scarf and Natsu whined, his hand coming up to clench at the offending material.

"Okay, okay, I promise!" he gasped.

Finally she released his scarf and huffed, turning to walk at a reasonable pace in the direction of their assignment.

"Alright. Let's go get a look at what we're up against and do some recon. Then tomorrow we'll come up with a plan of attack. Okay? That means no busting in and exposing us Natsu."

"Right." he grunted, rubbing his neck and scowling at her. "By the way, did you _have_ to strangle me to make a point?"

"Yes. Sometimes it takes a lot of force to get something through your thick skull." she countered, letting him come up to walk beside her and then emphasized her statement by lightly rapping her knuckles on the side of his pink head.

She misjudged the location though and accidentally rapped her knuckles against the little horn that barely peeked out of his hair. Half the time she forgot it was even there, but when her bones came into contact with it she winced. Those little dudes were kinda sharp.

He caught her wince and grinned just a little, sharp fang poking his lip.

She ignored it and focused on just getting to their destination.

When they got there, she saw what Mr. Barsky had meant by, " _a monstrous visage_." She could sort of see what the original building had looked like, probably a stately mansion, but now it looked like a horror house. Gargoyles hung from the roofline, thorny rosebushes covered every available surface – emphasis on the thorny part – and the stone walls had been turned a dark ugly gray. If there was the opposite of a white wash for stone, they had done it. It had been Gothicized basically, and not in a good way. In fact, it was downright atrocious.

Lucy curled her nose and crept through the disastrous landscaping to the nearest window. Her clothes suffered a bit on the overabundance of brambles, but she ignored it to the best of her ability. Happy and Natsu followed her lead and crept up behind her. They all looked through the window. There was nothing to see really. It seemed like an unused room, with all the furniture being covering in white sheets and everything.

They were hidden pretty well behind a large bush, so it seemed like a good spot for a bit of breaking and entering. Although, with Natsu here, it wouldn't be breaking … so much as melting.

"Alright Natsu, were going in. _**Quietly**_. So do your thing on the glass."

He nodded and pressed a hand to the panel of glass near the lock. The glass soon turned red hot and melted under his palm, and he reached in to unlock the window. As always, he heaved a sigh and glared balefully.

"This is so boring Lucy, can't we just bust it down?"

"No. Absolutely not. We're going for sneaky here, Natsu."

He just sighed again and rolled his eyes as he followed her through the window.

They snuck down the hall after checking to make sure the coast was clear. Happy came in handy since he was so small and could dart ahead and then come back to let them know they were safe. They dashed from room to room like that without meeting anyone for a while, but eventually Happy ran back with his eyes wide and frantically whispered, "Someone's coming!"

Cussing under her breath, Lucy spied a large closet nearby in the room they were currently in and shoved Natsu and Happy inside before piling in herself. It was a bit of a squeeze – not for Happy, he could just curl up in the spaces between their legs – but for Natsu and Lucy it was tight. She had to be pressed right up against him and found her nose buried in his scarf, which unsurprisingly smelled smoky.

He squirmed a little, but when they heard the door click open he froze alongside her. Gingerly she twisted very, very carefully so she could peer out of the door, and Natsu made a few very quiet squeaky noises as she rubbed against him in some weird ways. She ignored the sounds in favor of getting a peek at their visitor…hoping it wasn't the boss right off the bat.

When a young maid passed by their hiding spot, Lucy relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. Then, after a moment, a thought occurred to her, and she acted on it before she could lose her nerve. She sprung out of the closet and grabbed the slight girl, making sure to cover her mouth. Naturally she screamed, but Lucy urgently whispered into her ear, "We're here to help! Shhhh!"

The maid quieted, sending her a confused look over her shoulder.

As soon as she seemed amenable, Lucy released her and asked, "What's going on here? Do you know? We've been hired by Mr. Barsky to help."

"Mr. Barsky?" The young girl's eyes filled with tears. "He sent you?"

Lucy nodded and then hugged her as she began to cry.

Once her tears had quieted, she told them everything she knew about it, which turned out to be a pretty good amount. It really gave them a good idea of what they were working with.

"I just know it's going to happen to me any day now…" she heaved a shuddering breath, obviously absolutely terrified. After what she had described, Lucy could understand why she was so frightened.

"Do you know why she hasn't done it to you yet? You said almost all of the staff here have been taken already."

She shook her head. "I don't know! But maybe it's because I always follow her orders? I think she doesn't consider me a threat."

"Well don't worry, she'll be burned to a crisp by tomorrow." Natsu comforted with an evil grin. The girl stared at his fist cloaked in fire and squeaked something incomprehensible.

"Stop it Natsu, you're scaring the poor girl."

He grimaced and put out the fire.

"Just hang in there. We'll be back tomorrow, and it'll all be sorted out then okay?"

The maid nodded, sniffled, and stood. "I'd better get back to work then. I don't want her to notice my absence."

Lucy nodded and watched as the maid walked out of the room.

"Come on Natsu, I think we know enough to go off of for now. Let's head back to the hotel and make a plan for tomorrow."

He heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes, but thankfully he didn't argue or put up a fight. Thankfully, the room they were currently in had a window, so they just slipped out easily and dropped down from the second story – Happy helping Lucy of course. From there they snuck back off the grounds and then returned to their hotel to talk about what they'd learned.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _He grappled with her, grabbing her other wrist as it swung at him again. Somehow - with a twisting motion that wasn't really physically possible and nearly pulled her shoulder out of place - she wrenched free of his grip and skipped back a step. All her muscles, tendons, and bones protested the unnatural movements they were being forced to perform._

 _"How fun…making two friends fight never ceases to amuse."_

 _Natsu sent the witch an evil look as flames licked his lips._

 _She distracted him though by essentially throwing Lucy at him. Her body hit him and they both fell to the floor from the strange attack._


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**

So here it is! The next chapter! Huzzah!

Why is it begin posted on Wednesday? Because we've had a ton of reviews since the last chapter! So many in fact, that I'll be posting the next chapter this weekend, so you get two in one week. ;D

Speaking of reviews, you guys really hit it out of the park this time. I'm ecstatic about how many new readers discovered this story over the weekend!

As always, huge, huge, huge thanks to everyone who reviewed! Thank you Wolves silver wind, WisdomDragon27, Daisy Shields, mueruhoshi, pixiecatost, and Elphaba818 for your repeat reviews! I always, always look forward to hearing what you think of the newest chapter. :D And big thanks and welcome hugs to all my new reviewers, bacchus in vines, Galp, mumof4, and TheOGFTfanatic!

Also, as you can see we have plenty of reviews for a sneak peek, so stay tuned till the end for that.

On with the show!

* * *

Back in their room that night…

"Do you think she was telling the truth?" Lucy asked her teammates.

"Yeah…?" Natsu said with a question mark, as if it was obvious. Even Happy nodded.

"That's what I was afraid of. So what do we do now guys? How do we beat some crazy witch who can turn people into puppets by stealing their shadow? What if she steals one of our shadows?"

"Well, if she steals my shadow, you can just close my gate. I bet that'll break whatever dark magic she's using." Natsu pointed out, surprising Lucy with the sound reasoning.

She sent him a surprised look, wondering if she had underestimated him. "That's … a really good idea Natsu."

"Hey! Ya don't have to sound so shocked!" he protested, sounding mildly offended.

"Uh, right. Sorry."

"And what about me?!" Happy asked with a worried tone.

"Well…I dunno about you."

"How about you stay airborne as much as possible? That should make it harder to pin down your shadow." Lucy pointed out, and Happy relaxed some.

"Good idea Lucy!"

"Now the only problem is if I get my shadow taken…" she said, chewing on her lip in concern.

"Even if she sicks you on me, I think I can handle you." Natsu responded with a grin. "And it doesn't sound like she takes control of their minds right away, so you can still close my gate if she gets me."

"Can't you just send yourself back?"

"Well yeah, but what if she can somehow prevent me from it? By controlling my body or some shit like that?"

"We won't know until we fight her I guess…"

"Yep! So that means we're gonna just charge in there through the front door right?" her fire breathing friend asked with undue excitement in his tone.

"Yes Natsu, we'll just bust down the front door I suppose. I can't really think of any better way to go about it in this particular situation."

He whooped, and she shook her head at him in fond exasperation. He was such a weirdo.

After that, the planning came to an end, and with a yawn she excused herself to take a bath. Happy joined her as usual, and through the door Natsu asked, "So why does Happy get to take a bath with you?"

"Because he's a cat, Dummy."

"A talking cat…"

"But still a cat."

"I'm right here you know!" said cat protested, putting his paws on his hips and glowering up at Lucy.

"Sorry Happy." She smiled down at her friend in apology. "Did you want to explain it to that numbskull out there?"

"It's cause I'm a cat!" he repeated, and Lucy snorted, but then froze at his next words. "And she liiiikes you…so no way is she gonna take a bath with you. It'd be waaaay too embarrassing."

"Happy! Stop being ridiculous!" she snapped, and sat down in the hot water to sulk. "If you're going to be that way, then you're gonna have to leave."

He turned his big eyes to her and made them water a little. "But Luuucy…I wanna take a bath too!"

She tried to resist, but just couldn't under the full force of his baby face. "Okay fine…but stop talking nonsense."

He grinned and cheered, then did a cannon ball into the tub. Since he was so small it only caused a minimum amount of spillage, but she still sighed at the mess she would have to clean up.

"I swear, that dumb dragon is a bad influence on you."

"I can hear you!" came from the other side of the door.

"Stop that, you creep!"

"Can't really help it you know!"

Happy snickered.

…

The next day, Lucy woke to find that unsurprisingly Natsu had transferred from his bed to hers sometime during the night. As always, the first indication was the amount of heat she woke to.

With a groan she sat up and looked down to her left to see Natsu cuddled up to her. His arm had been draped over her, so when she sat up it fell from her waist to her lap. Instead of waking up like a normal person who was jostled, he simply curled his arm around her and snuggled close to her hip.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she growled and knocked him off her. He fell off her and flopped over flat onto his back. "Natsu! Wake up!"

"Wha…?" he snorted, and bleary black eyes opened to peer up at her through his messy pink bangs.

"Why are you in my bed instead of yours?" she growled down at him, and her tone prompted him to wake up a bit more.

"Uh…cause yours is more comfortable?"

"What the…?! No it's not! I even let you have first choice last night!" Lucy screeched in shocked aggravation.

"Yeah it is." he stubbornly insisted and then yawned and stretched.

"They are exactly the same! Why is mine more comfortable than yours?!"

"Because you're in it. Duh."

At that, Lucy paused and just stared at him in shock. "What's that supposed to mean?! Why does me being in it make it more comfortable?!"

"I dunno. Just does." he said with a shrug and sat up before stretching again. "Maybe it's cause you're so soft and warm?"

She felt her eye tick in a disturbing manner. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Maybe you're so soft because you've been eating all that fried food lately Lucy…" Happy teased from his pillow, and the celestial mage turned to fix him with an incensed glare.

"What is it with you two? Why all the jokes?! Do I _look_ like a fat, perverted, stupid, wierdo to you two?!"

There was a pause, and then Happy burst into laughter upon hearing every repetitive joke they made about her put into one sentence.

Natsu also started to laugh, and then sputtered, "Wow, that sure is a lot of words for first thing in the morning."

"Maybe for you. Now move your butt out of my bed! It's time to get going anyways!" And finally she resorted to a Lucy Kick.

After getting ready, they set off for the mayor's mansion and the impersonator that currently occupied it.

As they had discussed, Natsu busted through the front door with as much subtlety as an ox on steroids. "OI!" he bellowed. "WE'RE HERE TO FIGHT YA!"

Lucy almost facepalmed and couldn't quite keep the small snicker from popping out at his ridiculous behavior. He was so predictable.

Natsu charged on in, and Lucy followed with Happy perched on her shoulder. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the door abruptly fixed itself and slammed shut behind them. They all whirled around to stare at it. Lucy's gut clenched in foreboding.

A voice suddenly sounded from everywhere at once. "Welcome to Thriller Mansion…we've been expecting you."

They whipped back around and started looking about wildly for the source of the disembodied voice.

"Where are ya?! Come out and fight!" Natsu bellowed, his fists bursting into flames.

"No…I don't think so. If you wish to fight, you must come to me. I'm much too comfortable to move." the voice intoned, sounding smug.

"What a frickin' coward." Natsu scoffed, sounding disgusted.

"Have fun, Kiddoes. Try not to die. I would be so disappointed to not meet you in person."

That was the last thing the voice said before it cut off. Lucy shivered, entirely unhappy with the way this was going.

"What do you suppose she meant by, ' _try not to die_?'" Happy squeaked, clutching onto her neck.

Lucy groaned. "She's probably got all sorts of booby traps and stuff."

Natsu scoffed again. And then he puffed up and said, "Bring it on! Let's get goin' Luce!"

She nodded and then snagged his scarf when he started forwards much too quickly. This was no time to charge in blindly.

" _Slowly_ Natsu. We don't know what sort of traps she's got for us, and I'd rather not trigger them all at once."

He pouted but slowed down, and they proceeded forwards at a more reasonable pace. From the foyer, they went up a rather impressive staircase staring them in the face. In an almost cartoon fashion, midway up the overly tall staircase it collapsed and turned into a slide. Meanwhile, the floor at the base of the staircase opened up to expose a pit of spikes. Lucy shrieked, Happy yowled, and Natsu cussed as they started sliding back down towards the pointy death waiting for them at the bottom.

However, this particular trap wasn't overly dangerous for them, because Happy quickly lifted Lucy up into the air, and Natsu spread his wings and did the same. They both flew up to the top of the staircase and parked on the landing.

Even though they weren't truly in danger, it had gotten Lucy's adrenaline going, and she was breathing heavily and dealing with a pounding heart by the time they landed.

"Well, she doesn't waste any time does she?" she wheezed, trying to stop the slight tremors in her muscles from the adrenaline still rushing through her.

Natsu snorted. His wings snapped closed and disappeared. It had only been a partial transformation, so the only thing that had changed about him was the wings.

Early on in their partnership, Lucy had quickly discovered that Natsu had almost complete control over his transformations and could alter just one aspect of his form at a time if he wanted. And while he always gave off some magic when he transformed, the amount was in direct correlation to how much of his body he changed and also his mental state at the time. So normally, he just sent out a moderate blast of heat, but didn't often give off the massive amounts of magic power that he had the first time she saw his transformation…. which was good. She didn't really want to have to duck and cover every time he transformed within fifty feet of her.

A lip curled to expose longer-than-normal fangs, and he sneered. "That was dumb."

"For anyone else it probably would have killed them." Lucy pointed out, and Happy nodded with a worried frown.

Natsu simply shrugged, looking utterly unconcerned and just kind of ticked off.

After a moment, they turned to eyeball the wide hallway leading off the landing. It was pretty obvious what the next challenge was going to be, because the path forward was lined with suites of armor.

"What do you wanna bet those are going to come to life and attack us?" Lucy asked dryly.

With a feral grin, Natsu chuckled. "Then let's attack first."

He inhaled a huge breath and then let it out with a roar that had Lucy flinching back and pushing her fingers into her ears. She also flinched due to the heat that exploded out of him as fire burst down the hall with his roar.

When the fire disappeared, it was to expose a scene of destruction. The nearest suites of armor had partially melted, and even the furthest ones along the line were glowing red hot. A lot of them had been blown apart. It was a good thing the walls were stone, otherwise the house would have burned down around them. As it was though, all carpeting and paintings and anything else burnable was now alight and turning to ash, and the walls were scorched black.

"Well…that's one way to do it I guess. But let's try not to destroy the mayor's building okay?"

Natsu didn't seem to hear her and instead just marched into the hall with an eager grin. With a sigh, Lucy followed, only to come to a screeching halt as one of the melty armors lunged off its pedestal and tried to attack. It lurched as the softened metal made it lose a foot, but it kept hopping forwards on the remaining one. She shrieked and dodged the wild swing of a glowing sword, which was thankfully pretty easy to do since the thing had such bad balance.

Glancing around, she saw all the suits popping to life, despite their current state of disrepair. Some were scattered bits that bounced forwards and posed little threat, aside from the fact that they were glowing red-hot. Others were still mostly intact and did seem rather dangerous…even more so with the heat radiating off them.

"Uh…I think you may have just made it worse!" Lucy squealed, and Happy quickly whisked her into the air to avoid another red-hot sword.

Natsu didn't seem too concerned and just bashed through the metal army with a big grin on his face. The heat didn't bother him in the slightest, and he proceeded to tear them apart. Lucy watched him work with wide eyes. She'd seen him fight before of course, plenty of times, but somehow she was still a little surprised to see him dealing with red-hot metal without any problems. Apparently he was impervious to any kind of heat…which was good to know.

In short order, the hall was littered with bits of metal – some were whole pieces of armor he had simply disassembled, and others were twisted shreds of shrapnel from his ripping the armor apart. He had partially transformed again, this time just changing his hands to make it easy for him to rip through the metal. The red scales on his dragon hands were impervious to sharp metal, and his impressively long claws did a shocking amount of damage – sliding into the armor like it was made of paper.

"Wow…he really is scary sometimes…" Happy whispered from behind her, and she nodded in agreement.

Once the pieces of armor were cooled off and no longer dangerous, Happy set her down again amongst the rubble.

"Well…okay then."

Natsu turned and grinned at her, flashing his fangs, and she shivered a little, glancing down at his razor-sharp black claws. Sometimes she forgot her goofy partner was a dragon at all, but moments like this reminded her sharply of the fact. It didn't scare her, but it did send chills up and down her spine. Mostly she was just impressed though.

With a thick swallow, she walked forwards and through the door at the end of the hall with Natsu hot on her heels.

For the next long while, they got themselves utterly lost among a mess of dark halls. It seemed like this part was simply a maze, though there were also scares and some traps hiding here and there. Any paintings they came across proved dangerous in various ways – one shot poison darts at them, another exploded, and a random landscape actually launched itself off the wall at them. They all ended up as ash though of course. Naturally there were also a few trapdoors that they nearly fell into, and a few incidents were triggered by either pressure plates in the floor or trip wires. And all while they had to deal with the maze itself. After ending up at what seemed like the hundredth shadowy dead end, Lucy groaned and slumped against the wall.

"For crying out loud! Where's the exit!?"

Natsu was even more aggravated than her. In fact, he was downright pissed, and with a yell he burst into flame.

Lucy flinched back and stared at him with a frown. "What are you-"

The answer came before she could finish her question. Natsu charged forwards and busted down the wall. She stared at him wide eyed…. and then realized she'd better follow quickly because he was on a roll – charging forwards at top speed and busting down every wall in his path.

"Happy!"

"Aye Sir!" he chirped, and once again she was airborne, whizzing down the halls and catching up to her dragon partner.

They stayed out of his way as he created a path of destruction through which they forged on. With this new tactic, they found the way out relatively quickly. By the end of it, even the great fire dragon was a little out of breath. Even so, he cheered and pumped a fist as they finally emerged into a large chamber.

"Well, well. I didn't expect you to make it this far." A familiar voice spoke, and they whirled around to see a woman sitting in a large throne-like chair.

It was the maid from yesterday - right down to her big blue eyes, doll like face, and long curly black hair.

"What the…you?! You're Gekko Moriah?!"

"Of course. Did you really think I would allow someone who wasn't under my control to wander around my house?"

It was definitely her, but she was entirely different. She wore a gothic Lolita sort of outfit, complete with ruffles. It somehow looked menacing on her though, as did the sinister smirk gracing her blood red lips.

Natsu just grinned and pounded one fist into the other. "All right then! Little girl or not, I'm gonna burn ya to a crisp!"

She just snickered. "Oh please. Like you could."

She snapped her fingers, and from hidden doors all around the room people started to flood in and surround the two mages.

"These must be the islanders…remember, don't hurt them too bad. We just have to try and knock them out. Let's take them from the air, it'll be easier."

Natsu nodded with a scowl, obviously irritated at this new development.

His wings popped out, driving back a good number of people as the breadth knocked them back into each other. Happy lifted Lucy into the air as well, and from above they swooped down and tried to knock out some of the people with light blows to the head. They went down, but just got right back up, even though their eyes were rolled back into their heads.

Cackling sounded from the chair, and both Natsu and Lucy turned to look at her. "If you haven't already figured out, I control their bodies. Even if they're passed out, I can still make them fight."

"Well shit." Natsu cussed, hovering next to Lucy as they stared at the mob under them. "Now what, Luce?"

"We have to immobilize them somehow…Oh wait! Virgo!"

She had recently acquired Virgo's key on a mission, and she could dig holes. With that power, they could drop them all down into pits with steep enough walls they couldn't climb back out. These were just villagers after all.

"Go for it!"

"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

Virgo popped into being under them, dressed in her normal maid outfit. She looked up at Lucy. "What can I do for you, Princess?"

"See all those people? They're possessed, and we can't hurt them. Can you drop them all down into a hole that they can't climb out of without hurting them?"

"Of course, Princess. Right away."

With a spin, she disappeared into the ground like a drill. Soon she popped back out and grabbed one of the people, then hopped back into the hole. When she popped out again, the mob attacked her, but Lucy and Natsu kept them away from her as - one by one - she worked to drag all the islanders into the hole she had created. Within a couple of minutes, all the islanders were piled in the hole, and it was just Natsu, Lucy, Virgo, Happy, and the witch.

Said witch was steaming, and with a growl she pushed out of her chair and stomped over. "How dare you bury my puppets!"

"Thanks Virgo! I'll call you again to help get them out after we've beat this crazy witch okay?"

"Of course, Princess." With a puff of pink smoke she disappeared.

Happy set Lucy down, and Natsu landed next to her as they faced off against the enemy.

What they didn't expect though, was for a sticky white substance to shoot from the ceiling and hit Natsu. Looking up, they saw a mass amount of plate-sized spiders aiming their butts at them.

Natsu cussed and struggled in the white web. No matter how he wiggled though, he was securely plastered to the floor.

"Don't bother. My pets' webs are stronger than steel. They're also resistant to magic of all types."

Natsu tested that instantly by setting his body on fire. The white web glowed hot, and it took much longer than it should have for him to burn it off. What should have taken mere seconds, took nearly a whole minute, and by that point fresh webs had been launched at him. He amped up his flames, burning through the spider silk more quickly, but the spiders also sped up their web shooting. The most progress he made was to stagger almost to his feet before being knocked over again.

He thrashed in his bindings, ripping and tearing at them with tooth and nail as he rolled around and scrambled to dodge the fresh webs. It was a terrifying and heartbreaking sight to watch him struggling like that. Most of the time he barely made it to hands and knees before he was plastered to the ground again.

Lucy winced a little at the snarling, spitting growl of pure rage that escaped him, and then with a flurry of sparks and a wisp of smoke he disappeared. He reappeared only moments later, but as soon as he popped back into existence the spiders shot him down again, though he managed to dodge them for a moment.

"Damn it!" Natsu roared, spitting fire at the spiders themselves now, but they just spewed thick webs that burned away midair but mostly stopped his flames.

Those spiders were shockingly tough, and there were just so many of them that it was overwhelming even Natsu's awesome power. They all came from a hole in the ceiling, and even when he did manage to crisp up a few spiders, more just flowed out of the hole to replace them.

Lucy was thoroughly distracted by his predicament and she quickly grabbed a new key. "Open! Gate of the-"

Her voice cut off on a shriek and her summoning broke before she could call out Cancer as a viciously bright light suddenly switched on right in front of her, blinding her. She threw her hands up to guard her face in a kneejerk fashion, and it was only when Natsu yelled, "Lucy! Your shadow!" that she suddenly realized the intention of the light.

She spun around with a gasp to see her shadow stretching all the way to the witch, and Happy immediately whisked her off her feet to try and keep it away from their enemy. Unfortunately with that light behind her, her shadow still stretched out across the ground, and in one horrible moment, the witch grabbed hold of her shadow and yanked. Lucy screamed as she was dragged down to the ground by her shadow, which was such a horrifying sensation that her body shut down. Happy strained to keep her airborne, playing tug of war with the witch over Lucy's body and shadow.

"Don't worry Lucy! I won't let that nasty witch get you!" he yelled as he put all his power into pulling her back.

Unfortunately right after that statement, several spiders shot him out of the air with a wad of webbing, and they dropped to the ground. From there, the witch found it easy to drag her over, while Happy and Natsu screamed.

"You let Lucy go right now! If you hurt her, I'll kill you!" Natsu roared – sputtering a little when he got a wad of webbing in his mouth.

Happy yelled something right along with him, but his face was partially covered in spider silk, so the sound was muffled.

She vaguely heard Natsu yelling in the background as he apparently ripped free and got snagged again in increasingly frequent intervals. His struggles kicked up a notch and the temperature in the room started to rise dramatically as he put out more and more fire.

Natsu was positively livid at the sight of Lucy being dragged across the floor to the witch, and he could feel his body turning molten. The spider silk melted off him now almost as fast as they could put it on, making smoke hang heavy and thick around his body as the mass amounts of webbing burned, which gave him a slight advantage. It made it harder for them to aim at him, but unfortunately they could still apparently see the flames around his body through the smoke, because they continued to shoot relatively accurately. However, they were just a little bit sloppier about it, and he used that to mostly free himself.

He managed to lever himself to one knee, and snapped his wings open, letting flames explode out of him to blast away the rest of the webs. He launched himself up into the air and got shot down again almost instantly, but he managed to burn and tear the webbing off his wings before he hit the ground. Very slowly he struggled to gain altitude, fighting against and through the waves of spider silk. For every two feet he gained, he dropped one, making his progress agonizingly slow. His wings got stuck every couple of seconds, only getting in one or two wing beats before having to be freed again.

As for Lucy though, she barely noticed any of that. All her senses were seemingly in shock and the only thing she could concentrate on was the sensation of what was going on with her shadow.

She was lifted, dangling from her feet as her shadow struggled in the witch's claws, but her physical body was limp. The feeling of having her shadow touched stunned her so much that she couldn't move for a long second. It was so wrong…like someone had reached inside her and grabbed something that wasn't meant to ever be touched. It didn't hurt exactly, but the feeling of wrongness was worse than any pain.

When the witch pulled out a huge pair of scissors though, Lucy kicked back into gear and she started struggling.

"No! Please! Stop!"

Her pleas were of course ignored and the witch lined up her scissors to Lucy's heels.

It was at that moment that a brilliant flash of light distracted everyone for a brief moment, and then the witch was _really_ distracted when a glowing fist was shoved into her stomach.

Lucy dropped…and was caught in a pair of strong arms, as Leo's smooth voice said, "Sorry for arriving late."

"You're right on time." she managed to gasp, letting her body stay limp for a moment and then scrambling to her feet.

They were still close enough together that the witch attempted to grab them both by their overlapping shadows and yank them off their feet, but Leo countered with his own light that neutralized the light behind them. Without their shadows, the witch was just grasping at thin air, and she let loose a shriek of fury.

At a loud roar, Lucy glanced behind her to see that Natsu was now actually fighting back against the spiders and holding his own. He was currently airborne, beating back the webs they shot at him and having to pause every few seconds to yank, burn, and tear the webs off his wings so he could continue to make upwards progress, but he was indeed heading towards the ceiling – slowly but surely.

Her attention was yanked back to her own predicament though, when a swarm of spiders spilled off the ceiling and landed on and around Leo and her, taking them completely by surprise and successfully binding them together into one cocoon. After teetering in place for a moment, they fell onto the ground. Struggling was both painful and awkward in such close proximity. Lucy's nose nearly poked out Leo's eye, his elbow ended up planted in her ribs, her hand and wrist wedged into his stomach region, and her leg was twisted in a very uncomfortable way between his.

The web also had the unfortunate affect of snuffing out Leo's light, which allowed the witch to drag them both across the ground to her. They were lifted into the air to dangle in front of her and she chuckled, sounding smug once again.

"Two for one…I've always been a big fan of deals."

As before, the sensation of being lifted by her shadow made Lucy go limp, though she had a tiny bit more wherewithal this time around. Being his first time, Leo was even more stunned than her and she could feel him shuddering next to her as the sensation of wrongness wracked his body with tremors. There was nothing they could do as the witch once again lined up her massive scissors against their heels and severed their shadows in one sharp moment.

If Lucy had thought the feeling of having her shadow just touched was bad, then she was suddenly realizing that she had been incredibly wrong. That was nothing. The feeling of having her shadow severed from her was both wrong _and_ it hurt. It was the worst feeling in the world, and she couldn't help the scream that escaped her. Leo cried out alongside her.

Her mind blanked out and she went limp again and fell to the ground with a thump that hurt her head.

She was brought back to awareness by the sound of yelling. "Lucy! Oi! Lucy! Wake up! Are you okay!?"

"N-Natsu?" She blearily opened her eyes and turned her head to see Natsu landing.

The entire ceiling was blackened with soot, and ash littered the ground, suggesting that he had burned the spiders to a crisp. Deep pockmarks and cracks also indicated that he had used physical force to pound them flat as well.

She also noted that Leo was gone. The shock and pain of having his shadow taken must have driven him back to the celestial world…which she didn't blame him for in the least. Heck, she would have sent him back anyways if he had stayed. On the upside, that meant the cocoon around her was now loose enough for her to wiggle her way out of it…though she made it only halfway before collapsing again as dizziness swamped her.

She was distracted by the witch nudging her with a boot. "Now, what should I do with you? Should I keep you in my collection? Or dispose of you?"

A knife was held out to her and - to Lucy's horror - her hand reached up and took it. The sensation of having her body move without her consent was absolutely mind jarring, and it almost made her throw up.

"It seems like you have a strong mind, many people succumb both mind and body instantly." Gekko's eyes snapped up as Natsu started towards them with a growl, and she grinned sadistically. "Ah, ah, ah…watch yourself."

She had Lucy bring the knife over her own throat, and the celestial wizard cringed in horror as the tip pressed to her skin.

"Shit! Sorry Luce!"

Before she could wonder what he was apologizing for, a ball of flame hit her hand, knocking the knife free with a mini explosion. Normally a celestial spirit could never aim an attack at their mage, but he was probably aiming at the knife. Even so, he must have known that the fire might hurt her hand – thus the apology.

She gasped as the heat assaulted her skin. It burned hot, but strangely, though she could feel the heat, it didn't hurt. When she glanced at her hand after, she was shocked to see that it wasn't burned. There was no doubt in her mind that she should have a couple of blisters at the very least, but no, there was nothing.

She didn't have time to ponder it though, because her controller was highly displeased and ready to make use of her.

Gekko growled and stood, having been knocked back by Natsu's fire ball. "I'll show you to mess with me…"

She forced Lucy to wiggle free of the rest of her cocoon and then stand up, facing Natsu. Her gut clenched as she realized that now she was the only thing standing between her incensed partner and the witch.

This wasn't going to end well.

Sure enough, as Natsu advanced - aiming to go past her and get at Moriah - Lucy's body lunged forwards and one fist swung at his face. He dodged with a grimace and caught her wrist. Her knee jabbed up, aiming for his crotch, and he countered with his tail. The appendage slid out through the hidden holes in his pants as fast as a whip and coiled around her leg to freeze it in place. The only blow that connected was her free fist … which landed in his stomach. He grunted, but otherwise didn't react. As for Lucy though, she cringed from the sensation of her fist colliding with solid muscle at a force that she couldn't normally achieve. It hurt _her_ actually, and she couldn't imagine it hadn't hurt him. Then again…it really might not have.

He grappled with her, grabbing her other wrist as it swung at him again. Somehow - with a twisting motion that wasn't really physically possible and nearly pulled her shoulder out of place - she wrenched free of his grip and skipped back a step. All her muscles, tendons, and bones protested the unnatural movements they were being forced to perform.

"How fun…making two friends fight never ceases to amuse."

Natsu sent the witch an evil look as flames licked his lips.

She distracted him though by essentially _throwing_ Lucy at him. Her body hit him and they both fell to the floor from the strange attack. He grunted as his back met the hard ground and Lucy's elbow ground down into his solar plexus. A wrestling match proceeded to take place as he knocked her elbow out of his gut and then grabbed her arm.

Something snaked between her legs and up her back to snag in her collar. With a yank, she was pulled back and he surged up beneath her, flipping their positions. Her hands and his fought for dominance – which, in a different situation might have been humorous since it was basically a slappy fight. It certainly wasn't fun though when she actually managed to slap him across the cheek hard enough to make him bite his own lip and draw blood. He was barely fazed though and just kept grabbing for her hands, finally getting one and then focused all his attention on the other.

Eventually, Natsu managed to snag both of her wrists and then pinned them to the ground above her head. His tail, which was still coiled in her collar, released its hold on that to wrap around her wrists instead. Once her arms were immobilized though, her legs came into play and both reared back to slam into his stomach. Her heels connected hard and she felt the hot breath that was forced out of him as she compressed his lungs and gut with the violent blow. It hurt her too, because Natsu was so dang solid that it felt like kicking a wall of immovable muscle. For most people, a kick like that should have sent them flying off her, but of course he didn't budge aside from curling in a little and grunting. His face twisted with pain though, and Lucy felt tears leak out of her eyes at the sight.

"It's okay Luce, don't cry. I'm fine." he coughed, wheezing a bit but otherwise sounding just fine.

In fact, the grin that crossed his lips and the twinkle in his eye said he might be having just a little fun. That was somewhat overshadowed by anger though, which she knew was directed at the witch, and concern for her. In all honesty, she probably should be more worried about herself too, since it was much more likely that she'd hurt _herself_ by attacking Natsu.

When her legs kicked again, both his hands snapped up to wrap around her ankles tightly. He forced them down, tucking her calves against her thighs and then wrapped his arms tightly around her folded legs, successfully immobilizing them. Her shins pressed tight against his chest and stomach. It was sort of a compromising position, and Lucy certainly wasn't comfortable with it, but at least she couldn't punch or kick him anymore.

Moriah sighed. "Well that was no fun…only a little blood. I guess I'll have to change my tactics then…"

To Lucy's surprise and confusion, her own tongue poked out of her mouth, and Natsu frowned down at her…almost looking amused but a little confused and concerned too. At first she thought the same thing he obviously was – that their opponent was making her stick her tongue out at Natsu in a childish insult. She was the first to realize the danger though, when her teeth clamped down on it.

"Release her, or I'll make her bite her own tongue off."

Natsu's eyes widened, and she could feel her own do the same in fear as her teeth started to compress harder and harder.

His arms were currently occupied, so he obviously had to figure out some way to fix this without them. "Shit Luce…I'll stop it, hold on."

Cursing some more, his eyes darted over her body quickly and then locked onto her wrists. Suddenly he yanked down on them with his tail, forcing her hands behind her head, and then his tail quickly shifted. The coil that bound them together never let up, but she could feel it moving further up his tail as the tip slid up the side of her face. It was a good thing that the end of his tail was so pointy, because when it reached her mouth he was able to squeeze it into the small space created by her tongue and force her jaw open. Even more of it slithered in and wedged solidly between her teeth to protect her tongue, but of course the witch had her bite down – hard – on it instead.

It seemed that even with his scales, the tip of his tail must be pretty sensitive, because he winced and one of his eyes squinted closed when she clamped down with her teeth. At the very least, thankfully – no matter how hard she was forced to bite – Lucy couldn't feel the tough scaly hide in her mouth breaking at all.

As soon as he was sure she was incapable of being forced to harm herself, Natsu looked up and turned his attention to Moriah with a vengeance. "Now you're gonna get it!"

Lucy flinched and squeezed her eyes closed as he inhaled sharply, knowing he was about to do a fire dragon roar. She was right under him though and just really hoped she wasn't about to be roasted. This was the closest she had ever been to him when he did one of these fire breathing things, and it was kind of terrifying.

Before she could even come up with a protest, he was already spreading his jaws and blasting the witch with everything he had. Intense heat blasted her front and she felt like she couldn't breathe. It was way too hot and burned … but again, it didn't hurt the way Lucy thought it should. After a few seconds, and she wasn't crisping up like a hotdog in the camp fire, she risked peeking through her eyelashes. What she saw made her eyes fly open wide and a scream of shock to come out around his tail in her mouth.

The flames licked bare millimeters from her nose. No wonder the heat was so intense. She had never been so close to any fire before, much less dragon fire of all things, which always burned way hotter than any normal flames. She would have totally expected to get burned. It was beyond frightening, and Lucy cringed back into the ground, doing her best to get away from the dangerous stuff.

Thankfully, it sounded like Moriah was much less fortunate than her, and the flames hit her full force. Based off her scream, it must have been quite painful. When Natsu's teeth finally clicked together, cutting the fire off, Lucy risked craning her neck back to see what remained of the witch. It seemed like she had been able to put up some sort of magical shield – at least for part of the roar – because she was still in one piece. But she was definitely out of commission after being blasted full-force with Natsu's dragon fire. Luckily he had been able to take Moriah by surprise, probably by doing it while still on top of Lucy.

Seeing their enemy pretty much out cold – or roasted, as the case may be – Lucy let herself relax with a deep sigh. With the defeat of their enemy, she could feel the snap of her shadow returning. Without it, she had almost felt like she was under the effects of vertigo or something, but now it was as if the world had righted itself again.

"I'm good Natsu, I think the spell over me broke when she was knocked out." she tried to say around his tail, but of course it came out muffled.

Even so, it seemed he understood her somehow, because he grinned down at her and his tail slipped out of her mouth and uncoiled from around her wrists. He also unclamped his arms from around her legs but left her shins braced on his chest.

Natsu sat up fully, still grinning down at her, and then abruptly his facial expression flipped to one of concern. "Hey you okay? I didn't burn ya did I?"

Suddenly Lucy was just a little peeved at the reminder of how risky he had been. "No, but you know what? I don't know _**why**_ I'm not burned! I really should be! I can't believe you! Those flames were literally less than an inch from my nose! What were you thinking?! And blowing fire at my hand? That totally could have roasted my whole hand off!"

She waved said hand around in exasperation and then gasped when he quickly caught it and looked it over closely.

"I was aiming for the knife, but yeah, I figured it might singe ya a bit. But you aren't hurt at all…" There was a tiny note of wonder and maybe even hope in his voice that made no sense, but Lucy ignored it in favor of being mad.

"I know! I expected to get blisters at the very least! Come on Natsu, be more careful would you?! Not everyone is fireproof like you!"

"It kinda looks like you may be fireproof though."

"That's ridiculous. I'm not a dragon."

She shoved him off her, having to use a surprising amount of force to get him to budge. He seemed to be in a state of shock.

"Hey Happy! Are you okay?!" she called out to the blue cat, and a groan was her response.

"I'm okay…"

She saw him wiggle inside his cocoon of webbing.

"Oh right…you're still all wrapped up. Hold on." Looking all over, she quickly located the celestial key she had dropped earlier and finally summoned Cancer, who cut Happy free in a second. After sending him back, she summoned Virgo and they freed all the islanders, who had their shadows returned as well.

And then it was just a simple matter of handing Gekko over to the previous mayor. He put her in magic binding handcuffs, promising to turn her over to the Magic Council, and then of course he paid them. Even better, Lucy got another golden zodiac key along with their payment. She was so excited that she immediately summoned Sagittarius and made a contract with the posh centaur archer.

The posh centaur wore a hunter's green tunic vest with gold trim over a creamy shirt with billowy sleeves. His sleeves were cinched tight around his forearms though, thanks to a pair of arm bracers that were the same shiny dark brown as the coat of fur on his lower horse half. His shiny black tail was as neatly groomed as his shiny black hair. Even his hooves were neat and shiny. When she first summoned him, he greeted her with a salute and, "Well howdy do my Lady."

All and all, he seemed like a well put together, extremely polite and chipper spirit, who obviously saw the benefits of good grooming. Lucy liked him right away and knew they would get along swimmingly.

By the time everything was all taken care of and they were heading back towards the harbor to go catch a homeward bound ship, Lucy should have been feeling nothing but happy and satisfied and maybe a little sore. Unfortunately though, a queasy sensation was beginning to gnaw at her insides, and she was starting to feel slightly unwell…as if she was coming down with an illness. Her gut instincts were telling her that she wasn't quite out of the woods yet and there were going to be some unforeseen repercussions of this mission.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

Before he left to get her some soup, she added, "Oh, while you're there, could you ask Levy to look up the magic Gekko Moriah used? I really think this illness has to do with getting my shadow removed."

"Sure. No prob. I'll be back in a flash."

After closing the window behind him, she collapsed back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling – her feverish brain consumed with thoughts of her kind partner. It was so weird to her that he was acting so nice. Not that he was an unkind person – quite the opposite in fact – but he was incredibly dense when it came to feelings. Or maybe he just didn't care about embarrassing or irritating her … that was always possible. But he had never struck her as the type of guy who would take on the position of nursemaid.

Apparently she had been wrong.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**

Here it is! The extra chapter I promised. :D

As always, a huge thank you to all my wonderful reviewers. Big hugs and thanks to all my repeat reviewers - TheJSmooth, WisdomDragon27, Elphaba818, and moeruhoshi. I always really look forward to, and enjoy all your comments. An equally big hug and thanks to my two new reviewers - and MiseryWolf97.

We got enough reviews for a preview! So stay tuned till the end.

I hope everyone enjoys this fluffy chapter! Let me know if you want another early posting. ;P

On with the show!

* * *

When they got back to the guild, Lucy hurried to report to Master Makarov that the mission was a success.

She was rushing because she really wanted to get back to her apartment and rest. All the way home she had felt worse and worse – aching, nauseous, and feverish, like she was coming down with the flu. What really sucked extra hard about that, was the fact that Fairy Tail was holding the Cherry Blossom Festival later this week, and she had the distinct feeling that she would probably be in bed as sick as a dog when it came.

Even worse, it didn't feel like a normal illness either, and she had the sinking feeling that it might be a side effect of having her shadow stolen – as temporary as that had been.

After signing off with Master Makarov, she spun around and hurried to leave the guildhall, knowing that she was going to get sidetracked if she stayed too long. In fact, she was in such a hurry that she left Natsu there alone to talk to the master about joining Fairy Tail. He didn't complain though … he knew how bad she was feeling.

Happy flew her home at top speed, and the whole way there she felt like she was going to puke. As soon as they practically busted down her door, she made a beeline for the toilet. Sure enough, up came her breakfast and lunch … and what felt like maybe even last night's dinner. Even after everything had been removed, she was left dry heaving into the porcelain bowl for a good while … long enough that she was still bent over it when Natsu's voice resounded through her apartment.

"Hey Luce! Guess what?!"

The only thing she could muster up as a response was a weak groan, and soon the sound of Natsu's fist pounding on the bathroom door bombarded her sore head.

"Oi! You okay?" His voice had switched from eager and excited to worried.

"Nnng…" was about all she could manage, and then another dry heave made her whimper a little with self-pity and pain. Her throat felt like it was on fire, while her stomach felt like it had been punched with a bowling ball. The taste in her mouth wasn't great either.

Happy thankfully answered for her. "No. She's been puking her guts out ever since we got back."

"Shit. I'm coming in okay?"

Lucy couldn't even feel proud of him for finally learning at least a little self-control and asking first before barging in. She just didn't have the energy. But she did manage a weak nod, which Happy translated for her out loud.

"She says okay!"

The sound of her door opening alerted her to the fact that he was indeed entering her bathroom.

"Wow, you really do look like shit."

That statement was perfectly punctuated by some more dry heaves, which left her gasping for breath and wincing in discomfort.

"Hey, come on. Let's get you in bed. I don't think you got anymore to give the toilet."

She weakly nodded and let him sling her arm over his shoulder so he could hoist her onto her feet and help her into the bedroom. She did pause to rinse and spit in her sink with some mouthwash, even though she didn't really have the energy to do so. Every part of her ached, and her skin broke out in a cold sweat – both from the continuing nausea and what felt like a spike in fever. She'd felt like she had a low grade one the whole way home, but it really seemed to be setting in now.

After clearing the nasty taste out of her mouth, Natsu dragged her out into the bedroom, plopped her down on the bed, and loosely covered her with her quilt.

For a long while, she lay there under the blanket, huddled in a ball and feeling miserable while drifting in and out of purely exhausted half-sleep. She could hear Happy and Natsu talking softly in the background off and on.

After a while of that, things started getting uncomfortable enough that she began to shift under the blanket, pulling halfheartedly at her clothing to try and give herself a little more room to curl up comfortably. Her bra was pulling on her breasts and shoulders, her shirt had twisted up in some really unfortunate ways, and her skirt had ridden up and was bunched around her waist. What made it worse were the shivers and aches that continued to wrack her frame and seemed to only be getting worse.

As soon as she began moving around, Natsu was by her side.

"Hey, is there anything I can do? What do you need?"

He obviously didn't know squat about taking care of someone who was sick, but she was touched that he wanted to try and help.

"J-just…could you get my pajamas out of the drawer?"

She knew that he knew where they were. One of his hobbies when he was bored was to go through her stuff – no matter how many times she told him not to.

"Sure thing."

Soon he was back with the clothing she had asked for and she reached out a hand to grab them. She didn't feel like moving from her spot, so instead she disappeared under the quilt and somewhat awkwardly wiggled out of her current clothes and into her sleep clothes – reemerging to toss her skirt, blouse, and bra onto the floor. With a sigh she settled back into bed, feeling a lot more comfortable.

"Anything else I can do?"

She turned bleary eyes to look up at her pink-haired companion and smiled, her heart softening under his worried gaze. She had never seen him look quite so concerned before. Maybe he'd never seen someone get sick. It would explain why he seemed so freaked out.

"Um…some Tylenol and a glass of water? The Tylenol is in the cabinet over the sink in the bathroom."

"On it."

He disappeared, and she heard a commotion in her bathroom as he hunted for the pills. From the crashing sounds and cussing, Lucy would probably have some cleaning up to do whenever she was well enough to get around to it … but instead of irritating her like it normally would, she found it amusing. Maybe that was because she felt so fondly towards him at this particular moment.

He reemerged a bit later with the pills and quickly grabbed a glass of water, so he could bring her both. She downed the pills quickly and drank the water completely, knowing that if she did have a fever it was important to hydrate.

Speaking of… "Hey Natsu, c-could you also bring me the thermometer?" she asked through teeth that had just started to chatter.

Once again he ran off to find it, though this time Happy had to help since her celestial dragon had no clue what a thermometer looked like. Even more sounds of chaos and destruction met her ears, but she honestly didn't care at the moment.

She certainly felt like she had a fever, complete with drastic changes in freezing her tail off and then burning up. At the moment she was shivering like crazy and just couldn't seem to get warm. With a little squirming, she managed to get under all the covers of her bed and cocooned herself in them. Even so, she still felt like she was suffering under the effects of below freezing weather, despite it being perfectly 74 degrees in her apartment as always.

When he came back victorious with the thermometer, she grabbed for it and stuck it under her tongue, waiting for the little beep. Sure enough, when as she pulled it out and squinted to take a look at the numbers displayed, she groaned to see that it was a little over 101 degrees. A full-body shudder wracked her frame as if to confirm what she'd already just found out, and another small groan escaped her.

"Are you okay? What did it the thermobanger say? Why are you shaking like that? Are you cold?" Natsu asked, sounding utterly befuddled and at a loss.

"Yeah, I've got a f-f-fever. I feel like I'm freezing my b-b-b-butt off." Lucy stammered between chattering teeth.

Without a word, he grabbed the thermometer out of her hand and tossed it onto her bedside table. Then the covers were lifted up, and Lucy curled into a tight ball, already working on stuttering a protest. Before she could form a logical sentence though, the covers were already being sealed back up tight … but this time a certain dragon shaped space heater was crammed under them with her. For once, she didn't complain about Natsu being in her bed, and instead just curled into his warmth.

With the addition of his heat, she felt significantly more comfortable, and soon the Tylenol began to take effect and the aches eased up a bit as well. It wasn't long before she slipped into sleep.

When she woke, it was to the sensation of sweat coating her body, and before she was even fully awake her legs were kicking the covers off. Natsu was still coiled around her, which meant she had to shove him off as well.

He had apparently fallen asleep too, and her clumsy push woke him up – though it didn't budge him at all. "Wha…?"

"Too hot…" she whined, her legs working to push the covers completely off. They were hung around one foot and it took some thrashing to accomplish.

The thrashing jostled Natsu a good deal, and he woke fully. "Woah, geez Luce, calm down."

He finally got the picture and gave her a little space, having to unstick his body from hers since she had sweated so much.

"Crap, you're all sweaty."

"That's cause I'm _hot_." she repeated, breathing a little easier now that her overly warm partner was no longer wrapped around her.

"Right. Yeah."

All of a sudden she realized that she needed to use the restroom, and with a groan she clumsily made to get out of bed. Since Natsu was still on the bed with her, she had to climb over him. Normally she wouldn't even consider doing such a strange and awkward thing, but since fever and sleep were still dulling her brain she did it anyways.

It was just as uncoordinated and clumsy as one would expect, but even more-so because of how weak she felt. Her top half crawled over him, then one hand snagged on something and she faceplanted into his chest. Doing so gave her an up-close and personal feel of hot skin, and the scent of spicy charcoal filled her nose. Normally being pressed so close to a boy would have flustered her, but at the moment she was simply too uncomfortable, and her entire focus was getting to the bathroom so she could pee.

Natsu though seemed to be reacting a bit more, and even in her dazed state she registered how he tensed up beneath her.

"Um, Luce…what're you doing?"

"Bathroom…" she mumbled into his chest, but doubted the word was audible.

Just as clumsily as before, she levered herself up onto her hands again and proceeded to continue attempting to crawl over the speed bump that was Natsu. He squeaked when her knee came down hard on the bed between his legs, and he scooted up really quickly beneath her while spreading his thighs to give her knee some room.

"Watch it!" he gasped, and his hands landed hard on her waist to stabilize her.

She didn't even register that she had come incredibly close to crushing his family jewels. All she knew was that the way he suddenly moved knocked her off balance again and laid her out flat on top of him – despite the firm grip on her waist. This time though, her head and shoulder dangled off the bed while the rest of her splayed out over Natsu's body. Her shirt was caught between her ribs and the edge of the bed, and it stretched uncomfortably tight over her chest while the breast hanging over the edge threatened to pop out.

Up to this point she hadn't noticed Happy watching the entire spectacle. However, when she managed to get up enough strength to plant her hand on the ground and lift her head up, she came nose to nose with the blue cat, who had his mouth covered with both paws. His cheeks were puffed up with the effort of trying not to laugh apparently, and she scowled at her companion.

"Instead of standing there laughing, how about helping me?"

"Nope! This is way too funny to watch."

"Heartless bastard…" Natsu mumbled under his breath, and Happy snorted in response.

"Having a little trouble there Natsu?" the pest teased, and Lucy glared a little more.

" _I'm_ the one having trouble!"

Now that she was officially awake, she put a little more effort into clambering off the bed, which resulted in practically dragging her body off Natsu and slinking onto the floor. The process left her shirt riding amazingly low on her chest, and her sleep shorts had nearly been dragged off her hips.

With a groan she sat up, wobbling a little in place for a moment. Unsteadily she managed to get to her feet once the world stopped feeling quite so unfocused. Her shorts and shirt were fixed haphazardly by clumsy fingers as she wobbled her way into the bathroom. She didn't even bother to look back at Natsu … though if she had, she would have seen an incredibly disheveled and shocked looking dragon.

When she reemerged, Natsu had exited the bed and was standing nearby to help. Plopping down onto the mattress, she groaned and held her head, which felt like it was going to pound its way off her neck. Once again, everything ached.

"How long has it been since I took the Tylenol?"

"Long enough to take another dose if you wanted."

"Huh?"

He held up the bottle. "It says on the back that you can take it every 4 hours."

She was mildly shocked that he had actually read the instructions. That was so utterly un-Natsu-like that she wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

At her baffled stare he grinned sheepishly and admitted, "While you were out, I used your lacrima to call Erza for advice. She said to make sure to read the information on all the meds you take, and a bunch of other stuff like that."

That explained it.

She sighed and nodded, holding out a hand for the bottle. He handed it over, and without being asked, grabbed a glass of water for her while she was pouring the pills into her hand to select two.

After she had downed the pills and water, her stomach made an almighty growl, reminding her that she basically hadn't eaten anything today – since she'd vomited everything up earlier. Natsu's eyebrows shot up on his forehead, but before he could comment, Happy beat him to it.

"Wow Lucy! You sound like Natsu and me!"

She grimaced, having to agree. They were the ones who usually had talkative stomachs.

"I can run down to the guild and grab you some soup from Mirajane if you want." Natsu offered, and she nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks Natsu."

Before he left, she added, "Oh, while you're there, could you ask Levy to look up the magic Gekko Moriah used? I really think this illness has to do with getting my shadow removed."

"Sure. No prob. I'll be back in a flash."

After closing the window behind him, she collapsed back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling – her feverish brain consumed with thoughts of her kind partner. It was so weird to her that he was acting so nice. Not that he was an unkind person – quite the opposite in fact – but he was incredibly dense when it came to feelings. Or maybe he just didn't care about embarrassing or irritating her … that was always possible. But he had never struck her as the type of guy who would take on the position of nursemaid.

Apparently she had been wrong.

Although – as the enormous mess he'd left in her bathroom suggested – he was still operating with the same level of intensity and mindless energy he did everything with. He wasn't exactly known for possessing a gentle touch when doing things, and her poor medicine cabinet had suffered the consequences. She'd simply cleared the bottles out of the sink and left the rest of the mess to deal with later, when she was feeling better.

Still, despite his lack of finesse, he was surprising her immensely with how he was taking care of her. It made something inside her soften up and get all warm and fuzzy in a weird way. He was showing her a side of himself that she hadn't known existed … a capacity for thoughtfulness that she hadn't thought he possessed. It was still brash, energetic, and a little too careless, but it was heartwarming. If he was anyone else, she might have said he was treating her almost…tenderly – a word she never would have previously applied to the destructive force known as Natsu.

For the first time, she wondered if maybe she had dismissed his potential as a romantic partner too soon. The happy, warm feelings currently swelling in her chest as she thought about him made her doubt the previous conviction she had about it. If he could show this level of thoughtfulness, maybe he wasn't just the destructive, boneheaded, teasing annoyance she'd always considered him to be. Those negative qualities had always kept her from feeling any attraction towards him, but now…if they were tempered with this previously unknown gentler side, maybe…

As soon as Lucy realized what path her feverish mind was taking, she shook her head with irritation. Even if she was a little attracted to him right now, it wasn't like she would ever pursue it. Just because those feelings had sparked a little didn't mean that it would work between them. He was a celestial spirit, while she was a human. That sort of thing might work for Loki and his harem of girls, but she doubted it would work for her.

When she thought of romance, it was always with the long haul in mind – marriage, kids, the works. Not right away of course, but eventually she really wanted those things. She wanted a _**family**_ , the sort she had never had. And so, whenever she judged a guy's dateability, it was with that thought in mind…. which was probably why she'd never managed to date a guy longer than a month. The guys she had gone on dates with never seemed like they were interested in more than a quick fling…probably because of the way she looked and dressed. Then – whenever they inevitably tried to push her into sleeping with them – she would have to try and explain that she wasn't a slut and didn't dress the way she did to attract horny losers. She just dressed that way because she liked it – though if she were entirely honest with herself, it probably started as a way to rebel against her posh upbringing.

Whatever the case, with Natsu, she doubted a future and family like that could ever exist. There were probably celestial laws against marrying a human.

Besides, she really enjoyed the relationship they already had. He had become her best friend seemingly overnight, and she wouldn't want to potentially upset that just for the sake of romance. Friendship was a much higher priority for her than romance.

Still…

"What ya thinkin' about Lucy?"

She jerked as the slight weight of a certain blue cat landed on her chest. When her eyes opened, it was to the sight of his face in hers, and a smirk was plastered on his whiskery mug.

"Nothing in particular. Why?"

"That must be some hot 'nothing' to make you blush like that."

Thinking fast, she covered with, "I have a fever. Dummy."

To distract him, she reached up with one hand and proceeded to scratch his soft blue ears. As usual, it worked, and he dissolved into putty on her, the deep vibration of his loud purrs soothing her tummy.

About thirty minutes later, the sound of her window slamming open and a jolt on her bed woke her from the light doze she had fallen into. "Wha?"

Sitting on her bed with a broad grin and the window gaping open behind him was Natsu. Of course.

With a scowl, she mumbled, "How many times have I told you to use the door?"

He ignored her completely, and instead plopped a huge bowl of something heavy and hot on her stomach, unseating Happy. He tumbled off the bed and landed on the floor with a small bump and yelp.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" he spat as he jumped upright again.

"I brought soup!"

Instantly, Lucy's stomach made an embarrassingly loud noise, which made Natsu grin.

After fetching a bowl and spoon, she tucked into the warm chicken noodle soup with gusto, though when her stomach turned over she forced herself to slow down. She really would rather avoid spending any more time bent over her toilet.

As she ate, her eyes drifted up to Natsu, who was sitting on the end of her bed and playing with his fire to occupy himself. Happy had relocated to the kitchen table to eat a fish, which she refused to let him eat in bed. Lucy was just gearing up to scold Natsu for messing around with fire inside her apartment – which was something she constantly told him not to do, and he constantly did anyways – when she was distracted by the new red emblem on his shoulder.

"Oh! Congratulations Natsu!"

The fire between his fingers flickered out, and he turned to look at her with confused black eyes. "Huh?"

"For joining Fairy Tail." She pointed at the guild mark on his upper arm with her spoon.

A broad grin spread his lips and his eyes sparkled. "Oh yeah! I guess I never got to tell you huh?!"

"We'll have to celebrate when I'm better."

"Can we go to a buffet?"

Natsu had recently been introduced to the concept of a buffet, and ever since then he was smitten. She rolled her eyes and couldn't help but grin. "Sure, we can go to a buffet."

"Yeah! I'm fired up now!"

She chuckled and refocused on her soup while he rattled off the kinds of food he wanted to eat at this imaginary buffet in his mind. Once she was done, she put the dirty dishes on her side table and flopped back into bed, full and sleepy. After that she rested, drifting in and out of sleep again and fighting waves of fever.

That night was a mess. Every couple of hours, Lucy would switch between hot and cold, and Natsu would have to move accordingly.

"Natsu…cold…" She shuddered, and with a groan, he joined her under the covers and cuddled up to her.

Only two hours later, it had flipped. "…so…hot…"

"Damnitall Lucy, make up your mind already!"

"I can't help it!" she protested weakly and flapped her hand in his direction.

Surprisingly he put up with it and only offered token protests, but when morning rolled around they were both exhausted. When her communications lacrima started yelling at them they both groaned, and Lucy huddled under the covers even deeper to hide from the noise. There were a couple of other good reasons for her fetal position as well … such as the chills going through her and the gut twisting cramps that coiled through her middle. If she had to guess, she was gearing up for an epic case of the runs here in a bit, which she was not looking forward to.

When her lacrima kept trying to get their attention, Happy eventually got fed up with the sound and flew off to locate the large crystal ball before flying back and dropping it on the bed. It landed at their feet, and the sound of the person's voice got louder and even more annoying.

"You gonna answer that?" Natsu eventually asked with a growl in his chest.

"Nu-uh," she whined and shook her head, which was under the covers currently, so it wasn't clear whether Natsu would even see it.

He sighed and sat up to grab the crystal before flopping back down into a horizontal position.

"Yeah?" he grumbled at the thing.

What was now recognizable as Levi's voice sounded from the crystal. "Natsu? It's about time! Do you how long I've been trying to get one of your attention?"

Completely ignoring her tirade, he yawned and mumbled, "Oh hey Levi, what's up?"

She sighed and apparently decided to let it slide, instead launching into the reason for her call. "I looked into that magic you asked me to, and Lucy's right. That sort of dark magic can really make you incredibly sick…and she's only going to get worse. I contacted Porlyusica and she said she'd mix up an antidote for her. She'll probably be dropping by sometime this morning."

"That's great news, good job Levi." he said, but the excitement was cut with another yawn.

She chuckled, no longer sounding irritated at all. "Alright, well I'll let you get back to sleep now."

"K," he grunted and hung up.

Sure enough, just as Levi warned, a certain grumpy healer showed up at their door only a couple of hours later. She dropped off the vial of liquid, giving dosing instructions, and then left.

…

Even with the antidote, it was several days later before Lucy even began to feel remotely better. Still, she was nowhere near well. As she'd dreaded, she was going to miss the Cherry Blossom Festival, which was really disappointing, and she couldn't help but be depressed about it. She loved all of Fairy Tail's annual celebrations and festivals and did her very best to never miss one.

Being both sad and sick was a horrible combination, and the morning of the festival she simply stayed huddled up under her covers when she woke.

"Why do I have to be sick today of all days…" she mumbled quietly to herself, sulking at the injustice of it all.

"What'cha mopin' about Luce?" a voice asked from right next to her.

With a jerk, she realized that Natsu was in bed with her and threw back the covers to give him a grumpy look.

"Hey! I said my fever's pretty much broken, so I don't need you to sleep with me anymore! What are you doing in my bed?!"

He totally ignored her mini-hissy fit, and instead continued on his previous train of verbiage. "Are you mad you can't go to the Cherry Blossom Festival?"

That took her by surprise. As far as she knew, he didn't know about the festival.

"Huh? How did you know about that?"

"Mira mentioned it to me when I went to get your soup the other day. She said you'd probably be sad to miss it."

"Oh…" That made sense, and she slumped back into her cocoon. "Yeah. I wish I was feeling up to going…but I'm just not. I still feel like fucking shit." – the last bit was growled angrily as she huddled down into her covers.

With a low whistle, Natsu commented, "Yeah you must be, cause you rarely cuss like that."

She just 'hmphed' in reply and turned away from him again to pout some more. That plan was thrown out the window though when Natsu vigorously began jostling and bouncing her.

"Come on Luce! Get up!"

"…why?"

"Cause I said so!"

That got a grunt, and she refused to give him more than that. When she didn't respond, he seemed to give up temporarily, but then something that smelled amazing was shoved under her nose. It was a familiar smell – one which instantly made her mouth water.

"What the…pancakes? Are these the blueberry pancakes from that little restaurant down the street?"

"Yep!"

"I told him they were your favorite!" A perky voice piped up, and Lucy finally sat up to give her blue cat a grateful smile.

Then she turned the smile on Natsu, and said, "Thank you both."

"Yeah no problem! We got enough for all of us!"

Lucy's eyes instantly landed on the enormous takeout bag on her kitchen table and just rolled her eyes. It was both funny and tragic, because she knew they would run out of money again pretty soon at this pace. Still, that couldn't keep her from digging into her own plate with gusto.

"Happy? You dropped off that envelope in the landlady's box mailbox right?" she asked through her pancakes, referring to an envelope filled with this month's rent that she had given him yesterday.

"Aye Sir!"

"Oh good. Thank you." she sighed, feeling herself relax completely. As long as the rent was paid, this little splurge for breakfast wasn't a problem.

After they finished their meal, Natsu surprised her once again. Out of a huge canvas bag, random games came pouring. Lucy stared with her mouth agape as he dumped Monopoly, packs of cards, a box of dice, a chess/checkers board, dominoes, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Scrabble, crossword puzzles, sudoku, Trouble, Pictionary, and quite a few games she had no name for. As usual, he had overdone it, but the gesture was shockingly sweet and considerate…especially for a guy who barreled through life with the attention span of a gnat.

Natsu parked his butt on the carpet and gave her a broad toothy grin. "You guys play games as part of the Cherry Blossom Festival right?"

"Yes…"

"Well then come on! What are you waiting for? Pick a game already!"

Happy joined in on the festivities instantly and sat to one side as he pawed through the pile of games.

A bubble of happiness that had slowly been filling since he presented her with breakfast threatened to pop, and she fought down a grin of her own as she sat on her thick living room rug with a blanket draped around her shoulders.

They settled on Monopoly to start with and played a rousing game in which Natsu burned down boardwalk and Happy ended up in jail more times than she could count. They jokingly started calling him "The Fish Thief" and made up some story about how he would creep around at night stealing everyone's fish while they were asleep.

After that, they played some card games – largely poker and Go Fish – with the caveat being that the first loser of each game had to do whatever the winner told them to. Lucy won the first game of Go Fish and made Happy do his best Erza impersonation. When Natsu won at poker, he made Lucy act like a dog for a full minute, while he told her to sit, stay, and roll over. Happy made them both flop around like fish when they tied for last place. Lucy's performance was much less energetic.

After several hours of fun, Natsu pulled out a giant picnic basket from somewhere. "How about lunch?! Mirajane packed a picnic for us with the same food they'll be eating at the festival!"

And yet again, Lucy was left wondering just where her idiot of a partner had gone and who had replaced him. Surely this super thoughtful guy couldn't be him…right? Or maybe Natsu had been duping her this whole time, and he was actually really observant and considerate. Somehow she doubted it. Nobody could pretend to be as oblivious as Natsu was sometimes.

…

After their late lunch, Lucy's limited energy had begun to flag, so they relocated to her bed and she snuggled down into the covers as they played Scrabble. She only lasted another hour or two before she began to doze off, leaving Happy and Natsu to finish their game, but she still won by a wide margin. After all that activity, she fell sound asleep for several hours, and only woke up when Happy started shaking her shoulder.

"Lucy, wake you. You've gotta see this!"

"Huh? What?" she groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

All the lights were out in her apartment, so the magnificent rainbow glow coming in from her window was even more vibrant and instantly grabbed her attention. She quickly scrambled across her bed and flung open the window to stick her head out. It didn't take her long at all to find the light source, and she stared wide-eyed at the huge glowing rainbow cherry tree in full bloom floating down the river on a boat.

"What the…Natsu…" she breathed – in a state of shock, awe, and wonder as she watched the stately progression slowly float past her window, petals blowing in the wind and landing on her hair and floating into her room. The sweet scent of it wafted with the petals, filling the air with the smell of cherry blossoms.

This had to be Natsu's doing, there was no doubt in her mind. Even her crazy guild wasn't insane enough to uproot the largest cherry tree and send it on a boat down the river past her apartment. Warmth flooded her chest, and she rested her chin on her folded arms and watched until it had completely drifted out of sight.

"That idiot…" she sighed, but a peaceful smile rested on her face and there was absolutely no irritation in her voice.

…

The next morning, the first thing Lucy said to him was, "Thank you Natsu…" and then she added, "I hope you replanted it."

"I uh…I dunno what you mean…" he stuttered

A brilliant flash of light later, a certain cocky lion was suddenly present in her room as well. "He couldn't have done it without my help."

"I never asked for your help, you jackass!" Natsu bellowed, and the two engaged in a mild fistfight – mild because they both knew that if they broke anything, Lucy would banish them from her room for weeks.

A smile spread across her lips, and the gentle laughter that flowed from her stopped them both in their tracks as they turned to stare at her. Soon, they too sported wide grins and joined in with chuckles of their own.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek - whoops, I forgot! So I re-uploaded with it. :D Sorry guys!**

 _One particular day found her at the board as usual, working on picking out a last-minute job to help cover her rent expenses – which were due yet again. Before she could decide on one though, Master Makarov suddenly marched down the stairs from the second floor and hushed everyone so he could make an announcement._

 _All fighting, drinking, and talking ceased as every head turned towards Makarov._

 _"Everyone! I've just been told by the Magic Council that our guild has been chosen to take on a supremely important mission!"_

 _The silence grew even deeper as everyone's interest was piqued._

 _"A team of our choosing will meet up with teams from three other chosen guilds, and then all of you will hunt down the Oracion Seis."_

 _Various sounds of shock resonated through the room as they were told the details of the mission. The fact that they were going to be taking on the Oracion Seis was completely shocking and blindsided them all with the abruptness of it._


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

Hello Peeps! New chapter comin' at ya. And it's early cause you guys are so incredibly awesome!

Can I just say that Fairy Tail readers are just amazing? You have responded so much faster and reviewed so much more than my readers in other fandoms I've written for. It's just fantastic! I can't say thank you enough.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews. Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: pixiecatost, Daisy Shields, moeruhoshi, Galp, TheJSmooth, WisdomDragon27, and Elphaba818. I'm not joking when I say that I always look forward to your comments, it's always a highlight of my day. And equally big welcoming hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Crystal Kitty 842 and Lunar13.

As you know, we definitely reached the review requirement for a sneak peek, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Speaking of, sorry for forgetting it last chapter. I realized what I'd done several hours later and re-uploaded it with the sneak peek, so I hope you didn't miss it. :D I'll try not to forget again - to the best of my ability. Lol. I can be pretty forgetful sometimes.

Anywho...on with the show!

* * *

Within the next week, Juvia and Gray had returned from their two-week mission.

Both Natsu and Lucy happened to be in the guildhall at the time, and Lucy instantly noticed them and paid attention to their body language. Juvia was predictably the same, clingy and way too close to Gray. As always, she mirrored his every move perfectly as if they were choreographed. What had changed though, was Gray's body language.

Before, Juvia just being in the same room as him had made his whole posture tense up. Naturally whenever she tried to cling to him, or stood too close, or pestered him in any way, he would extricate himself as soon as possible and escape. If escaping was impossible, then he would lean his body as far away from her as he could get while simultaneously doing his best to ignore her.

Now though, his overall posture was relaxed, even as she linked her arm with his. He was still ignoring her, but also didn't seem to be bothered by her anymore. His face was relaxed, as were his shoulders, and he wasn't constantly shooting her uncomfortable glances. It was a huge step in the right direction, and Lucy mentally cheered for them.

…. Up until his blue eyes landed on her and Natsu, and his face instantly switched to a scowl.

One supremely pissed ice mage stomped towards them, towing the fawning water mage in his wake. He didn't even wait until they were within normal conversation range, he just started shouting.

"OI! You two! I've got a bone to pick with you!"

"Uh oh. I think he figured out that we set them up." Lucy grumbled, easing behind Natsu just a little. She wasn't afraid of Gray – if he actually went at her she would just pop him with her whip. Mostly, she was concerned about how Natsu was going to respond and didn't want to be between then in any way.

"And what's that Ice Prick?!" Natsu bellowed back.

"You two totally set us up!"

Lucy tried being innocent, with a response of, "What gave you that idea, Gray?"

Natsu ruined it of course.

"Yeah? So?!"

Gray's eyes flashed, and he snarled at them. "Oh don't worry, I'm gonna get you guys back a hundred-fold."

"Was that a threat Ice Princess?!"

"Oh no…. It was a promise, Fire-Fart."

Lucy edged back and away from the two.

As usual, the situation exploded, and the two were going at it within a few seconds, making her really glad she had put a few feet of space in between them. Poor Juvia was knocked off Gray, though it didn't hurt her at all since she was made of water. Still, she took out a table with her epic splash landing. Instead of getting mad, she just sat up and watched the fight with hearts in her eyes…which multiplied as Gray quickly began to strip off articles of clothing.

Sighing, Lucy watched the fight for a little while, then turned away and went back to her previous business. It had been several days since she had gotten back to full health, and since their savings were running on empty, she headed towards the board to pick out a job.

Given how often Gray and Natsu threatened each other, she wasn't too concerned about Gray's promise to get them back. However, she did make note of it, just in case.

When about a month or so passed and nothing had come of it, she pretty much dismissed the threat as nothing more than hot air.

That month passed normally, with everyone indulging in their normal destructive and/or quirky habits. Lucy and Natsu – and sometimes Erza and Gray – took a series of easy jobs, working back up to their normal level to give Lucy a little time to recover. It was necessary, but it did mean that Lucy took a pay cut – so by the end of that month she needed to scramble a little for funds.

One particular day found her at the board as usual, working on picking out a last-minute job to help cover her rent expenses – which were due yet again. Before she could decide on one though, Master Makarov suddenly marched down the stairs from the second floor and hushed everyone so he could make an announcement.

All fighting, drinking, and talking ceased as every head turned towards Makarov.

"Everyone! I've just been told by the Magic Council that our guild has been chosen to take on a supremely important mission!"

The silence grew even deeper as everyone's interest was piqued.

"A team of our choosing will meet up with teams from three other chosen guilds, and then all of you will hunt down the Oracion Seis."

Various sounds of shock resonated through the room as they were told the details of the mission. The fact that they were going to be taking on the Oracion Seis was completely shocking and blindsided them all with the abruptness of it.

The Oracion Seis were members of an incredibly powerful dark guild alliance, called the Balam Alliance, and so nobody had tried to disband them so far, despite the atrocities they had committed. To attack the Oracion Seis was to risk bringing down the wrath of the entire Balam Alliance, and nobody had wanted to risk that up to this point. They must have really done something to worry or anger the Magic Council if they'd finally decided to do something about them.

The Balam Alliance consisted of three insanely strong dark guilds and many, many smaller dark guilds that were each loyal to one of the top three. All dark guilds were bad of course, but the three leaders of the Balam Alliance were without a doubt the most feared. It was even rumored that some of them were demons. Most just discounted those stories as gibberish, but Lucy had always wondered if it could be true, because the tales of what they had done didn't seem humanly possible.

Of course, Phantom Lord had been a powerful dark guild too, but the Oracion Seis were on a completely different level. They only had six members, and yet were somehow more powerful than most legal guilds.

All the surprised murmuring stopped though when Master began to speak again. "This mission isn't just to take on the Oracion Seis though. The true purpose of this mission will be to stop them from unsealing an incredibly old, powerful, dark magic. All that we really know about it is its name: Nirvana. We have to stop them at all costs. All the teams sent on this mission will have to be made of extremely powerful and experienced mages. So who wants to go?"

There was some more muttering, and then suddenly Erza stepped forwards. "I will go."

It made sense for her to go – after all, she was one of their strongest members. On the other hand, Lucy was shocked when Natsu joined her, a broad grin on his lips. "I'm in!"

She had momentarily forgotten that he was technically a member now. However, that meant she should go too, since he had to use more and more of his magic the further away from her he was. So Lucy also stepped forwards to join the team, despite cringing a little at the thought of going up against such deadly opponents. It wasn't like she was a coward or anything - quite the opposite in fact - but she did have a pretty good idea of reality, and the thought of dying didn't really appeal to her.

Naturally Gray stepped up next, since he was the final member of their team.

Juvia would have volunteered as well, but apparently four was the maximum that Master Makarov wanted to send.

So, in short order, they were given directions to a meetup point, and they all set off.

When they arrived at the designated location, they entered the rather ostentatious rentable hall to find that it was completely empty … or so it seemed. Shortly after arriving, three handsome young men made a dramatic appearance, complete with spotlights, poses, and roses.

It was all a somewhat overwhelming, and more than a bit silly, but Lucy was drawn in just a little by them. They were the three most eligible bachelors according to Sorcerer Weekly after all. Eve, Hibiki, and Ren from Blue Pegasus were all featured multiple times by the popular mages' magazine, so Lucy couldn't help but feel just a little star-struck. While others in her guild had worked with Blue Pegasus on quite a few different joint missions, she had never participated in one and thus had never met the Trimens – which was the name this team went by.

Still, their attitudes and flamboyant natures were somewhat over the top for her, and in the end she just couldn't take them seriously at all. Especially when they whipped out a love seat from nowhere and grabbed both Erza and herself to be seated and pampered.

She got stuck with Ren, who was trying to be coy or something by handing her a drink while saying, "Here…though it's not like I made it for you or anything."

The outlandish words and the way he refused to look at her was almost too much for her to handle. It was positively ridiculous in her opinion.

Next to her, Erza was having to deal with Eve. He was definitely working a childlike innocent approach to romancing women, using big doe eyes and sporting a blush as he told her how much he had always looked up to her.

Even worse though, was the man soon to appear. He did so even more flamboyantly than his fellow guildmates, by broadcasting his velvety deep voice before he had even showed himself.

"A Reunion! … A Meeting! … A Grand Occurrence!"

Soon a spotlight lit his form at the top of the staircase and followed him as he slid down the banister in an impressive display of balance. The effect was ruined somewhat though when he tripped and landed on his face at the bottom of the magnificent ramp. He managed to save it – sort of – by springing to his feet and striking a dashing pose.

For such a flamboyant fellow, he was incredibly short. His personality greatly overshadowed his small stature by leaps and bounds. As much as Lucy tried not to judge other people, she couldn't help but be amused by this strange man. In sharp contrast, Erza responded almost violently next to her, by freezing up and turning absolutely pale – as if she was terrified.

Alarmed, Lucy leaned in to her friend and whispered, "Hey, you okay?"

"Oh no….not him…" was the only response she got, and soon she knew why.

Ichiya – the leader of the Trimens – immediately made a beeline for Erza and started fawning over her in the creepiest way possible.

"My Darling! How I have missed your sweet parfum!"

He proceeded to sniff her, and a visible shudder worked its way up her body as she sprang off the couch to try and get away. If it wasn't so creepy, Lucy would have laughed, because seeing Erza like this was priceless. Happy had no problem though, and she caught him snickering behind his blue paw as he watched Erza pull out a spear and quickly pick up Ichiya by his collar to hold him at arm's length. The sight was absolutely hysterical, and even Lucy couldn't quite keep a straight face.

Unfortunately, now that Erza was taken, the other three young men only had her to focus on, which meant that suddenly she was the center of their attention. Being fawned over wasn't exactly a hardship, but it was so obviously fake that she just didn't quite know what to do with herself. Then again, it was possible that these Blue Pegasus guys just simply loved all women THAT much.

Still, it felt very strange, and Lucy cringed back just a little as Eve knelt on one knee and pleaded up at her, "What can we do for you? How can we make you more comfortable?"

Faced with it herself, she grew even more convinced that his role was obviously being the cute, sweet, innocent one of the three. Or at least, that was what he was trying to play himself off as, but naturally Lucy doubted that he was actually that way at all.

Meanwhile, Ren simply pushed her drink closer to her while keeping his eyes averted, but strangely a blush also worked its way onto his cheeks. He was a weird one. Lucy couldn't quite decide if he was truly shy, or if he was really aloof, or if it was all an act. He flipped between all forms of cold, aloof, shy, coy, bashful, hard to get, and disinterest-but-interested so quickly that she couldn't get a proper read on him.

Hibiki on the other hand, wasn't at all hard to figure out. He was meant to be the prince charming type, blond and a little too forward for her tastes – and quite frankly he reminded her a lot of Loki. When he first sat next to her, his arm immediately draped across her shoulders, and the fingers of that hand started playing with her hair.

He leaned even further into her personal space when he asked, "So, how are you liking it here?"

"Um…"

"Drink." That was Ren, who was back to being cold and aloof and apparently bossy too.

She ignored Ren, because he was just too hard to deal with. Instead she attempted to answer Hibiki. "Uh, I suppose it's nice?"

"Just nice? Is there any way we can make it better for you? Perhaps some cake?" Eve piped up, still kneeling at her feet and staring up at her with big puppy dog eyes that even she wasn't entirely immune to. Damn, he was good at that.

Amusingly, she noted that Erza had twitched at the mention of cake, but she stayed immobile in her efforts to keep Ichiya at a proper distance.

Lucy restrained her chuckle and answered Eve's question. "No thank you. Really, I'm fine."

"Oh come now, surely there's something that would make you more…comfortable…" Hibiki trailed one finger along her shoulder, and she stiffened at the sensation. That was pushing it a bit too far.

Thankfully she was saved from having to make a fuss, because at that moment Natsu stepped in. "Oi. Hands off, you creeps!"

Ren rose to the challenge. "Maybe you should go home. In fact, both of you should just leave." He was also referring to Gray now.

Gray sparked at that, and soon both Natsu and Gray were going head to head with the three Blue Pegasus boys, while Ichiya continued to swing from Erza's spear and coo at her.

This whole time, Happy just watched and snickered. Once the three clinging annoyances had been distracted by Lucy's guildmates, he hopped up onto the couch with her and asked, "Soooo…. did you have fun?"

"No. I don't really know what to make of those three…. they're just so _extra_. I mean, look at this couch!" She gestured to the pink love seat they were currently sitting on. The back of it was in the shape of a heart, the ends of the arms were hearts, and there was even a large golden heart halo coming up from the back.

"Well you remember what their guild master looks like. Maybe it just rubbed off on them?"

At Happy's mention of Master Bob, Lucy had to agree. He was a gay drag queen, who wore pink primarily, possessed every wig imaginable, and always sported angel wings on his back. It was more than possible that even straight guys in his guild would pick up a certain flare from their flamboyant leader.

"Yeah. Probably." She agreed with her companion.

Thankfully the brewing fight was somewhat stalled when the next team entered.

Instantly Gray's attention switched, specifically to a white-haired mage named Leon. They were old rivals from childhood. They'd both trained under the same master, an ice mage named Ur, and for a long time Leon had blamed Gray for her death. Sometime last year, Lucy's team had gone up against him and his three followers/friends, because they had gone rogue and used something called moondrip on a whole island in the hopes that they could release the demon known as Deliora from Ur's ice. The whole point of it was stupid in Lucy's opinion – apparently Leon had wanted to kill the demon after it was freed, as a way to surpass Ur. As it turned out, Deliora was already dead though, so in the end Leon and his gang realized that they had gone down a bad path for absolutely no reason. By the time everything was said and done, they had promised to go clean.

Apparently Leon had joined Lamia Scale, since he had shown up for this mission with the team sent from there. Sherry – one of his previous gang – had also tagged along for the ride. They were two of the members sent on this mission, while the third was Jura, who everyone was supremely happy to see. He was one of the Ten Wizard Saints, and they could definitely use that sort of power on this particular mission.

Another bonus was that everyone listened to him.

As soon as Leon showed up, Gray picked a fight with him and they started going at it. Meanwhile, Natsu took on all three members of Blue Pegasus who were now itching for a fight. To make matters worse, Sherry came over and started trying to pick a fight with Lucy as soon as their eyes met. They had never gotten along, and despite her best intentions, Lucy could feel her hackles rising at the pink haired nuisance. She was a little similar in attitude to Aquarius – in the sense that she felt the need to loudly and extensively point out that Lucy didn't have a boyfriend and wasn't girlfriend material. It wasn't long before Lucy had stood up rather abruptly and was squaring off with the other woman.

However, as soon as Jura called everyone to heel, the chaos calmed somewhat.

Thankfully, the last team they were waiting for also soon arrived – in a highly unorthodox manner – and provided yet another welcome distraction. Their entrance was almost as shocking as Blue Pegasus's, though what was surprising about it was the level of underwhelming. A young blue haired girl practically tumbled through the doors to the rental hall. She tripped instantly upon entering the room with a cute squeak that had every head turning towards her. Perhaps even more surprising though, was the white cat that strode in next to her.

It was another cat just like Happy, and Lucy's jaw dropped as shock hit her like a lightning bolt. Happy wasn't the only walking, talking kitty?

"Lucy! Lucy! Look at that pretty kitty! Could you maybe tell her that I'm not neutered?" That was Happy of course, and his claws tugged urgently at her skirt.

She glanced down at his adorable eager face. "Um…I'm not sure that would be appropriate for an introduction. You might scare her off. It's best to try not to act too interested at first."

He pouted. "But Luuuucy…"

"I know… but you really don't want to come on too strong. Just wait a bit until the time is right." she advised softly, reaching down to pat his head.

He pouted but seemed to understand and hung back with her as the girl introduced herself as Wendy and the cat as Carla. They were both from Cait Shelter, a very reclusive magic guild that very few people had ever heard of before. Despite her age, which looked to be about 11 or 12 maybe, she turned out to be a sky dragon slayer, which explained why she had been sent on this mission. She was very powerful, though in healing magic not in combat – which they were all glad to hear.

As soon as she showed up, Jura took charge and suggested they all get going. Time was of the essence, so it made sense, and they all kicked it into gear and headed out.

The meetup spot had been chosen because it was easily within walking distance to the large ancient forest where this Nirvana thing was rumored to exist. However, despite the importance of their mission, Happy spent the trek focused entirely on Carla and slowly eased himself over towards her.

Eventually he sidled up next to her and said, "Hi! I'm Happy…I've never seen another cat like me before!"

"Neither have I." she responded politely, but sounded completely disinterested…even a little cold.

This sort of jilted conversation continued on for the duration of their journey, and Lucy felt like she was watching a train wreck in incredibly slow, _slow_ motion. It was painful to watch, so she was extremely happy when they finally reached their destination.

It wasn't a long walk thankfully, and soon they arrived at a cliff overlook which showed the gorgeous vista of a sunken basin filled with lush jungle-type vegetation. Based on the sunken appearance, Lucy had to assume that it had once been a caldera volcano, and she was amazed that such a large piece of gorgeous land had been successfully kept under wraps. She certainly hadn't ever known that this place existed and wondered if it was even marked on normal maps.

It was certainly fitting for a place that was hiding some ancient secret artifact.

Upon arriving there, the group slowed to a halt. They all took a moment to look out at the glorious sight … and also to wonder how the heck they were going to get down into the basin. Lucy knew she and Natsu could get down easy, with his and Happy's wings. Of course – considering how Happy was still absolutely distracted by a certain pretty white kitty – he might not be a huge amount of help.

While they are all dawdling – for their own individual reasons – a new person snuck up behind them without being noticed …. at least not until Erza gasped. At the sharp sound, everyone turned to look at her, and then followed her gaze to a hooded figure that was most certainly not a part of their group.

As for Erza, she seemed outright shocked, which quickly turned into something entirely different as a whole variety of emotions swept across her facial plains. Thick liquid even began to build in her eyes, and Lucy sucked in her breath and held it with astonishment.

She had never seen Erza cry… _ **ever**_ …and she had known the red-headed warrior for many years.

"Is that you?" Erza whispered, all her attention focused on the shadowy person.

He – because it definitely was a he if those broad shoulders were anything to go by – finally looked up and raised his hood to expose a head of bright blue hair and a face that had a red tattoo on his right cheek. He was certainly a striking individual, and not one that Lucy would imagine was easily mistaken for anyone else. Based on Erza's reaction, he was indeed the person she had thought he was.

A choked gasp came from her throat, and everyone seemed to glance at her and then away quickly to give her a little privacy. In fact, everyone sort of stepped back a bit to give the two a little room, since this seemed to be really emotional for both of them. The young man, who seemed to be about their age, didn't show the emotion as obviously as Erza, but his dark blue eyes burned.

"Jellal?"

At the name, Lucy instantly knew why her friend was reacting like this. Though she had never met the guy personally, she knew about him. Erza had told her just a small part of her story, and he played a huge role in it. Though her red-headed friend had never specifically said so, it was obvious that she had deep feelings for Jellal, and Lucy had never been quite able to figure out if they were platonic or not.

Then, about two years ago, Erza had gone on a mission to investigate a strange structure called the Tower of Heaven…or at least, that's where the mission ended up taking her. From what she had told Lucy afterwards, Erza had a _**lot**_ of history with the building, and had ended up there somewhat accidentally. Jellal had also ended up at the tower – or rather, he had been the one to call her there for some nefarious reason – but at the end of it apparently he had died to save her. At least, that's what she had told Lucy.

"I…I thought you were dead."

"Not quite. Though it certainly did a number on me."

Natsu sidled up to Lucy and whispered, "So…who is this guy?"

In as few words as she could manage, she summarized what she knew about him in a whisper.

Their attention turned back to the duo as Erza asked, "What are you doing here? Are you…"

' _Still evil_ ' was left unsaid, though Lucy knew it was a possibility. Apparently, he had gone crazy due to being possessed by an ancient evil demon. It had been worshiped as a god by the previous builders of the tower, but then switched to using Jellal for some unknown reason. The whole story was a bit fantastical, and Lucy only had a small part of it, but she did know that it was entirely possible that this Jellal was still possessed. Hopefully that was not the case, since he was supposedly quite strong.

"I'm here likely for the same reason you are. To find and destroy Nirvana."

"You know about Nirvana?!"

"Of course. To atone for my sins, I have been going after dark guilds for the past year, so I always have my ear to the ground. The Oracion Seis haven't exactly been subtle."

"I see. That's good to hear." Erza's smile told Lucy that her feelings for Jellal were definitely potentially on the non-platonic end of the spectrum. After clearing her throat and straightening out her facial features, she asked, "Do you have any idea where it may be?"

Averting his eyes, he quietly said, "Yes. Being so…intimately connected with an ancient dark force for so long did leave some leftovers. I can feel dark magic from miles away, even if it's sealed. I can easily sense Nirvana's presence, though it's somewhat dulled at the moment."

"Ah. Then maybe you could help us. As you suspected, we are also here to find and destroy Nirvana – as well as to defeat the Oracion Seis if it comes to that."

"Wait just a minute now…" That was Jura, who seemed a bit cautious and was currently eyeballing Jellal. "This man is a wanted criminal. I don't think we should be associating with him."

Jellal's eyes rose to meet the Wizard Saint's. As a previous Wizard Saint himself, a certain tension crackled between the two men.

"I understand your hesitance Jura. Had our roles been reversed, I would likely feel the same way."

"I can vouch for him. His previous actions were due to an evil being who had possessed him. He is no longer under the effects of that possession though, so it is perfectly safe to team up with him."

For a long moment Jura stared at Erza, and then turned away. "As a Wizard Saint, I cannot ally myself with a known criminal." There was a long pause, but then he sent a slight smile over his shoulder. "However, I have not heard your last name, Stranger, and therefore I do not know your true identity. If Erza vouches for you, I will believe in her. But know this, if you do anything to expose hidden intentions, I will eliminate you along with the Oracion Seis if I need to."

There was a collective sigh as everyone relaxed just a few notches. That had been tense.

After that, the only thing to do was figure out how to get down the sheer rock face below them, so they set about finding and discussing options.

Everything was fine and dandy, until the shelf of rock under them suddenly exploded. Instantly, Lucy was airborne thanks to Happy, and they got tossed a good ways from the power of the blast. When the dust cleared, and Happy was able to regain his balance, Lucy's first thought was of the safety of her friends. To her great relief, the clearing dust revealed that Jura had been able to construct a rock shield to keep them safe from the explosion and had made a floor for them to stand on. Of course, they were all hastily exiting said rock floor, so that Jura wouldn't have to maintain it.

Expectedly, the enemy made a grand entrance after the explosion, and right about the same time that Lucy was landing, six people appeared as if from nowhere.

Why evil mages felt the need to suddenly appear from thin air, Lucy would never know, but it seemed to be a popular trend at the moment. Maybe it was for dramatic effect.

Whatever the case, Lucy was unimpressed.

"Ah! I see you all survived, well done." the person who seemed to be their leader said, stepping forwards from the group of six wizards. He was tall, possessed white hair, and had a series of geometrical maze-like tattoos on his face.

"You must be Brain, the leader of the Oracion Seis." Jura responded.

"Indeed. And you are Jura of Lamia Scale. The Council chose an impressive selection of wizards to pit up against us. I assume they are making a bid for Nirvana?"

"You would be correct." Erza announced.

"How unfortunate for you, because there's no way that you could possibly defeat all six of us. Therefore, you will die. Hoteye?"

An exceptionally large mage stepped forwards and grinned. "Do you think we can get some money from them? Whoo yeah!"

"I don't-" All of a sudden, Brain's whole demeanor changed as his eyes locked onto Jellal. "Wait, _**you're**_ here as well?"

Jellal refused to answer, but his eyes narrowed.

A broad grin broke out across Brain's lips. "I see, I see. Well…in that case, we shall withdraw. For now. Come."

The other members of the Oracion Seis – especially Hoteye – all seemed highly confused by the abrupt retreat, and almost looked like they might protest. However, anything they may have said was instantly shut down by a commanding look from Brain, and soon they had all disappeared, once again as if into thin air.

Meanwhile, everyone from the allied guilds were flabbergasted.

"What was that about?" Gray demanded with a tone that said he was thoroughly confused and pissed.

Lucy and Happy shared a look of concern and confusion as well, wondering the same thing.

"Cowards!" Natsu exclaimed, sounding irritable at not getting to fight.

Meanwhile, other soft murmurs of confusion circulated throughout the group.

Erza was the first to speak and voice a probable explanation. "Most likely they know that Jellal can find Nirvana."

Jura jumped in at that point. "They also seemed quite pleased to see you. Would you care to explain why that might be, Jellal?"

"When I was possessed, I had some interactions with these people. It's possible that they think I might work in tandem with them, or that they can convince me to join them. However, at the very least I believe that Erza is correct. Whether or not they try to get me to join them, it's certain that they intend to use me to find Nirvana. Most likely by following us."

"Now what do we do?" a soft-spoken timid voice asked, and nobody had to look at Wendy to know it came from her. Carla instantly soothed her.

"If they're just going to follow us, then what's the point of even trying to find Nirvana first?! It'll just lead them right to it!" Leon agreed.

"Even if they follow us, we still have to find and disarm Nirvana. We simply have to hold them off until we can do so." Hibiki contributed, and several heads nodded in agreement.

"Do you know how to disarm Nirvana?" Lucy then asked Jellal, since he was their best bet at doing so.

He shook his head. "Once it's fully active, no, I have no clue. I merely intend to unseal it and then destroy it before it can be fully activated."

"You're going to unseal it?!" Eve asked, sounding absolutely horrified. A few snowflakes fell around him, which apparently happened when he grew distressed.

"That seems like a really bad idea." Ren agreed, scowling at the blue-haired mage.

"It's the only way to destroy it. I cannot do so when it's sealed. The magic circle that's sealing it also acts as a protective barrier against other magic circles, and until I can write a detonation circle on it, there's nothing I can do."

"So you plan to explode the thing?" Natsu asked, looking positively delighted. That came as no surprise to Lucy …. he tended to get overly excited at explosions.

Jellal nodded in confirmation.

For a long moment there was silence as everyone absorbed the plan so far. Then Erza turned to them all and said, "It seems like our best course of action is to simply proceed as planned. Once we have found Nirvana, Jellal will unseal and detonate it. While he's writing the detonation circle, we'll just have to keep the enemy busy, or defeat them before we even reach Nirvana."

After a moment, everyone nodded in agreement, and in short order they all set off. Jellal led the way, which only made sense considering he was the one who actually knew where they were going.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _With a snap, she unraveled her whip and went after Angel. The other Lucy intercepted her, and she had to skid to a halt and throw herself to the side to avoid getting smacked with that big-ass sword thing. She slipped though on some wet river rocks and fell into the water. Gemini used the temporary weakness to gain the upper hand and slammed Chisel down on her. She managed to roll out of the way, but not completely. The blow caught her right calf and even though Chisel's blade was blunt, it still wasn't fun to be hit by it in any way, shape, or form._

 _As for Natsu, he was fighting with everything he possessed to try and crawl his way off the stupid raft that had captured him. He'd only gone a few inches though…not nearly far enough to tip into the water, and nausea seized his gut with more than just the pain that transportation imposed on him. He hated this with every fiber of his being – having to hear and feel Lucy fight while he was forced to sit there and watch was absolute torture. It was worse than anything he could ever imagine, and he retched in disgust and pain._

 _At the same time though, he was also in awe of his mage._


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:**

And here it is! The much anticipated Chapter 11! Woohoo!

We get an early chapter again! Yay! Which means you guys are amazing and awesome! If we get 8 reviews for this chapter, I'll post the next one on Wednesday, and you know what that means! An extra chapter the following weekend.

As always, huge happy thanks to everyone who reviewed! You are all so amazing! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers TheJSmooth, WisdomDragon27, mumof4, Galp, Daisy Shields, MiseryWolf97, moeruhoshi, and pixiecatost! As always I really enjoyed reading your reviews! And equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers valerioux and Donthedarkdragon26! Welcome!

And of course keep your eyes peeled for the sneak peek at the end of this chapter, and also a tiny note.

On with the show!

* * *

With a mixture of Leon and Gray's ice magic, Jura's rock magic, and various flying abilities, they all made it down to the bottom of the cliff face in short order. It turned out to be easier than they had first thought, though it still wasn't a walk in the park. But finally, they were in the jungle, and it was time to start hunting for Nirvana in earnest – or rather, to follow Jellal right to it.

The going was hardly smooth though. They ran into problems almost right away.

The first speed-bump they hit was in the form of a low-ranked dark guild composed of thugs that didn't seem overly intelligent. They also appeared to think that imitating monkeys was fashionable.

Despite their apparent lack in intellect, they did somehow manage to capture Ichiya and run off with him, almost before the rest of them had processed what happened. All they knew was that a group of thugs appeared in their path and picked a fight with them. While they were busy dealing with those, a loud squawk sounded from the back of the group, and when everyone whirled around, they saw some of the monkey gang running off into the thick forest with Ichiya slung over a thug's shoulder.

Naturally the rest of Blue Pegasus was horrified. Ren elected to stay and take out that guild, before hunting down the few who had kidnapped his team leader.

As they continued on, they were soon confronted by another dark guild, which was – yet again – obviously relatively weak. Eve opted to stay behind this time, and let the rest of them know that he planned to go help Ren find their team leader after he had finished up with this enemy. Once they retrieved Ichiya, he promised that the three Trimens would meet back up with them.

This process repeated once again with Hibiki.

So the Lamia Scale, Fairy Tail, and Cait Shelter teams left Blue Pegasus to it and continued on. For a while, they were able to make some decent headway… but eventually another misfortune befell them.

This time, the first indicator that something was wrong happened to be rather painful for Lucy. She was minding her own business, walking along behind Gray with Natsu behind her, when all of a sudden she was being hit at full force by something that felt like a magic vehicle. It happened so fast that she didn't even have time to scream, only gasp in shock as she suddenly found herself airborne and in pain. She was knocked a good distance and landed with a grunt as it felt like the air had been knocked out of her. Natsu was instantly by her side of course – fired up and ready to beat the shit out of whatever or whoever had pulled the stunt.

"What the hell happened?! You okay Luce?"

"Yeah…I think so…"

Happy flew over to investigate as well, while she peeled herself off the ground with a grimace. It didn't feel like anything was broken at least, but she'd have some pretty amazing bruises.

Suddenly, Gray also met the same fate, and everyone watched in shock as he abruptly became airborne and flew backwards to hit a tree. Now that they were watching, they all saw something zip by and hit him – so whatever it was wasn't invisible. It was simply insanely fast.

Gray cussed as he sat up before rubbing his head and angrily squinting around.

Sherry got hit next, and unlike Lucy and Gray, she _**did**_ scream. Loudly. It was both terrifying and almost funny in a horrifying way.

Finally they got to see what the heck was attacking them when one of the Oracion Seis came to a halt in front of them. It was Racer, and now they all knew why he was called that. Of course they had been briefed on the members of the Oracion Seis and knew their appearances and names – but not their abilities.

Gray cracked his knuckles and stepped forwards to deal with him. "I got this guy. You all go on ahead."

"You sure?" Erza asked, and Gray nodded, his eyes firmly set on Racer.

"Oh _please_. Like you could take him on your own." Leon protested and stepped up next to him in a challenging sort of way.

The rest of the group all started to head out, though Sherry hung back with the two ice mages – probably to make sure that Leon would be okay. He refused to leave even though Gray growled at him to go with the rest of the group.

"Ha! I'll take you all out!" Racer scoffed and came after the group that was leaving. He managed to knock Natsu off his feet, and the dragon leapt back up snarling and spitting with rage. Lucy had to drag him behind her to get him to follow and not pick a fight.

By that point they had put a little space between them and the ice mages, and so on the next pass, Racer ran face-first into a huge wall of ice with a satisfying smack as Gray blocked him off. That certainly redirected his focus, and the rest of them were able to get away.

Naturally, they didn't get very far, because soon they ran into another cliff. This one wasn't quite as steep or as tall as the last one, but it was definitely a road block. Right as they were all getting ready to descend – with a combination of Jura's stone steps and flying magic – they all began to sink. It was as if the ground had turned to mush.

This time, Lucy did screech as she was sucked in up to her thighs. Natsu bellowed a few choice curse words and tried to set the quicksand on fire, which didn't help him at all.

Naturally, Happy wrenched Lucy out of the quicksand easily enough, with a disgusting squelching sound that had her cringing and then groaning as one of her shoes got lost. "My shoe! It ate my shoe!"

Wendy was also soon airborne with the help of Carla. Natsu and Erza both had their own wings – Erza from her black wing armor, and they quickly took flight as well. Erza dipped back down though to grab Jellal under his armpits and hoist him up into the air with her, though she wobbled a little under the extra weight. When Natsu swooped to do the same for Jura, the Wizard Saint waved him off.

"You all go on ahead! I'll hold him off!" Jura shouted, and they all turned to see Hoteye facing off with him. If there was anyone who could take on Hoteye, it was definitely Jura, and none of them had any concerns about leaving him to deal with the wretched money obsessed Oracion Seis member.

"Once I catch you, maybe I can sell you! A Wizard Saint would probably fetch a huge price on the black market! Oh Yeah!" – was the last thing they heard as they all descended to the next level of the jungle.

Erza descended first and more quickly than the rest of them, probably because of Jellal's extra weight, and her landing was less than graceful. She practically dropped the last few feet and ended up basically sitting on Jellal's head – which forced him to do an abrupt faceplant into the dirt. Naturally she sprung back to her feet with a vivid blush staining her cheek and apologized profusely while Jellal picked himself up off the ground somewhat more slowly.

Happy whispered into Lucy's ear, "She _liiiiiikes_ him…"

She snorted. "Oh yeah, definitely. But don't let Erza hear you, or you'll be one dead kitty."

He snickered, and they touched down much more gracefully than their red-headed teammate.

Once everyone had landed, they set off again, but obviously they were on much higher alert by this point. After meeting so much resistance already, none of them were under the misconception that the rest of the way was going to be peaches and lollypops.

When the sound of an explosion shook the forest, Lucy nearly leapt out of her skin. She was already so on edge, anticipating the next attack or trap, that the loud noise made her jump a foot in the air and yell embarrassingly loud. The sound had originated from the direction they had just come from, and of course they all instantly whipped around to look back behind them. The remnants of the explosion left smoke hanging in midair about halfway down the cliff they had just scaled, and something was just plummeting into the trees below as they turned to look.

The sound of people screaming set them all on edge.

"Do you suppose someone…" Happy whispered, his paws tightening on her shoulder.

Lucy shook her head as her heart squeezed in her chest with worry. "I hope not."

"If that was one of our comrades, it must have been Gray, Leon, Sherry, or Jura." Erza commented, sounding tense as well.

There was nothing to be done about it now though. All they could do was press on with their hearts significantly heavier.

Unfortunately, with this mindset, it was easy to fall into the trap laid for them. When they rounded a small patch of trees and came face to face with the sight of Gray lying face-down in a river, they all took the bait and rushed forwards. Natsu was the first to wade into the river to fish out their comrade, and so he was the one to end up snagged in the trap that had been laid for them. Suddenly, a raft came up under him, and he lurched – instantly turning pasty with motion sickness.

As Natsu went to his hands and knees, Gray stood up and patted himself off, as if floating face-down in the river was perfectly normal. The leer on his face though was most certainly not normal and set off every alarm bell in Lucy's head.

"Oh please…that was too easy." the ice mage said with a chuckle and kicked Natsu.

At this point Lucy was positive that they were dealing with an imposter.

"Who are you?" Erza asked before she had a chance to.

The fake Gray set his gaze on her. "Gray Fullbuster. An Ice mage from Fairy Tail. 23 years old. Has a habit of taking his clothes off. And you are…Erza Scarlet. Another member of Fairy Tail. A reequip mage. Impressive. Gray is terrified of you."

"That's not Gray!" Happy yelled accusatorily.

Lucy nodded in agreement and added, "You aren't trying very hard to trick us are you?"

Natsu's groan distracted them all for a moment. Silently, Lucy nudged Happy and gestured subtly towards Natsu, and her cat nodded in understanding. Without a word, his wings popped out and he made a beeline for the dragon, who was apparently so paralyzed that he couldn't even go back to the spirit realm.

However, before Happy had even made it a foot through the air, he was blasted with ice projectiles and knocked into a nearby tree. With a thud he landed on the shore of the river, motionless.

"Happy! How dare you, you jerk!" Lucy cried, starting forwards towards the motionless form of her companion. When she reached him, she made sure he was still breathing, and then carefully placed him into a safe-looking nook of roots.

Pseudo-Gray's icy eyes landed on her. "Lucy Heartfilia…a celestial mage."

"How interesting!" a new voice said, and every head swung around to the newest arrival. It was the female member of the Oracion Seis – the one they called 'Angel.'

"You guys head on, I got her." Lucy growled, now simmering at a low-level rage.

The others sent her questioning looks, but at her furious glance, they all turned and left her to it. This was personal now. She was facing off against a wizard who had not only knocked out her cat, but also trapped her best friend using his only weakness.

"And what are you supposed to be?" Lucy spat, taking a stance and waiting to see what the other woman would do.

To her shock, the Gray figure suddenly morphed and separated into the form of two small blue-haired children that floated above Natsu's raft. They were mostly identical, aside from the fact that one was a boy and one was a girl. The girl had shoulder-length straight hair and the boy had messy short hair, but that was the only glaring difference between them. Everything else about them looked almost completely the same – the strange golden halo that circled each of them around the middle, the black poncho dress that went from neck to knee, and even the two strands of hair that stuck out and looked like antenna.

"Piiri piiri!" they said in tandem. Then both bowed and curtseyed. "We are Gemi and Mini, the two Gemini spirits."

"I see…. Normally I would say pleased to meet you, but at the moment not so much." Lucy said to the celestial spirits – seeming to surprise them. And then she turned to Angel and scowled. "I guess this means you're a celestial wizard too."

At another loud groan from Natsu, Lucy suddenly realized she should deal with him first. With a spark of guilt, she reached for his key and said, "Close! Gate of the dragon."

At the same time though, the other mage gestured at Gemini, and suddenly the twins poofed and turned into Lucy. The fake Lucy quickly said, "Open, Gate of the Dragon!" and Natsu's form flickered but stayed firmly on the raft.

"As you saw before, Gemini here can perfectly copy someone." Angel said smugly, waving her hand towards the spitting image of Lucy.

Lucy blinked, unsure about what just happened. "Okay … and what the hell just happened?"

"Gemini doesn't just imitate a person's form, they also imitate their magic. So _my_ Lucy can control every spirit that you can."

With a sinking feeling, Lucy realized just how tough this was going to be. Going straight for a powerhouse that had a hope of defying her doppelganger, she summoned Aquarius. Plunging her key into the water, she yelled, "Open! Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"

The mermaid appeared in a fountain of water and then turned to give Lucy her normal irritated glare. "What is it this time?"

They were interrupted by the other mage cackling. "Oh dear, it seems I need to teach you a lesson in compatibility. Open! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!"

Scorpio poofed into existence with a sandy blast, and instantly Aquarius seemed to melt. Lucy realized why when the other spirit said, "Wicked! You must be my Babe's mage. Nice ta meet ya!"

Aquarius whipped around and hissed, "If you make me look bad in front of my boyfriend … I will _**crush**_ you!"

After that, all Lucy could do was watch with her jaw hanging open in shock as Aquarius and Scorpio waltzed off together back to the celestial realm. Blinking off her disbelief, she snapped back to business.

"Fine! But she's not my only trump card. Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

He appeared in a golden flash and acted cool for all of a second – until he noticed Natsu's predicament, and then he started snickering. He jerked to attention though when the other celestial mage began to laugh once again.

"It seems I can teach you yet another lesson. You're really making this too simple. Open! Gate of the Ram! Aries!"

To Lucy's shock and horror, a puff of pink appeared, and out of it came a timid looking spirit with pink hair and an extremely fluffy dress that looked like sheep's wool. Instantly she knew that this wasn't going to work, because of what she had learned about Aries and Leo's past. It wouldn't be fair to make them fight, so she geared up to close his gate.

He stopped her though. "No Lucy, it's alright. I'm your celestial spirit, and it's a matter of pride to fight for you, even if it's against a friend."

The ram spirit nodded shakily. "Yes, that's right."

She could see how they looked at each other though – with eyes full of heartache and regret alongside their determination – and it broke her heart to see them go at each other. They didn't pull any punches, and it was clearly evident that Aries was not a combat spirit. She was able to block most of Leo's attacks with balls of pink wool that she expelled like shields, but he was definitely winning and started to land more and more blows. Each one that actually hit made him cringe imperceptibly, but Lucy could feel the pain echo through their connection and felt tears begin to slide down her cheeks.

"How can you do this?!" she turned and shouted at the other mage, only to pull up short at the sight of her laughing.

"What do you mean? It's wonderful entertainment. I certainly didn't expect them to fight."

Fury started a slow hot burn in Lucy's gut, and she clenched her fists. "Can't you see they're in pain? They don't want to fight each other! How could that possibly be _entertaining_?!"

"Ha! It's their job to serve us, not to make friends with other spirits."

Lucy felt a blood vessel begin to pound in her temple as her anger kicked up another notch. She controlled it though, in the hopes that she could still get through to this sadistic witch. "Please, stop this. Send Aries back."

All she got in response was laughter. The other mage dispersed Gemini and then summoned a spirit Lucy hadn't ever heard of before – some sort of metal robot ball that popped out a gun turret. She ignored it at first, because she was busy reaching for Natsu's key to send him back now that Gemini wasn't around to prevent him from going. However, she was thoroughly distracted by the next thing that Angel did.

A blast emerged from the spirit who she called Chisel, and it shot a gaping hole through both Aries and Leo, taking the two of them out at once. They both cried out in pain and fell, reaching out for the other's hand as they disappeared back to the celestial realm. Watching the appalling scene, Lucy could feel her eyes split open wide in horror.

"You just…how could you do that to your own spirit?!"

"It's not like they can die." Angel scoffed.

"But they feel pain just as keenly as we do!"

"So?" The other mage casually summoned Gemini again, and the copy of Lucy grabbed Chisel – which turned into a giant sword type of thing with a handle for her to wield.

"So? _**So?!**_ " Lucy yelled, feeling herself hit an all-time high in the anger department. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she was this angry.

"Spirits aren't just toys for you to PLAY with! They're people with thoughts and feelings and should be respected! You shouldn't have those keys! You aren't a true celestial mage, not with the way you treat your spirits like THINGS! How dare you even call yourself a celestial mage!" Angry tears poured down her cheeks.

Her doppelganger looked a little stunned, but real-Lucy ignored her in favor of facing off with the other celestial mage.

"You aren't any better. You summoned Leo to fight me, and I just did the same with my spirits. The only difference is that I'm more successful. Did you think you were the first celestial mage I've gone up against? Of course not! I've defeated four! And with each, I stole their keys. It will be a pleasure to add yours to my collection. Now come, summon another spirit and use them as the weapon they are…"

"No! I won't summon any more spirits to fight you, I'll fight you on my own terms! And you'll never get my keys! I couldn't stand for them to land in your hands for you to mistreat."

She wasn't sure any of her other spirits could disobey the other Lucy, so she simply wouldn't summon any of them. She refused to let any of her friends get hurt for her sake – not when they wouldn't have any way to fight back.

With a snap, she unraveled her whip and went after Angel. The other Lucy intercepted her, and she had to skid to a halt and throw herself to the side to avoid getting smacked with that big-ass sword thing. She slipped though on some wet river rocks and fell into the water. Gemini used the temporary weakness to gain the upper hand and slammed Chisel down on her. She managed to roll out of the way, but not completely. The blow caught her right calf and even though Chisel's blade was blunt, it still wasn't fun to be hit by it in any way, shape, or form.

As for Natsu, he was fighting with everything he possessed to try and crawl his way off the stupid raft that had captured him. He'd only gone a few inches though…not nearly far enough to tip into the water, and nausea seized his gut with more than just the pain that transportation imposed on him. He hated this with every fiber of his being – having to hear and feel Lucy fight while he was forced to sit there and watch was absolute torture. It was worse than anything he could ever imagine, and he retched in disgust and pain.

At the same time though, he was also in awe of his mage. Not everything he was feeling at the moment was negative, there was a good dose of wonder and amazement thrown in there as he listened to her impassioned words and how she fought for the rights of celestial spirits. It yanked at something deep in him and he felt his heart squeeze with something unfamiliar as warm bubbles tickled his insides. That didn't really help his nausea though, and he wished his stomach would stop flip-flopping around like a fish.

Meanwhile, Lucy managed to roll to her feet, though she now had a pronounced limp as her lower limb protested its recent injury. She managed to dodge even with her limp, but the next hit that she took got her in the stomach. Thankfully Chisel was only sharp at the tip, otherwise she would have been filleted like a fish. As it was though, she was still sent flying back and slammed into a large bolder hard enough to make her ears ring and stars to dance around in her vision for a moment.

She heard Natsu choke something that sounded like her name, but she could barely hear it with the ringing in her ears and certainly couldn't respond with her breath gone.

Angel started laughing. "You're pathetic! You won't even summon a spirit to fight! It wouldn't do any good of course, but they could act as a shield at least!"

Lucy groaned as she staggered to her feet but faced off once again with her enemy and wheezed, "I would never use a spirit as my shield. They aren't inanimate objects, they're my friends and comrades! And I fight for them just as they fight for me. I wouldn't summon one into a situation where they couldn't defend themselves!"

Once again, the other Lucy seemed startled and stalled out a little. When her mage ordered her to attack though, she did, but the intensity of her swings were much less – as if Gemini was unsure now about fighting her. Lucy fought back with her whip, but she didn't really want to use it on the celestial spirit.

She didn't have much of a choice though, and so she cracked it across Fake-Lucy's chest to drive her back.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to fight you, but your master isn't giving me much choice…" she grunted, wincing as the spirit fell back with a cry of pain.

Dashing past her doppelganger, she made a beeline for Angel. The other celestial mage fell back in fear at her approach, but she obviously wasn't skilled at hand-to-hand combat because she utterly failed at dodging or blocking when Lucy reached her and punched her square in the face.

She screamed, "Gemini what are you doing?! Get her you idiots!"

That was the only warning Lucy had before the sword was smashing across her back. She fell face-first into the water, and river rocks ground into her palms, knees, and face as she landed hard on her front. Rolling out of the way, she staggered to her feet somehow, only to be knocked back again.

She landed in the shallows on her back this time, getting even more scraped up by rocks and the roots of trees along the shore. Before she could get up again though, the sharp tip of something drove down to press against her chest, pinning her in place. With a sharp gasp, she looked up to see the other Lucy standing over her with Chisel posed to run her through.

Her mind raced. She had to protect her keys at all costs, and if she was about to die they would land in the hands of this sadistic woman. The only thing she could do to save them was send them down the river. Its current was strong enough that it should carry them to safety, and that was the only thought in her head as she reached for the pouch on her waist.

"Aha! And here you said you would never use your spirits as a shield. Yet when your life is threatened, you're ready to pull one out to take the blow for you…ahahah, what a hypocrite! Gemini! Take her out!"

The spirit above her didn't move, and Lucy looked up to see tears streaking its face. "No…she isn't planning to call a spirit. She's planning to throw away her keys to protect them…leaving her defenseless."

Chisel fell away from her chest. "We can hear her thoughts and feel her feelings. She loves us…we can't fight her."

Angel sputtered in impotent fury while Lucy was left numb with surprise at Gemini's actions. The other celestial mage recovered first and called Chisel back to her before having it turn into a gun turret again. Gemini stayed standing in front of her, even as Angel aimed that canon right at Lucy.

Lucy jerked upright and shouted, "Get out of the way Gemini or she'll shoot you too!"

It was strange to be looking into her own face, especially as it twisted with tears, and she had to wonder if her own eyes looked that blue or her nose that red when she cried. She was shouting at them again to move when the gun went off, blasting a destructive orb of light the size of a bowling ball at them. Gemini exploded as the shot went through their imitation body of Lucy.

If Lucy had thought it was weird to watch herself cry, it was even worse to see something shoot a hole through her own chest and rip her apart while hearing her own agonized cry of pain.

The blazing ball of light kept going, aiming right for her head, but suddenly the chiming of a clock sounded. With a wave of immense relief, Lucy recognized the noise and the bright flash of white light as Horologium summoned himself. As she watched, the ball of light slowed to a crawl, giving the clock animatronic spirit enough time to scoop Lucy up in his clockwork arms and step out of the way.

Like her other spirits he was human shaped – but with a few key differences. In his case, his body was obviously made of wooden and metal panels over gears and clockwork. While some of her spirits – like Taurus – possessed the body of a human and the head of something else, Horologium was the complete opposite. His body was purely animatronic, while his head and face seemed completely human, aside from the lamplit eyes and clockface tattooed over his own features. Naturally, the tattoo was also magical and moved just like a real clock – always telling the correct time.

His special ability was to control time to a certain extent. At the moment he had slowed it to an infinitesimal crawl, which gave Grandpa Crux plenty of time to pop into existence as well. Lucy yipped in surprise at his appearance, being extremely shocked to have two spirits coming out at once of their own will.

"I asked Horologium to assist me in this venture. He can give me just enough time to download a celestial spell into your mind using my archive magic. I believe that now is the time to do so."

"I…oh…thank you both…" she murmured, shaking herself back together quickly.

This wasn't entirely unprecedented. Grandpa Crux had shown up once before in this same manner to present her with the spell that allowed her to unlock any lock she wished – and it had also been during a time of great peril for her. She'd been locked in a dungeon that was slowly filling with water when he gave her that spell.

As before, he floated right in front of her and put his wizened hands on either side of her head. Golden trails of magic flooded into her mind, symbols spiraling out around her head like hundreds of haloes as the spell downloaded. A load bar magically appeared in front of her eyes, and she watched it fill through watering eyes as the intense information stuffed her mind so full that she felt like she was going to pop.

Finally, it was done, and both spirits left in a flash of brilliant light, leaving her lightheaded and staggering. All Angel had seen of it was two vivid flashes of light mere seconds apart, and then suddenly Lucy was standing to the side and the ball of light passed by her.

Meanwhile, Natsu was still paralyzed and also positively terrified for Lucy. He couldn't even move his head to see what was going on, but it sounded like a fierce battle was being waged. That last blast from Chisel had especially worried him, and he had felt a sear of terror burn every nerve in his body when he sensed Lucy's fright. The only thing keeping him sane was that he could feel she was still alive and actually uninjured after it went off. He'd been experiencing echoes of her pain throughout the fight, which just made it even more agonizing to be stuck all the way over here – but at least it also let him know when she was okay.

As for Lucy, her head was still spinning, but she was eager to try out her new spell. With it just being downloaded, it was fresh in her mind, and now was the only time she could cast it properly without further training. Besides that, Natsu had taken it upon himself to send some magic her way, probably since he had heard the fight escalate and sensed how low her own reserves were.

So she quickly began the incantation, which was lengthy, but the effects of it startled Angel so much that she staggered back and didn't attack.

" _Survey the heavens. Open the heavens. All the stars far and wide, show me thy appearance with such shine."_

Lucy began to glow with bright golden light, and the sky darkened, showing all the stars. In fact, it was more than just stars above them … the current sky was more like the glimpse of the celestial realm she had caught when she had come face-to-face with the Celestial King. Heavy planets and swirling galaxies lit up the sky in vivid rainbows of color.

"Wha-what's going on?!" Angel stammered, falling to land on her behind as she stared upwards at the heavens.

The sky grew even heavier and more imposing as a series of large planetary bodies started to descend – answering Lucy's call. The earth was utterly dark, while the sky lit up like fireworks, and Lucy's body radiated so much light that it cast everything around her into shadow. It was an utterly alien landscape, and had Lucy not been the one casting the spell, she would have been beyond terrified.

Her voice took on a weird echo, as if she was speaking into some ancient hall, as she finished the incantation. _"Oh Tetrabiblos, I am ruler of the stars. Aspect become complete, open thy malevolent gate. Oh, eighty eight stars of the heaven, shine! Urano Metria!"_

At her summons, the heavy planets hanging above them fell down from the sky in a deadly rain of meteors. They were the eighty-eight heavenly bodies that Lucy had just intoned her prayer to, and every one of them aimed at Angel with vicious precision. As they hit, trees began to fall, the water of the river erupted, and rocks sprayed like shrapnel. Angel herself was sent flying more than once as she was hit over and over, ruthlessly beaten by the celestial bodies Lucy had sicked on her.

Once the light faded from around Lucy and the sky slowly returned to normal, she was frankly shocked that her opponent was still in one piece. Angel had been tossed up onto the bank in a bloody heap, and it was clear that multiple bones had been broken at the very least, but she still seemed to be alive.

Lucy's victory was short lived though, because right about then, Natsu's raft got unstuck – thanks to all the commotion – and started floating down the river.

With a gasp of horror, Lucy started after him as fast as she could while wading through the thigh-high water. All he could do was groan and squeeze his eyes shut as a visible shudder wracked his frame.

"I'm coming Natsu! Hang on!"

Once she was in range, she reached out a hand and tried to grab his, which outstretched to meet her. With a stumble though, she faceplanted into the river and lost him. When she came back up, he was even further from her. Giving up on the idea of being dry at all, she was forced to dive into the stream and actually swim towards him to make up the distance. Finally, she reached the raft and grabbed onto his hand…right as the water picked up speed. All she really managed was to get hauled onto the raft with him as the small wooden craft was swept up into a swift current.

The speed soon wasn't the problem. What really turned out to be an issue were the rapids that banged them this way and that, and pile drove them into rocks that jutted from the unpredictable waters. All she could really do was cling to Natsu and do her absolute best to keep them both on the raft.

Soon a dull roar started up, and with dread Lucy raised her head…to see a huge waterfall coming up quick.

"Oh…you have got to be kidding me!"

If only Happy hadn't been knocked out back there…with his help they may have stood a chance. But as it was, they were totally screwed.

The only thing she could think of was to try and close Natsu's gate to send him back. Grappling for her keys with one hand, she managed to snag his and gasped, "Close! Gate of the Dragon!"

With a pop and spark, he disappeared, leaving her to fend for herself. Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes, she waited until she had separated from the raft and was free-falling before yelling, "NATSU! A little help please?!"

There was a horrifying second before – with another spark and whiff of smoke – Natsu was there. His wings snapped out, and he managed to catch Lucy…clumsily, but at least he did it. He was still obviously weak from being so motion sick, and his wings only flapped a couple of times – causing them to drift down pretty quickly – before they popped out of existence entirely. Natsu and Lucy both plummeted the last distance into the river, which was luckily quite deep where they landed.

Her grip on him was torn free as they hit the water. Blinking, she tried to locate him through the murky water, refusing to think about what she was getting in her eyes by doing so. A flash of pink under her had her diving down deeper to snag his scarf. He had apparently passed out, and so it was up to her to drag them both up for some air. With a gasp, she managed to break the surface, though almost instantly ducked back down as his weight dragged her under. The rapids didn't help at all.

Gathering him closer, she got a better grip on him and not his scarf, so she wouldn't strangle him to death. Swimming with one arm, but primarily her legs, she tried to make for the bank, but kept getting smashed into rocks. Somehow she managed to keep hold of him, though he threatened to be ripped from her more than once. When he did wake up, he was going to have some claw marks across his torso from where her nails raked across his skin to keep him to her. That was going to be fun to explain….

As for Lucy, she was definitely also accumulating a nice collection of bruises and scrapes from the rocks she kept ping-ponging off of.

Finally, after spending way too much time spinning around and getting dunked and smacked around, Lucy managed to drag both their sorry butts out of the river.

Her first action, once making it to dry land, was to check on Natsu. How he was still in this world when he'd been knocked unconscious was unknown, since celestial spirits automatically went back to the spirit world when they got hurt badly enough or passed out. Natsu though was different somehow.

He seemed to be doing okay, aside from being soaked through and spitting up some water.

As soon as she was sure he was fine, she collapsed next to him, and essentially passed out as well.

…

When she woke back up, it was to the sound of a masculine groan.

"What the shit happened?"

Her eyes peeled open on a groan of her own as the bruises and scrapes all over her body woke up along with her. All she had to do as say was, "waterfall," and another sharp groan from Natsu told her that he had remembered.

"Right."

There was a long silence as Lucy turned her eyes to him and watched as he curiously glanced down at his chest. There were long bloody gashes crisscrossing his skin, and she knew there would be even more on his back. It looked like he had gotten attacked by a cat…or had indulged in some _**very**_ rough sex.

That last though made her blush, and she had to look away a moment. Where the heck had that particular notion come from? Maybe Cana and Mirajane were finally getting to her with all their matchmaking and not-so-subtle innuendoes.

She should only feel guilt at causing the damage and relief that they had survived. Her mind certainly shouldn't be dredging stuff up from the gutter at a moment like this.

"Oi…"

Her attention shifted back to him at the sound.

"What're all these?" He gestured at the claw marks, and Lucy did her best to fight down another blush.

"Uh…well those would be from my fingernails. When we fell, I had to swim us both out, and the river kept knocking us around. To keep my grip on you…I sort of clawed you up a bit. I'm sorry."

His eyebrows shot up practically into his hairline and he glanced back down at the marks. "You did this?! Holy shit Luce."

She may have been worried that he would get mad, if it weren't for the slight grin that showed for a brief moment. It was so quick Lucy couldn't be sure what sort of grin it was, but the fleeting impression it left on her made her think his mind might have gone to the same place hers had. That thought only made her flush again, and she looked away once more.

What the heck was wrong with her?! She was mildly horrified by how her brain was currently misbehaving.

And it wasn't the first time either. Lately, her mind would go to places it never used to go automatically, and she was starting to wonder if even considering him shortly as a romantic partner when she was sick had flipped some kind of switch in her brain that said those sorts of thoughts were okay. It was a mildly disturbing idea.

When she turned back to look at him, he was staring at her, but with a totally different expression. He almost looked horrified.

"What?"

"What happened to you?"

"Huh?" Glancing down, she saw what he probably meant. Every exposed bit of skin was covered in bruises, and there were several bloody scrapes that had left a mess on her arms and legs.

"Oh…just the river's doing." She shrugged it off. It wasn't the worst she'd had by any means.

He abruptly looked guilty. "Damn. Sorry Luce, I really dropped the ball on that one."

"What do you mean? It's not your fault. You were motion sick."

"Yeah but still…it's my job to protect you."

"Seriously. Don't worry about it Natsu." she said gently, putting her hand on his shoulder and staring him dead in the eye.

The eye contact grew strangely soft after a moment as the tension eased a little from Natsu's gaze. Still, their eyes stuck to each other, and Lucy could feel her cheeks heat up just a little. It was weirdly intense, and warm fluffiness built up in her stomach cavity, like a mass of heated cotton candy. If she'd had any doubts that she was now harboring a crush on her partner, they were all wiped away in the face of this stare-off, and the realization made it all the more intense.

Finally it grew too much for Lucy and she had to break it, though she had to use a surprising amount of force to do so.

* * *

 **Quick Note:** Just so you know, I was picturing someone specific when I re-imagined Horologium. Anyone wanna guess who it is? I'll give you three hints, he's from a pretty popular anime, he's part machine, and he's blond. I'll let you know if you're right at the beginning of the next chapter. ;)

Now...

 **Sneak Peek**

 _"I think I've got something we can use to destroy this thing you guys…. we just need to-" he was cut off by the sound of an enormous roar – one that hurt their ears even though it was from a distance._

 _"What the hell was that?!" Gray sputtered when it was done._

 _"Don't you recognize your sparring buddy?" Lucy snorted, rubbing her sore ears with a slightly sardonic grin._

 _"That was **Natsu**?!" _

_"Yep, no doubt about it. Though that was the loudest I've ever heard him roar like that."_

 _Hibiki just shook his head in amazement and then continued with his previous statement. "Well anyways, as I was saying, I think I've found a way to destroy this thing. My archive magic just finished translating those diagrams that were on the walls, and – lucky us – they described how Nirvana works. The legs are hollow, like straws, and through them it pulls magic power from the earth itself to run. At the end of each leg – where it connects to the body – is a lacrima that absorbs the magic. If we can destroy all six lacrima simultaneously, it will go kaput."_


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:**

Hello, Hello! And here's the newest chapter! And of course since it's Wednesday, you know what that means! An extra chapter this weekend! (It'll probably be out late on Sunday, because I'm actually going out of town and that's when I get back)

You guys really blew it out of the park with reviews! I can't tell you how happy I am knowing that there are so many people enjoying this story! :D At this rate we might end up posting twice a week on a regular basis!

HUGE warm and toasty thanks to all my reviewers! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: valerioux, WisdomDragon27, TheOGFTfanatic, Wolves silver wind, Crystal Kitty842, TheJSmooth, Daisy Shields, Donthedarkdragon26, MiseryWolf97, erzagf, Elphaba818, and pixiecatost! And equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Chai-kevlar, clicksqueak, Ksta, Leomae2.0, and Lady La-sara! You are all absolutely amazing and wonderful!

Also, I promised to tell you who I based Horologium on. The guesses were Edward from Fullmetal or Vash from Trigun, both of which are truly excellent guesses! But no, I was actually thinking of Genos from One Punch Man, lol. If you've never seen, then you can always just look up a picture of him to get an idea of what I was thinking of. :D

And of course, stay tuned till the end for a preview of next chapter!

* * *

After a while, Natsu and Lucy dragged themselves out of the mud on the riverbank. Partly that was due to the fact that an enormous rumble resonated through the ground…. which was shortly followed by a wave of magic power that sent a blast of wind rushing through the entire forest and then an earthquake.

"I think Nirvana might have just been unsealed…" Lucy groaned, and Natsu nodded in agreement as they clambered up the muddy embankment next to the river.

As they finally made it up to grass level, a new voice sounded faintly over the roar of whatever the hell had just woken up from its century's long sleep.

"Natsuuuu! Luuuuucy! Where are you two? Hey! Luuuuucyyyyy!"

"Happy?! Happy! Down here!" Lucy whipped around and scanned the skies for a blue spot, eventually seeing him in the distance.

He heard her and made a beeline for them, turning into a blurred blue comet. Slamming into her chest, he started bawling his eyes out, and she cuddled him tight to her as well. It seemed he had finally woken up, and Lucy was thankful that he hadn't been hurt too badly.

For a long moment she hugged him, and then when they had both recovered from the separation he scrambled up onto her shoulder.

"What happened? Last thing I remember, I was trying to get Natsu off a raft…" he chirped, sounding chipper and happy as usual once again.

"Well, that fake Gray shot you with some ice and you conked out for a while. Turns out he was actually Gemini, a pair of celestial spirits that can imitate anyone. I kicked their mage's butt though."

"Woah…so why are you guys all the way down here now?"

"The raft came free."

Happy's eyes went wide and he glanced back towards the huge waterfall still visible from where they were sitting. "Oooooh…Ouch."

"Yeah…" Natsu grumbled in agreement, glaring in the same direction. He was probably mad at the raft though, not the waterfall.

Before they could do anymore catching up though, they were interrupted by an even louder roar than before and the ground erupting into much stronger tremors. They all lost their balance and toppled into each other…nearly falling back down the steep shore they'd just climbed up. Lucy screamed as a tree nearly fell on top of them, and Natsu yelled a few choice curse words while they all dodged. With Natsu and Happy's wings, they were able to avoid being squashed and relocated to what appeared to be a slightly safer location – a large meadow where they couldn't be crushed by falling trees or fall into rivers.

Unfortunately…it turned out to be a bad spot nevertheless.

Almost as soon as they landed, another earthquake shook the ground and a horrific crumbling, grinding, crunching sound suggested that the earth beneath them was breaking apart. However – even as they struggled to retain their balance – their attention was firmly located somewhere else. A huge dome was starting to rise up out of the forest, and they watched in horror as it kept rising…and rising…and rising…until it completely left the ground entirely, and they suddenly realized that it wasn't a dome.

The monstrous thing emerged from the earth, looking like some sort of enormous insect as it rose up on the six legs that also peeled their way out of the ground.

It happened so fast that before they realized what was going on, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy all became airborne as one of the legs emerged right underneath them. It was easily wide enough for all three of them to stand abreast, but it was rising slanted and curved, and so they all took to the skies instead. Once again, Happy's wings snapped out and saved Lucy, while Natsu used his own appendages to stay airborne, and they quickly flew upwards as the thing continued to rise. Eventually it ground to a halt, and they hovered in place above it, just staring down at it in shock.

"What the hell _**is**_ that?!" Natsu said, sounding shocked, but almost eager in a weird way. Then again, he was always eager in the face of a potential adventure or challenge.

"That…is probably Nirvana. Jellal must have failed to destroy it before it was activated."

"Well what are we waiting for?! Let's go kick its big butt!"

"Aye Sir!" Happy said in agreement, though he sounded a little more concerned than Natsu.

Their dragon partner took off, and they had to hurry to catch up. The whole way, Lucy muttered, "How can he be so excited about something like this? I swear…what the hell's wrong with him?"

As they flew in closer to the center, they saw that a huge city sat on top of this monstrosity, and thankfully they could see several of their other companions already making their way there – mostly by running up the legs of the thing. They spied Erza and Jellal on one, Wendy flying through the sky with Carla, Jura on another leg, and Gray on yet another. Ichiya and Hibiki had made it too … but Ren, Eve, Leon, and Sherry were nowhere to be seen. Lucy hoped they were okay.

They met Wendy in the air, probably largely due to the fact that Happy immediately made a beeline for Carla when she was in visual range.

"Hey Wendy. You okay?" Lucy called as they got close enough.

Wendy sent them a very relieved smile as soon as she saw them. "Lucy! Natsu! Happy! I'm so glad you're here…I was just…I…what do we do now?!"

"Well for starters, it looks like some of our other comrades are making their way to the city…so let's go there as well."

"Really?!" the younger girl glanced around, and then followed Lucy's pointing finger to see the others running up the legs of the thing. Abruptly she flushed, apparently embarrassed that she'd missed that little fact. She must have thought she was alone…

"Come on! Let's go!" Natsu exclaimed, already biting at the bit to get going again.

Lucy rolled her eyes and turned a kind smile on the bluenette to hopefully comfort her. "Yeah. Let's go meet up with the others. With all of us, I'm sure we'll be able to figure out what to do."

"Aye!" Happy said, still cutting eyes at Carla and probably not paying much attention to the conversation.

"O-okay…"

They didn't make it very far before they met resistance though.

Suddenly a ball of goop came whizzing at them, and thankfully – with a squeal from Wendy, a yelp from Lucy, and a few curses from Natsu – they all managed to dodge it. Of course as soon as they had finished their evasive maneuvers, they all whipped around to see where the weird projectile had come from and saw Cobra – one of the Oracion Seis – standing on an exceptionally large flying snake.

"What the…is that a dragon?"

Natsu snorted. "That's a wurm, not a dragon."

"A worm?"

"No, a wurm. A kind of flying snake thing. Might as well be a worm though." Natsu laughed, coughing out a little lick of fire in his amusement – and also probably as an intimidation tactic.

"Hey…I heard that." Cobra growled and spat another ball of something at them.

It sizzled as it passed by Lucy's ear, and she smelled the scent of burning hair. "That's stuff's acid or poisonous, you guys! Watch out!"

"Yeah…that's cause I'm a poison dragon slayer…pleased to meet you." Cobra confirmed with an arrogant sneer.

"I got this one. You two go on ahead. I'll be along _**real**_ quick." Natsu said with a feral grin. It was obvious he was just itching for a fight – probably because he'd been sitting back and watching everyone else fight.

So, Lucy and Wendy flew off down to the big spider machine. They landed moments before an enormous explosion sounded from the direction of the very center of the large city, where a large building sat on a tall dais. That was likely the control tower/building, but apparently Brain – or someone else – had boobytrapped it, and one or more of their comrades had just set it off.

That had been a very big explosion, and after sharing a concerned glance, Lucy and Wendy both ran to investigate.

What they came across was Jura totally wiped out after protecting Ichiya, Hibiki, and Gray from the explosion. Wendy immediately got to work tending to the Wizard Saint's extensive injuries while Lucy checked on the other three. Thankfully they seemed mostly okay.

The control room – or whatever it had been – was completely destroyed. Thankfully, Hibiki said that he'd been able to memorize the information that had previously been portrayed on the walls, and he was already having his archive magic analyze it.

"I think I've got something we can use to destroy this thing you guys…. we just need to-" he was cut off by the sound of an enormous roar – one that hurt their ears even though it was from a distance.

"What the hell was that?!" Gray sputtered when it was done.

"Don't you recognize your sparring buddy?" Lucy snorted, rubbing her sore ears with a slightly sardonic grin.

"That was _**Natsu**_?!"

"Yep, no doubt about it. Though that was the loudest I've ever heard him roar like that."

Hibiki just shook his head in amazement and then continued with his previous statement. "Well anyways, as I was saying, I think I've found a way to destroy this thing. My archive magic just finished translating those diagrams that were on the walls, and – lucky us – they described how Nirvana works. The legs are hollow, like straws, and through them it pulls magic power from the earth itself to run. At the end of each leg – where it connects to the body – is a lacrima that absorbs the magic. If we can destroy all six lacrima simultaneously, it will go kaput."

"Why simultaneously?"

"Because if it's not at the same time, the remaining lacrima will just fix the broken one."

"Ah, makes sense."

As soon as he had explained it to them, he used his magic to telepathically relay the information to everyone else. Natsu, Erza, and Jellal all responded from their positions, and Hibiki quickly rehashed everything he had just told Ichiya, Gray, Wendy, and Lucy.

"So all we need to do is destroy the six lacrima simultaneously -" he finished, but was almost cut off when a new voice sounded through all their minds.

"Clever, very clever. I see you figured out Nirvana's one weakness…. However, it won't be easy. Because I'm already in front of one of the lacrima, and you'll have to get through me to destroy it."

That was undoubtedly Brain, and there was a bit of static as everyone started talking and thinking all at once in shock that he had managed to hack into their telepathic line.

"Everyone shut up! This is still our best chance to destroy Nirvana." Hibiki announced.

"Yeah. I'm fired up now!" was Natsu's input of course.

"Perhaps, but some of our team would find it difficult to defeat Brain." Erza pointed out, probably meaning Wendy, Ichiya, Hibiki, and possibly even Lucy.

"Do you always talk before you think Ash Breath?" Gray asked.

"What'd you say, ya damn stripper?"

"I said-"

Thankfully Hibiki interrupted them. "Okay, I'm going to upload a map to everyone's mind. Please pick a leg so we don't all go to the same one."

Suddenly a map uploaded to Lucy's mind, and she quickly realized what Hibiki meant by 'pick one.' Each of the legs had been numbered, which was quite frankly a really clever idea. Hibiki and Ichiya chose number 1, Erza chose number 2 and said Jellal would come with her since he was too badly injured to have one to himself, Gray took 3, Natsu took 4, Lucy and Happy took 5, and Wendy and Carla took 6.

After everyone was set and the plan was settled on, they split up to go take care of business.

Lucy and Happy hustled down the path on the map that had been downloaded into their minds – or rather they _limped_ down it, since Lucy was still quite injured after her fight with Angel and even more banged up after falling over the waterfall with Natsu. She could only hope that she wasn't the one to end up facing Brain, because she wasn't sure she could take him in her current condition. Actually, even at full power she was pretty sure she would lose to him without Natsu at her side.

She kept up a steady pace limping through the city and finally reached a long hallway that led to her lacrima. It was dark and creepy, which did nothing to settle her nerves as she walked potentially to an incredibly deadly fight. After using Urano Metria, her magic reserves were running on empty, and she wasn't even entirely sure that she would be able to summon a spirit to break the lacrima – much less fight an opponent that was equal in power to an S-class wizard or maybe even one of the Wizard Saints.

Even worse, she could feel herself beginning to tire. Her injuries started to throb worse and worse – partially probably from dread, and also just because she was having to move around and use muscles that had been beaten to a bloody pulp with a huge heavy sword, rocks, and tons of pounding water. About five minutes into the hall, her pace started to significantly slow and her breathing came heavier – which didn't go unnoticed by her blue companion.

Worried eyes cast up at her, and he whispered, "You okay Lucy? You look pretty beat up…"

"Yeah…I'll be alright." she groaned back, though by now she was tempted to start leaning on the wall for support.

"We could stop and rest."

The thought crossed her mind, but at the instant wave of longing, she knew that if she stopped to rest she probably wouldn't be able to get back up. "No. I don't think that's a good idea. Once I sit down, I don't think I'd be able to get going again."

"…oh…" he murmured, only sounding more concerned now.

A few moments of poignant silence later, he voiced the question she was currently trying very hard not to think about. "What happens if Brain is there when we get to the lacrima?"

"Honestly? I don't know." she admitted with a wince.

Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel started to shine, and Lucy couldn't help but feel it was amazingly ironic, considering she could be walking into a much 'darker' situation. As soon as the exit showed up, she slowed and inched the last few feet forwards before peering out into a large round room, at the center of which was a pillar and a huge lacrima. After a few seconds of looking and not seeing Brain – or having anything shot at her – she felt her entire body relax as relief flooded her.

"Thank god…we don't have to fight Brain." Lucy groaned as she slid down the wall in relief. Finally, she let herself rest, even if it was a risk.

All there was to do now was wait here until Hibiki came back online – which he would do once he got to his lacrima. At that point, they would all give an update as to their progress, and everyone would know who was facing Brain. Hopefully it wasn't Hibiki, since he was so crucial to the plan. Without his telepathy, they wouldn't be able to coordinate their attacks and destroy the lacrima simultaneously.

A few seconds after she had sat down to rest, a thunderous crash shook the entire structure, and she jerked with a yelp of surprise and fear.

"Sounds like someone found Brain." Happy said with a warble to his tone.

"Yeah…and it sounds like they're giving him a good fight." Another boom resounded, underscoring her statement.

Dust fell from the ceiling as Nirvana shook repeatedly from what sounded like explosions of an immense magnitude, and Lucy was about ninety percent sure that Natsu was responsible. It was also possible that Erza or Gray were fighting Brain, considering their vast powers … or possibly even Wendy, though she had said she wasn't really proficient yet at combat. However, she had heard those particular sounds many times when her partner was in the process of forcibly deconstructing a building accidentally, and when an echoing roar sounded from somewhere in the distance her hypothesis was confirmed. Only one person she knew could make a sound like that and could be heard from across a town.

Another sigh of relief escaped her. With Natsu in charge of Brain, they had a really good chance of pulling this off.

…

Meanwhile, Natsu was indeed fighting Brain, and had arrived at his location before anyone else since he had set off at a dead run. Naturally, with his nose, he'd been able to pick up where Brain's scent was coming from and – using the map Hibiki had downloaded into his head – he'd picked the lacrima that was in Brain's direction. By this point, he was spoiling for a fight. Cobra hadn't been much of a challenge in the end, though his poison and the fact that he could read minds had been sorta interesting.

Still, it hadn't lasted long enough for his tastes, so he was looking forward to facing Brain. And the guy didn't disappoint. He was tough, one of the toughest Natsu had come across since being summoned by Lucy, and it wasn't long before Natsu had to shift into his half-way form.

Brain – or 'Zero' as he was now calling himself for some reason…. Natsu had decided the guy must have multiple personalities – was not only really good at hand-to-hand combat and dodging his fiery attacks, but he also had a weird-ass magic called 'dark capriccio' that was like a green glowing laser laced with what looked like fire. It wasn't fire though, because Natsu couldn't eat it. And unlike a laser, he could control the damn thing to follow Natsu around at insane speeds, even having it shoot up from the ground to attack him from underneath. Having to dodge all the time made it extremely tough to get close to Brain/Zero/whoever the hell he was.

Once he had shifted into his other form though, he was able to block the laser with his scale covered arms and send it shattering off into another direction with a little blast of fire. His wings also worked as great shields, and he was able to use his tail kind of like a bat to send the laser back at Zero. Finally, he was able to get up close to his opponent and engage him in direct combat, though he also proved to have a sparky green shield that was able to rebuff a lot of Natsu's attacks.

That annoying green magic also coated Zero's fists and made his attacks more powerful, which gave even Natsu a run for his money. But the fire dragon was having the time of his life fighting this guy, even if he was also all fired up to the point of getting spit-fire mad. He couldn't wait to kick Zero's ass into oblivion.

…

Meanwhile, Lucy had almost passed out from exhaustion, when she was abruptly jarred back to the land of the living by Hibiki's voice sounding through her mind.

"Alright, I'm at my lacrima. Has everyone else reached theirs?"

Lucy joined in with Wendy and Gray in saying, yes, that they had reached their respective lacrimas.

"I'm almost there." Erza intoned, and her mental voice sounded a little strained. Either her wounds or Jellal's wounds had made getting there difficult – much the same as it had done for Lucy – or else they had encountered trouble on the way.

Natsu was the last to respond, and when he did he sounded incredibly distracted.

"Yep…here…woah! What the…he's shooting green balls now? What the hell?!"

"I take it you're fighting Brain?" Hibiki inquired.

There was a pause, through which they all heard static and Natsu's mumbles to himself, which consisted of – "Damn it, he's strong!" – "Alright! I'm all fired up…this is a workout!" – "What the hell is with that stupid green magic?!" – "Oh shit! Nearly took out the floor…again…whoops."

"Um…Natsu?" Lucy eventually prompted.

"Oh, right…yeah, I'm fighting Brain. He's calling himself Zero now though, and he's a lot freakin' stronger. Pretty sure he's got – Shit! – multiple personalities or somethin'."

"Interesting. Well, let us know when you're ready to destroy your lacrima, and we'll all match our attacks with yours."

"Sure."

With this plan, they all stayed connected, and Lucy stood up and wobbled in front of the lacrima, eyeballing it and wondering how she was going to break it exactly. As she flexed her magic and tested its weight inside her to see if she had enough to summon anyone, she concluded that no – she absolutely did not. Which only left her whip, and she was pretty sure that wasn't going to be enough to get the job done.

Right as she started to panic, a brilliant flash of aqua blue twin lights sparked, and suddenly Gemini appeared in front of her.

"Piiri piiri."

"What the…Gemini? What are you doing here?"

"We came to help you!"

Once again, Lucy was shocked by this particular spirit. She'd never even heard of a spirit going and helping a mage other than their own, but she certainly wasn't going to turn down the offer.

"…Thank you so much!" she cried, touched beyond belief.

With a twin grin, they turned into her. "Can we use Taurus when the time comes?"

"Of course!"

And so they waited for Natsu to give the signal.

Thanks to their telepathic communication – plus the rumbles that continued to echo throughout the structure – Lucy was able to sort of keep abreast of his fight and how it was going. Based off how much the floor, walls, and ceiling were shaking, Natsu's fight had gotten heated. Through the telepathic connection, she could hear him mumbling to himself in the same way he had done before.

When she heard, "Holy shit! What the hell is this?!" and then suddenly his mental voice cut off, terror went through her hard and fast.

"Natsu?! Natsu!"

There was a long, echoing, aching silence as she waited for a response and received none. She had to remind herself that he was a celestial spirit, and if he was hurt badly enough he could simply return to the celestial realm. However, knowing him…he would probably stubbornly stick around and actually get himself killed. Especially in a fight with such high stakes.

The fear only continued to mount, until – with a roar and bang that made the entire structure shift slightly in the direction of his lacrima – he returned from wherever he had gone.

"Alright! I'm done messing around with this jackass! Everyone! I'm gonna break him and that lacrima at the same time! Get ready!"

Immediately Lucy turned to Gemini, and with a nod the helpful spirit summoned Taurus.

"Twooooo Lucys? It must be my lucky day!" he mooed with stars in his eyes.

"Hey Taurus, can you break that lacrima?"

"Of course Miss Luuuucy!"

As he geared up to go for it, Lucy heard, _"NOW!"_ resound through her head, and with a crash, bang, boom, smash, and slam – Nirvana came to a shuddering, grinding demise and collapsed.

Taurus broke their lacrima cleanly with his ax. According to their telepathic connections, Wendy sky roared at hers, Ichiya used his strength parfum, Erza smashed hers to bits with her dark wing armor, and Gray shot his with ice make arrows. Of course, Natsu outperformed them all by firing himself at Brain and smashing his flaming fist right into his face, propelling them both directly into the lacrima and taking two birds out with one stone.

Naturally, now that the thing was thoroughly broken, it started to come apart – maybe because the big ancient monstrosity had only been held together by magic. The mental link between them broke as everyone scattered to try and escape the collapsing structure, and everyone grew entirely focused on saving their own hides.

Gemini poofed after a very hurried thanks from Lucy. Happy scooped her up and they zipped out of there at top speed. The flight down the hall was harrowing at best, and they had to dodge falling and crumbling debris the entire way out, very nearly getting beaned more than once. Thanks to Happy's quick wings and maneuverability, they somehow escaped mostly intact, and zoomed out over the crumbling city.

Erza and Jellal were speedily wobbling through the air using Erza's dark wing armor – but as Happy and Lucy watched, the two of them barely made it out of the deconstructing artifact before plummeting into the jungle as the redhead's strength gave out. Gray was escaping by using an ice slide of course, and he appeared to have snagged Jura on his way out as well. Wendy popped out into the air with Carla, and they very nearly ran into Lucy and Happy due to their extra velocity.

"Wendy! It's good to see you're okay! Have you seen Ichiya or Hibiki?!" Lucy hurriedly asked, still having not seen any of the Trimens escape.

"No…how about the others?"

"They're all out, except for Natsu, but…"

Lucy was cut off when a massive fiery explosion took out one entire leg, and out flew Natsu as the giant spider machine tilted dangerously. Naturally, he'd just hastened the destruction of the thing just by exiting.

"There he is." Happy chirped, sounding like he was trying not to laugh. His voice was also laced with exhaustion though, and Lucy knew they had to put down on some solid land soon or he'd run out of magic.

"Natsu! Can you find Hibiki and Ichiya?! Happy's almost out of magic, and we've still gotta get to safety!" she called, knowing he would hear her even from this distance.

He gave her a thumbs up – which she could only see because he shot a large flame out of said thumb – and then dashed off.

Wendy and Lucy headed in the direction Erza had gone, but soon both cats seemed to simultaneously run out of magic, and they were all sent plummeting into the jungle. Thankfully, they had made it far enough away from Nirvana that they weren't in danger of being crushed … and that was the important thing. Still, they got pretty scratched and banged up on the way down as they bounced off trees.

For a long moment, they stayed put, just catching their breath and recovering from the entire situation … and nursing their fresh bruises. Eventually though, all four of them clambered back to their feet and staggered towards where Lucy had seen the others land. Thankfully, they found Erza and Jellal quickly enough, and Natsu tracked them down shortly after. After dropping off Hibiki and Ichiya, he ran off to collect Gray and Jura by scent. Hibiki also left to go find Eve and Ren, and returned with them in tow right about the same time Natsu, Gray, and Jura joined them – with Leon and Sherry also added to their group. Natsu must have flown off to collect the two Lamia Scale members that had been left behind.

Once they were all back together, they all staggered away from the giant dark artifact – which was now thoroughly broken and would probably be taken and sealed by the council. In fact, right as they emerged from the forest line, they encountered a whole squad of Rune Knights who were there to collect the Oracion Seis members. The leader, a guy with long black hair tied up in a little ponytail thing, stepped forwards to address the bedraggled and beaten-up team of mages.

"I am Lahar, Head Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit. We are here to thank you for successfully nullifying Nirvana and apprehending the Oracion Seis. The Magic Council will take it from here."

Jellal huddled at the back of their group with his hood up, and Erza was being very careful to stay in front of him – while also not appearing suspicious. Unfortunately, the leader of this particular squad of Rune Knights was apparently quite observant and very well informed as to how many mages had been sent on this mission. As they walked past, he reached out to stop them – which of course put Jellal at the front of the group as they all turned back around to face him.

"Oh, and before you go, could you all identify yourselves and which guilds you are from? There seems to be an extra wizard amongst you, and we must verify that none of the Oracion Seis escape."

"Of course." Jura stated calmly.

Meanwhile Lucy could feel Erza tense up. Thinking fast, the celestial mage figured out something that might work, and eased herself and Natsu to the front of the Fairy Tail group, whispering subtly into Erza's ear, "I got an idea. Just get behind me, and keep propping up Jellal."

Meanwhile, she started to lean on Natsu and asked him to cover up his guild mark. He glanced curiously at her but shrugged and did as she asked with a casual flick of his ever-present scarf.

After Jura had introduced Lamia scale, Wendy had identified herself as coming from the nearby Cait Shelter, and Ichiya had pointed out his Trimens group, Lucy stepped forwards to introduce Fairy Tail.

"I'm Fairy Tail's celestial mage. This is my dragon spirit, and these three behind me are my team."

From what she could tell, Lahar just had the number of members that each guild had sent, so they might be able to get away with lumping Jellal in with them by pretending Natsu was simply her spirit. Also, Lahar was probably only looking for a member of the Oracion Seis, not a convicted criminal that was supposed to be dead.

"Alright…" his dark eyes drifted over them and settled on Jellal. "Would you please take off your hood sir?"

"I prefer not to show my face, but if I must." Jellal replied calmly, and everyone turned and watched with bated breath as he lifted his hood off his face. There was a subtle flash, barely perceptible, but when Lucy saw his face she knew he had cast a transformation spell on himself. His hair was still the same, as was his face really, but his tattoo was gone and the other side was marred with deep scars as if he'd been clawed by a beast of some sort. He easily looked different enough to pass for someone else.

The officer glanced him over and nodded his head. "You may lift your hood." Then he turned back to Lucy. "And you are a celestial mage?"

"Yes."

"And that young man beside you is your celestial spirit?"

"Yes."

"And can you prove he is a celestial spirit?"

"I can." She nodded and took out his key. "This is his key."

After he took a close look at it, he nodded for her to continue.

"Close! Gate of the Fire Dragon! Dragneel!"

With a bright spark and whiff of smoke, Natsu vanished, and Lucy made a show of staggering a few steps – as if she had been keeping him out for physical support. Lahar immediately looked concerned and reached out to help steady her.

"I see. Thank you for your cooperation, and I'm sorry to have caused you inconvenience. You may proceed."

She nodded and made a show of summoning Natsu back. He popped pack into being with the same spark and smoke, and this time cleverly used her to hide his guildmark.

Once they had finally all limped away, they could breathe easily.

At that point, Wendy piped up. "My guild is really close by. How about you all come and stay there for a while to recover?"

"Sounds good to me…" Erza sighed, and they started heading in that direction.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Summer was coming upon the Fairy Tail guild, and that meant that everyone started getting ready for the big Summertime Games Fair. If there was one thing to be said about Fairy Tail, it was that they loved their celebrations. Every season had one huge dedicated celebration: spring had the Cherry Blossom Festival, Autumn had a two-part Halloween/Harvest themed festival, winter had the big Fairy Tail Parade and the Christmas Party, and of course summer was no different with its Summertime Games Fair._

 _During this time of the year, everyone prepared for a fair that would last several days and be full of drinking, games, challenges, food, fun, and of course a little mayhem. There would be a Miss Fairy Tail pageant with a cash prize that Lucy thoroughly planned to win, various physical challenges that Natsu was fired up about, and a fishing booth that Happy would probably spend most of his time at. This year though, there was also the lure of Carla, and Lucy recommended he try to win her over with some prizes, food, or other things that could be either purchased or won at the various events and booths._


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:**

Yippee, a super extra long chapter! There have been a few requests for longer chapters, and while I can't do it consistently by any means – not if I want to keep posting as frequently – I can certainly manage a super long chapter every now and then! Don't expect them too, too often, but I'll try to have double-sized chapters like this one from time to time. :D More and more often if this gets a positive response. ;)

Also, Sorry this is out a day late. I got back from my trip waaaaay later last night than I expected, and I just crashed. But hopefully the extra long chapter will make up for it. :D

And of course, as always, a HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed! You are all absolutely amazing and wonderful! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Elphaba818, WisdomDragon27, dlshieldss, TheJSmooth, Wolves silver wind, Ksta, valerioux, RoyaldragonSevgisi15, MiseryWolf97, and dihan! Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: ravenqueen162, Larissa, and FantasyDreamer06!

Also,before we get started … I just wanted to warn you that the second half of this chapter gets a little wonky. Lots of funny ideas got smushed together. So … yeah, it's not the smoothest thing in the world, but I hope everyone enjoys it nonetheless. :D

And stay tuned for the sneak peek at the end of the chapter. ;)

* * *

They returned a few days later with Wendy in tow. As it turned out, her guild had all been the magical construct of one old man – who had been alive through magical means simply to guard Nirvana. With it gone, he no longer had a purpose, so he and the rest of the Cait Shelter guild disappeared … leaving Wendy alone. They had very quickly offered to let her join Fairy Tail, and she had instantly accepted the offer.

So, they had returned with her, and Master had accepted the small sky dragon slayer without any qualms as expected. As usual, everyone had been incredibly pleased to have another new member, and she was immediately introduced around and making new friends. She was instantly a big hit with everyone.

The day after their return found them sitting around a table discussing it all with enthusiasm.

"This is awesome! I bet we're the only guild to have three dragon slayers in it!" Lucy exclaimed happily to her teammates as she slurped on a strawberry smoothie.

"Three?"

"Oh! That's right, you've never met Laxus before, have you Natsu?" Erza asked, as they all realized the same thing simultaneously.

"He's a lightning dragon slayer. One of our three most powerful wizards actually." Lucy explained to her pink-haired partner as he sent her a questioning look.

"Well technically…we have four dragon slayers."

Everyone looked at Happy, who had said the odd statement.

"You have four dragon slayers?" Juvia asked then as she sat down next to Gray. He didn't even flinch or seem surprised by her sudden appearance.

"Um…no?" Lucy responded to her question, in a state of confusion with everyone else about her cat's comment.

"Oh yes we do…" Happy said once again, and everyone could tell from his puffed-up cheeks and glittering eyes that he was about to land a joke. "I mean, you've gotta include Lucy."

At this point, everyone just grew even more confused. When he got a series of silent questioning stares, he finally started laughing and dropped the punchline. "After all, she's got Natsu on a leash, right?"

There was a second as everyone absorbed the pun, and then suddenly they all started laughing. Gray practically fell out of his seat he was laughing so hard, while Erza managed to keep it to semi-polite chuckles. Even Lucy had to snicker a little at it.

The only one who seemed unamused was the actual dragon in question, who instantly protested. "Hey! Nobody's got me on a leash!"

"I've seen her kick you out of the apartment and put you in time-out when you do stuff she's told you not to!" Happy countered.

At this everyone only laughed harder, while Lucy flushed a little. This whole thing wasn't making her sound too great either, although she still was amused by the joke. Natsu just growled, but eventually even he had to crack a smile.

"Well…she _**is**_ my mage…so…I guess…" he slowly admitted, and then snorted a little as the joke finally got him.

At that point a snide voice inserted itself. "Well, I guess that means I gotta get myself a talking cat too then…"

"Huh?" Gray asked for them all as they glanced at the iron dragon slayer that had suddenly appeared.

Gajeel had sort of…grown on everyone in the time he'd been part of the guild, and everyone was basically used to his surly presence by now. Still, he was a loner, so it was kind of a shock that he was inserting himself into their conversation.

"Oh, hello Gajeel." Juvia greeted, though she was the only one who did so. The rest of them just stared at him quizzically thanks to his introductory statement, which seemed pretty random.

"Well, you're sayin' that _she's_ a dragon slayer now right?" he jerked his thumb at Lucy to indicate which 'she' he was talking about.

The restatement of the joke got a few snickers from everyone, but it still didn't really answer the question.

"What're you getting at Metal Mouth?" Natsu growled, seeming a little ticked off at the iron dragon slayer getting in on the joke.

It seemed that whatever train of thought Gajeel had previously been on had either gotten derailed, or else he thought better about stating his thoughts, because he didn't elucidate. Instead, he proceeded to pick a fight with the celestial fire dragon, and they went off on a tear. Before they did though, Lucy noted clearly how Gajeel's eyes had landed hard on Happy and then on Carla with a deep scowl between his pierced brows.

When he showed up covered in cat scratches the next day, Lucy almost couldn't hold back her laugh. It seemed that he was now under the impression that a dragon slayer was supposed to have a talking cat as a sidekick, and Gajeel was exposing a previously unknown soft spot by caring about not having one of his own. He even seemed rather depressed about it, much to Lucy's surprise, but she refrained from saying anything about it to anyone.

To be honest, it was kind of cute in a weird way … to see this big pierced tough guy brought down by suddenly realizing that he didn't have a cat.

She silently observed him over the course of the next several weeks, noting that he kept accumulating cat scratches on a regular basis – even when he'd been out on a mission – as if he was actively pursuing random felines in an attempt to find one that talked. At this point, she was a little surprised he hadn't just picked a normal one, but she supposed that he was way too stubborn for that.

Soon though, she didn't have too much time to pay attention to him.

Summer was coming upon the Fairy Tail guild, and that meant that everyone started getting ready for the big Summertime Games Fair. If there was one thing to be said about Fairy Tail, it was that they loved their celebrations. Every season had one huge dedicated celebration: spring had the Cherry Blossom Festival, Autumn had a two-part Halloween/Harvest themed festival, winter had the big Fairy Tail Parade and the Christmas Party, and of course summer was no different with its Summertime Games Fair.

During this time of the year, everyone prepared for a fair that would last several days and be full of drinking, games, challenges, food, fun, and of course a little mayhem. There would be a Miss Fairy Tail pageant with a cash prize that Lucy thoroughly planned to win, various physical challenges that Natsu was fired up about, and a fishing booth that Happy would probably spend most of his time at. This year though, there was also the lure of Carla, and Lucy recommended he try to win her over with some prizes, food, or other things that could be either purchased or won at the various events and booths.

For this most ostentatious occasion, the Thunder Legion had even returned, which promised to cause extra chaos during all the activities. Laxus had been known to throw some major temper tantrums in the past and had almost been kicked out of the guild more than once. In fact, about a year ago he had been temporarily banished for six months. He hadn't returned until ten months later and seemed at least somewhat repentant.

Hopefully he wouldn't do anything too stupid during the fair.

The members of his team came in handy at least, especially Freed. He was a master whiz at rune magic, and it would make for all kinds of interesting traps, fun, and games during the fair. He'd been stolen by Mirajane almost as soon as he set foot inside of the guildhall. Meanwhile, Bickslow goofed off, as was usual for him, and Evergreen ended up sulking around Elfman – who everyone knew she had a crush on, but refused to admit to it.

As for Laxus, he ended up getting lassoed into helping out the master in preparing for the fair activities, which he did … but with some very loud protesting. However, as the master's grandson, it wasn't exactly surprising that he would be recruited to help.

Meanwhile, Natsu was in charge of making several big bonfires that would be set around the Fairy Tail property – outside of course – and Lucy focused on helping Erza plan the pageant. Everyone was super busy, so by the time the fair actually rolled around, they were all more than ready to take a load off and party.

It kicked off with a bang as usual, and the first day everyone ate and drank and talked and laughed and relaxed and played games like there was no tomorrow.

"Oi! Luce!"

At the sound of her name, she turned to see Natsu loping towards her with a big grin on his face.

"Oh hey Natsu. Where have you been?" That morning she had woken to an empty apartment. Both Happy and Natsu had apparently decided to abandon her in favor of the fair.

"I've been here finishing up the fire games! Are you gonna play?"

The eager grin made her want to say yes, but the title ' _fire games_ ' sounded a bit daunting. "Um…what are these 'fire games' exactly?"

"Master Makarov gave me permission to do some stuff with my fire! I helped build the obstacle course! And then there's gonna be fireworks! All the fire mages are gonna help with that. Oh! And we're gonna have a food contest to see who can cook the best over a fire pit! And uh…"

Apparently Makarov had been keeping her dragon busier than she'd previously thought.

"That all sounds tons of fun Natsu! I'll do all that stuff if you come to the pageant show." she bargained with a grin, and he matched the smile with one of his own as he agreed with a nod.

"So what do you wanna do first today?" he asked as he easily fell into step beside her.

"Well…are you finished with whatever you were doing before?"

"Yeah! I just finished when you walked up."

"Oh cool. I was just on my way to see if I can find Happy. He wasn't at the apartment this morning either."

"I saw him over by the goldfish pond a little while ago. He said he was trying to catch just the right one to give to Carla."

"Awesome!"

So saying, they both headed off towards the little booth where Juvia was pouting over a pool of water. She obviously wanted to be off with Gray, but Lucy was happy to see that the water mage was doing what she said she would and was managing the goldfish pool today. Everyone was taking turns managing the various booths, so that they could also all take turns enjoying them.

Sure enough, there was Happy, with intense concentration as he hovered over the pool of water. In his paw he held the flimsy paper net that they were supposed to use to try and catch the fish. You had to pay for each of those little things, which would go towards paying for the festival. She'd given him an allowance for the fair and somehow suspected he'd probably end up spending it all here.

"Happy! How come you didn't wake me up this morning when you left? I was worried!" Lucy gently scolded as she approached.

The blue cat turned and gave her his best big-eyed stare – the one that always made her melt inside – as he said, "I tried…but you were so sound asleep I didn't want to disturb you. And I just had to get here before everyone else so I could snag this goldfish. See!" He pointed back into the pool at a single, pure white, beautiful goldfish. It was tiny and perfect, and Lucy was instantly proud of her cat for having such a good eye.

"That looks great Happy! I bet Carla will love it."

"Well she never seems to like the fish I give her, but this one is real pretty! So I figured she'd like it!"

"Do you think my darling Gray would like one?" Juvia suddenly gushed with hearts in her eyes.

Lucy hurried to stop her there. "Uh, no. I don't think a goldfish would survive being around Gray for too long…since he tends to freeze stuff."

With a pout, Juvia drooped.

"There's lots of other stuff he likes at these things though! And tomorrow is the pageant, so you'll have a chance to really show off for him!" Lucy quickly added, trying to cheer up her friend.

"You're right!"

Now that the water mage was happy again, and Happy was back to fishing, Natsu and Lucy wandered off. Lucy hadn't had breakfast yet, because she'd wanted to try some of the festival food instead. So she stopped by a booth manned by Mira and bought several crepes for herself and for Natsu, who wolfed his down in a matter of seconds. Lucy took a little more time to enjoy hers and picked out a comfortable spot to sit and watch the goings on.

The whole bottom floor of their guildhall had been transformed. All the chairs and tables had been stored … somewhere, leaving a huge space for all the indoor booths and games, such as the small goldfish pool. Outside were the bigger booths, smellier food booths, and all the bigger games. All the performances would be held on the stage indoors though, including the pageant.

"So what time is the obstacle course? Is it today?"

Natsu nodded eagerly. "Yep! It'll be held in about…two hours."

"Do I have to sign up for it?"

"Yeah. We should probably do that after you finish eating…slow poke."

"Hey! Just because I don't inhale my food like _some people_ , doesn't mean I'm slow."

Natsu just laughed, and then laughed harder as she somehow managed to get whipped cream on her nose.

As soon as she was done, they headed back outside towards the obstacle course, and she quickly put her name down on the sign-up sheet that Natsu pointed out. It was posted to a wooden arch that she supposed must mark the entrance to the obstacle course, though all she could see of the challenge was a purple box that was nearly the size of the guildhall itself – which was obviously Freed's doing.

Curiously, she asked, "So who else helped with the obstacle course?"

"Uh…Ice Princess…Juvia…sparky what'shisface, Lassie something? … Wendy… Droy… Gajeel… Freed…." He listed off, and with every name, Lucy started getting more and more nervous.

She of course assumed that ' _sparky what's-his-face_ ' was in fact Laxus, though she was kind of interested to see how he would respond to being called Lassie. The amusing thought was almost enough to make up for the trepidation she was beginning to feel about this thing.

"So uh…are you going to participate too?"

"Well yeah! Of course! But everyone who put together the course goes last, and we only do the other areas, not our own. We each have to be like a life guard or something at our parts, to make sure nobody dies or anything."

"Oh…wonderful," she managed weakly with a small laugh.

Understandably, by the time the obstacle course was set to be revealed, Lucy was starting to regret her promise to participate. Natsu had disappeared a little while ago to get into position, so she was left standing in front of a purple wall with everyone else that was stupid enough to sign up for this thing … while the rest of their guild cheered them on from the other side. Apparently they had a great viewing point where they could see all the obstacles, but the contestants couldn't see anything thanks to Freed's purple barriers blocking everything off.

With a flourish, Master Makarov took his place on a floating pedestal over the whole thing and spoke into a lacrima so everyone could hear him. "Members of Fairy Tail! Welcome to the first big game of this year's Summertime Games Fair!" This was met with raucous cheers. "This year, it's a massive obstacle course! As all of you who were too chicken to enter yourselves can see, we've got lots of fun for your braver peers! All the rules for the various zones are on those pieces of paper on your seats, so you can keep track as they move along through their challenges!"

Lucy snickered at Makarov's not-so-subtle jab at their audience and felt a little better about herself for signing up.

Then he turned and addressed the contestants. "Alright! I've got all your names in a hat! I'll draw them randomly. Let's see who's going first shall we?"

Getting right to it, he read off the first name and Elfman stepped through the door into the first zone. Based on the commentary, he did pretty well, although it sounded really tough. It was all vague enough that none of the competitors had a clue what might be in store for them, but based off all the caterwauling, they were in for something pretty special.

The next person to go in, Evergreen, apparently got too cocky and bottomed out in the second challenge.

After a couple more people had gone – only one of which actually made it all the way through – it was finally Lucy's turn. With sweaty palms, she stepped through the archway and into the first challenge. Inside the walls of purple was an ice room. There was a piece of paper tacked to the wall, which she read first before stepping foot on the ice.

Based off the commentary, not reading the rules was risky at best.

"Looks like Lucy's smart." Makarov commented as she peered closely at the paper, and she sent a grin to him and the crowd, getting some encouraging cheers in response.

Turning back to the rules, she was glad she had read them. The piece of paper said, _"Below this floor of ice is a pool of water. Try to get to the other side without falling in, or you will be disqualified and sent to the medical ward for hypothermia."_

"Oh great…" she sighed, and eyeballed the slippery floor.

She could easily see some patches that were thin, but the rest of it was hard to tell. Under the ice she saw a flicker of blue and felt some relief to know that at least if she did fall in, Juvia would fish her out. That woman could handle just about any temperature as long as water could.

She eased one foot onto the ice and cringed when she heard a few little pops. Thinking fast, she slowly lowered herself to her belly and inched forwards on hands and feet, trying to spread out her weight. Taking her time to get to the other side, she slipped and slid over the ice bit by bit. Finally, she reached the thicker ice on the other side and gingerly stood, only to leap to safety as it cracked. Thankfully, she reached the doorway without falling in, and took a moment to catch her breath.

When she passed through the next doorway, she paused and stared with what she knew was an unenthusiastic expression.

Yet again, the floor was made of ice, but this time it seemed like she would simply be trying to maneuver over the slippery substance, which was set at every possible angle. For instance, the first problem she encountered was a steep slide …. going up. There were no handholds, it was just slick ice that she apparently needed to scale.

She had a couple of options here. She could summon Sagittarius and have him shoot arrows into the ice that she could climb up, or she could summon Cancer and ask him to cut some holes for her hands and feet. Deciding to go with option one, she summoned her centaur spirit.

"Howdy do my lady! I am at your service!" the polite centaur announced with a salute as he popped into being.

"Hello Sagittarius." she greeted with a warm smile, and then turned to the icy obstacle in front of her and pointed at it. "Would you please shoot some arrows that I can use to climb up this thing?"

"Of course Lady Lucy! Right away!" So saying, he turned and drew his bow. In short order, a row of neat arrows was laid, staggered so they would be easy to climb up.

"Thanks Sagittarius! You're the best!"

"Always happy to help!" With a puff of clean air and golden sparkles he disappeared, and she didn't hesitate to scale the freezing wall in front of her. At the top, she met a somewhat put-out Gray.

"Cheater." he scoffed.

"How was that cheating? Nobody said we couldn't use magic, you know."

"Whatever. Have fun with the other side."

Looking past him, she saw that she did indeed have a somewhat daunting challenge in front of her. Not only was there a steep ice slide back downwards, but there was sort of a flip up at the end that would undoubtedly send her airborne. The hard ice floor didn't look like it would provide much of a cushion.

"Are you trying to give someone a concussion?"

"If it looks like you're fallin' in a bad way, I'll switch up the slide. Don't worry so hard." he drawled, rolling his eyes at her.

She just rolled her eyes right back at him. Sitting her butt down on the edge, she judged the angle of the slide to see if she would be able to make it. A frozen tree near one side caught her eye, and a grin snuck across her lips. It seemed doable, so she pushed off, and let loose a little scream as she shot down the slick slide. It was faster than she'd expected, but she still managed to yank her whip free and snag a frozen branch to swing herself free of the treacherous end. She landed to a round of cheers from the audience and a bark of laughter from Gray.

She turned to salute Gray, who waved her off with a grudgingly halfway impressed sort of gesture.

Sauntering out of that zone, she entered a new area that instantly had all her hair standing on end…. literally. The static electricity in here could be cut with a knife. A series of shifting metal rods filled the room with what looked like a jungle gym gone wrong. The crackles of lightning that zipped across the metal told Lucy that she did not want to touch them.

When she glanced at the rules tacked to the wall, all they had to say was the obvious. _"If you touch any metal in this room, you will be roasted instantly. Good luck."_

Up on the walls were both Laxus and Gajeel – the later of the two having something of an evil smirk on his mouth. He was obviously in charge of moving the bars around, while Laxus was undoubtedly there to provide the lightning. Hopefully he would also draw it off if she got zapped.

"So uh…how do I not die in here exactly?" she called up to the two of them.

Gajeel just laughed, but Laxus shrugged and answered with, "If you touch one it'll zap you. If that happens, I'll neutralize all the other charges so you don't get blasted into another row of electrical bars and get zapped again. No promises though, sometimes you get thrown faster than I can discharge."

She cringed. "Anyone died so far?"

"No…I think Jet was still breathing when he was carted outta there." Gajeel answered, giving one of his funky laughs that sounded like, "gee hee."

"Oh, that's _**sooo**_ comforting." Lucy grumbled, and slowly inched into the room. Almost instantly, a metal bar slammed upwards vertically next to her, and she jumped a little in surprise before sending Gajeel a nasty look.

After that, she paid more attention to the holes in the floors and walls where the bars would come from. As long as she avoided stepping on any of them, or being in the way of them, she should be fine. It was pretty hard though, because they were unpredictable.

More than once she was sent into an abrupt crouch to dodge one that almost smacked her upside the head. They were going slowly enough for her to avoid them, but the situation still sent her into some pretty special contortions as she tried to avoid all the other bars around her.

At one point she had to cross over a bar laid horizontally in front of her at about waist height, and there was absolutely no way around it. Gingerly she swung one leg over, careful not to make any contact. While she was straddling the thing, another bar slid out above her, and she had to bend down to avoid touching it as well, leaving her in an awkward position – standing bent at the waist almost horizontally, with her breasts hanging just a hair away from the bar under her.

She began to panic as she tried to figure out how to get out of it, and at that point Leo popped into being without her summoning him.

"Hey there Lucy, it felt like you could use some…uh…what's going on?"

"Obstacle course. Summertime Games Fair. These things are conducting electricity." Lucy gritted through her teeth, her stomach spasming from having to hold her up like this.

"…wow…" Leo whistled lowly and hurried to assist her in getting her leg over the bar without touching the one above or below her.

He disappeared and reappeared on the correct side before grabbing her knee. He offered his other hand, and she took it to help steady herself. She gripped his hand probably tighter than absolutely necessary as he slowly helped her raise her leg, and she gingerly shifted her weight to the opposite foot. It gave him an excuse to grope her a little, but for once she didn't bother to complain – even when his palm slid a little higher than necessary on her thigh as he maneuvered her leg around over the bar. She was too happy to get out of that position.

After she was safely on the other side, he popped out of existence with a little bow and a smug grin, which probably came from getting away with touching so much of her without being scolded.

She managed to maneuver herself through the rest of it without help and without getting zapped, but by the end of it she was out of breath and suffering from more than one muscle cramp.

The next zone was Droy's and involved sneaking past some carnivorous plants, which wasn't exactly fun to say the least. Her butt got close to becoming a chew toy a couple of times, but somehow she made it through without too much trouble.

Wendy's was also relatively easy. All she had to do was fight her way through some epic gusts of wind, dashing behind barriers whenever it got too bad, and then scooting forwards whenever the winds died down a little.

For Freed, she had to do her best to avoid the rune traps he had laid down. It was sheer luck that she managed to get through that area without getting stuck.

Finally, she reached Natsu's zone, and as soon as she entered the area it felt like she'd entered a furnace. It was blisteringly hot. The rules only said, _"Don't catch on fire,_ " which seemed blindingly obvious to her.

There were a series of obstacles made of fire that she could see right off the bat – the first being a floor made of hot stones, with little spouts of flame erupting from it every now and then.

Glancing up, she noticed Natsu sitting up on the wall, and he grinned broadly down at her. "You can do it Luce!"

"Thanks…" she muttered, not entirely sure she could, but willing to give it a shot anyways.

She gingerly tested the rocks, and instantly noticed how her shoes began to smoke a little. Taking a risk, she dashed forwards as fast as she could, leaping aside to avoid a spigot of flames, and made it to the other side. As soon as she reached safe ground, she kicked off her shoes. They caught fire after they had left her body, so it didn't count as an elimination, and she grinned happily that it had worked.

"Nice job!" Natsu commented from above, and she sent him a grin.

The next obstacle was a blazing fire pit that she had to jump over. Making it even more difficult, about every five seconds it would blaze up higher and then back down to a normal size. When she glanced up at Natsu, it looked like he was actually counting, and making the flames rise at a certain point. She was glad he wasn't being as unpredictable and impulsive as usual…it made it quite a bit easier to judge when she should jump.

When the flames lowered, she took a running leap and dove for the opposite side. She misjudged the timing just a little though, and right before she made it, the flames roared back up and caught her leg. Thankfully there was no fabric there to catch fire, otherwise she would have been in deep trouble. Still, she expected her skin to burn, but strangely … the flames didn't hurt.

As she landed in a roll on the other side, she quickly checked her leg, and though it was a little pink, it was unhurt.

Shrugging it off, she went to the next challenge. It was a version of fiery limbo, with a burning pole placed pretty low to the ground. You had a choice of either trying to jump over it – although it seemed just a little too high for her to attempt that – or else crawl under. Lucy opted for option number two and scooted under it. After the fact, she realized she probably should have gone for face up – but miraculously her hair didn't catch on fire, so it all worked out in the end.

By the time she had exited the last challenge, she was covered from head to toe in sweat, but she was unburned.

…

Everyone who had completed the obstacle course got a small cash prize, so she collected that and then parked herself next to Levy in the bleachers. Together, they watched the rest of the competitors finish. They cheered everyone on, though of course Lucy cheered especially hard for Natsu when his turn came. He did extremely well in all the zones, aside from one. In the first room he very nearly sent himself into the icy water with his body heat, but he was able to sneak past with his wings. When it came to the ice obstacle course though, he did perfectly fine and just melted everything in his way, nearly starting a fight with Gray in the process. He also completely destroyed Droy's challenge and all the plants ended up very much charred by the end of it. When it came to the lightning and metal room…once again he just melted his way through – managing to simultaneously piss off both Laxus and Gajeel as well.

He was the last to go through, so after that everyone started to disperse. Of course, it was lucky that he _was_ last…since there was no longer an obstacle course to go through.

When he finished getting his cash prize, Natsu bounded over to Lucy and immediately asked, "You okay? Did you get burned too bad?"

She blinked at him bemusedly and then indulged in a little teasing. "No. Not at all in fact. You must have used some pretty weak fire, Natsu."

"Uh…no…" Natsu replied.

"Huh… No kidding? Well, I guess it just didn't touch me then."

As she turned to walk away, she heard him mutter, "Sure looked like it did…" but she didn't bother to respond. It didn't seem important. At the moment, she was much more interested in getting something cold to drink.

She made a beeline straight for the bar, where Mirajane was mixing drinks.

"Hey Lucy! Great job completing the obstacle course!" the white-haired mage said with a happy smile as Lucy eased onto a stool. Then Mira turned to her pink haired companion. "And great job constructing those fire obstacles Natsu! I was really impressed!"

He just grinned and puffed up like a proud rooster.

"Here, have some water you two. Is there anything else I can get you?" she asked as she slid the tall, ice cold waters across the bar towards them. Lucy chugged down about half of her glass before answering.

"Actually, I think I'll have one of your strawberry margaritas, Mira. I could use a little alcohol to calm my nerves after that."

She chuckled and set about making the frozen pink drink as Lucy finished gulping down her water

The next order of business was to check in on Happy, who was still persuing that one perfect fish with dogged determination.

…

The next day, Lucy had the pageant to look forward to. She had been planning so hard for this, because the cash prize was pretty significant and would help with her rent and feeding Natsu's bottomless stomach. Plus, dressing up and looking pretty was never a hardship for her. She enjoyed getting dolled up, and the idea of having Natsu there to admire her only made it more appealing. Just because she had determined that she wasn't going to pursue the sparks of attraction that she'd been feeling for her partner didn't mean she wasn't looking forward to dressing up for him. Of course he probably wouldn't pay a lick of attention, but still…. a girl could dream right?

Upon her arrival at the guild hall, she immediately proceeded to the dressing room, where she hung up her outfits on the rack provided. She wasn't the first to arrive, Erza and Juvia were both there already, and soon Cana appeared. The dressing room slowly filled with giggling girls. Levy and even Wendy had signed up for the pageant as well – though their newest member had probably been pressured into it by someone. She seemed a little more nervous than giggly.

The category for the first round was casual wear, while the second was costumes, third was swimsuits, and fourth was formal. It would probably take up a good portion of the day, and Lucy couldn't help but wonder how many of the events Natsu would actually show up for. Probably one. Which was a shame, because the first was probably the least impressive.

While she waited for her chance at the mirror, she worked on getting into her first outfit. For her cute casual outfit, Lucy had chosen to go with a warm fuzzy theme – figuring that since it was summer, few of the other girls would go for sweaters. First to go on were the short white shorts, then up top she threw on a white tank top and a light pink off-the-shoulder sweater. It fit perfectly in all the right places while still seeming loose and comfortable. The finishing touches to her outfit were a pair of pink thigh high socks with fuzzy white tops and a pair of blond fuzzy boots.

After dressing, she went to the full-length mirror to critically analyze her chosen outfit. It was perfect. She looked casual and comfortable – which was of course a carefully crafted look on her part that came largely from her off the-shoulder-sweater and too-long sleeves. The fuzziness of everything and the pastel palette added a cute factor, while the thigh highs, exposed shoulders, and short shorts added sex appeal.

Over all, she deemed it a success.

Each of them had their allotted times at the mirrors to do makeup and hair, and so Lucy wasted no time in summoning Cancer as soon as she sat down at hers. While he carefully coiffed her hair into a pair of low curly pigtails, she worked on her makeup. Using soft pink blush and light pink lipstick, she enhanced the sweet innocent look she was going for.

Soon, it was time for the first round of the competition, and she waited on the sidelines and watched the other girls all take their turn.

Levy was shy, but nailed the cute sexy bookworm look with a plaid miniskirt, stockings, suspenders, and a background that looked like a library. Everyone 'oohed' and 'aahed' at Erza of course, who absolutely killed it with the cutest lacy lime green and white sundress, complete with a large white hat and sandals. It looked both comfortable and sexy with a lowcut neckline and really matched her chosen magical background of a beachy sun garden. Juvia really surprised her with a navy blue and white sailor dress, which she accessorized perfectly with a pair of white lace up boots and white lacy fingerless gloves. It was a different sort of look from anything Lucy had ever seen her wear before, but it was absolutely gorgeous on her, and she pulled it off perfectly with her perky personality and sailing boat background.

Finally, it was Lucy's turn.

As her name was called to introduce her to the crowd, she skipped out onto the stage with a big grin. Everyone cheered for her, and she got a few cat calls as she struck some cute poses – like clasping her fingers together in front of her as she hunched up her shoulders in a practiced adorable shrug. She pranced around a little in front of her living room and fireplace background, pausing to pose every now and then – each one growing a little sillier as she couldn't help but be amused by the whole thing and giggled her way through it all. The final bit was when Happy flew into her arms – as she'd asked – and she hugged him close to a chorus of coos. The addition of a cute kitty like him synched the deal, and more than one shutter went off to take their picture.

Once her time was up, Happy hopped onto her shoulder as she bent a little and blew some kisses to the crowd, and then she turned around and skipping back off the stage.

As soon as everyone was done, there was an hour break for the contestants to go and get something to eat, so she left the stage area and headed towards a nearby carnival food booth where she planned to get a big hot pretzel and some cotton candy. Right around the time she had finished the pretzel, Natsu found her.

"Hey Luce!"

"Oh, hey Natsu!" she said through a mouthful of cotton candy.

"You looked pretty good up there." he said with a grin, and she pouted a little at the underwhelming complement. But still, it was rare to get any sort of complement out of Natsu, so she supposed it counted for more when it came from him.

"Thanks."

As they walked together towards the fishing pond – where Happy had already relocated to – Lucy jumped a little when Natsu reached out and lightly tugged at her sleeve.

"Wow. This really _is_ soft."

"Huh?"

"Oh, I uh, just thought it looked soft, so I wanted to check." he answered, and then ducked his head down in a way that seemed almost embarrassed, and the lower part of his face disappeared into his scarf.

She'd never quite seen him act that way, and the slight red cast to his ears made her wonder if he was blushing. His tail – which he generally wore loose in the guildhall – started fidgeting in a way that she'd noted before meant he was uncomfortable. It was all a little odd, but she just sort of shrugged it off.

As for Natsu, he had no idea why his face felt hot or why his gut clenched in such an uncomfortable way, but he didn't like it.

…

After her break, which was spent hanging out with Natsu and pestering Happy, she headed back to the changing rooms.

The next competition was the costume pageant, and after much consideration she had discovered inspiration in Natsu's outfit of all crazy places. It reminded her a little of Ali Baba's outfit from one of her favorite picture books as a kid, and she decided to dress up in that sort of style. However, no matter where she looked, she could not find any outfit that screamed, ' _Arabian nights_.' So, she had summoned Virgo, since that particular spirit had given her clothes before. Sure enough, Virgo had popped back to the celestial realm, only to reappear a moment later with a gorgeous garment in her arms.

It was perfect.

Dressing herself in it involved a bit of trial and error though.

The bright red, billowy pants went on easily enough. However, she quickly realized that she'd forgotten something when her panties showed through the somewhat sheer material, so she had to take the pants off again and search for the matching bikini bottoms that went under them. Once she finally located them in the mass amount of garments that this one outfit contained, she finally got everything put on in the correct order. The bottom of the pants gathered with a drawstring, so she made sure to tie that off before anything else, because with her luck she would be sure to trip on the string.

Around her hips went a thick golden belt, from which dangled a series of shimmering gold scarves. In both the front and back were short scarves that draped from one hip to the other, and then under those were long scarves that dangled down between her legs like a loincloth. It made for a gorgeous skirt of scarves that would twirl and swirl around her when she spun. And making it even more danceable, a short line of small bells hung from her belt between each scarf – not so long that they would get tangled, but long enough that they would chime as she swung her hips to walk or dance.

The next article of clothing to go on was her top, which was sort of a bustier type of affair that looked like a bikini, only oodles more fancy of course. From the bottom of the bustier hung a golden fringe composed of tiny bells that had been strung together in almost a lace-like pattern. They were just like the ones at her hips, but even smaller and more delicate – so every time she moved it was to a chorus of tinkling. The bustier itself was the same red as her bottoms and was detailed with spirals of glittering gold embroidered flames. It was in a halter style, and at the back of her neck more scarves attached that draped down her back and then swooped back up to attach to golden bracelets on her wrists. Those scarves were red and gold, two of each for each hand, and they ended up looking like dancing flames if she spun … or maybe wings.

Her bracelets also had golden bells, and she had a matched set of anklets, and even bell earrings.

When she finally looked in the mirror to do her makeup and have Cancer put her hair up into a super high ponytail, she couldn't decide if she looked like a princess or like a belly dancer. The golden circlet that wrapped around her ponytail like a very fancy scrunchy helped some. From the circlet draped loops of thin golden chains that crowned her whole head in a glittering mesh of gold, and measured at even intervals were red crystal drops, the largest of which dropped to land right in the middle of her forehead.

Her makeup was made easy in a way, because a sheer red veil covered the bottom half of her face, but for her eyes she lined them thickly in black and put on some gold eyeshadow.

When she was all put together, her crab friend gave a low whistle. "Wow Baby… you look smokin."

"Thanks Cancer!" she said with a bright smile, masked partially by her veil of course.

Once she was all put together, it was time to wait on the sidelines once again. It would be a longer wait this time, because there was also a performance aspect to the costume part of the pageant.

The first out onto the stage was Erza, in a super adorable and sexy goth lolita outfit. Naturally, her performance involved knife throwing, which somehow worked really well with the ruffly black and white outfit, though one might not think that it would. She had asked if she could borrow Happy and Carla for her performance, and both had agreed somewhat hesitantly, but thankfully all they had to do was drop apples over the audience. Without fail, every apple was speared midair with a knife and then fell to be grabbed up by someone. Not everyone in the crowd was from Fairy Tail, so Lucy had to assume that some of Erza's fans were out there probably loving the chance to get a souvenir. It was definitely a smart move.

As for Juvia, she went out there in a really gorgeous mermaid outfit and performed a water dance with her element. It was slightly predictable, but Lucy had to admit that it was absolutely beautiful and super graceful. In fact, it kind of made her nervous about what she had planned for her performance, because she also intended to do a dance. Hopefully she wouldn't look too gawky when compared to her blue-haired friend, who was smooth as silk and just a graceful as the spirals of water she crafted and wove around herself.

Levy chose a sexy mechanic costume that looked a little steam punk and grungy with gears and such. It worked really well for her, especially when paired with her solid script magic performance that focused on words like "iron" and "screw" although Lucy couldn't help but laugh at the – probably unintentional – double entendre. It definitely had her glancing out into the crowd to see Gajeel's reaction, who she had noticed seemed to take special interest in the little blue-haired mage. Sure enough, a subtle smirk was etched across his lips, and she could practically read his thoughts – which were likely less than clean. She hadn't entirely decided yet whether she approved of his attention towards one of her dearest friends, but she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt – especially considering his recent cat exploits.

And then it was Lucy's turn.

This time around, she was much more nervous, embarrassed, and jittery at the thought of walking out on stage, because this sort of outfit was so far away from what she would normally wear. Not to mention, she had to worry about performing too. Still, she'd had almost a month to plan, take dancing lessons, and practice her routine, so she was fairly confident that she could at least manage it without falling on her face.

So, with a deep breath, she did her best to saunter out onto the stage when her name was called, being sure to put in just a little extra hip action to make her bells really chime for her. She was greeted with a chorus of wolf whistles and cat calls, but she mostly ignored them – because if she didn't, she might just chicken out. There was a brief pause as her music selection was put on over the speakers, and Lucy took those few seconds to take a deep breath and remind herself of the steps she would soon be performing.

As the sound of drums first started up – soon to be joined by flutes and other such instruments – Lucy took one last deep breath, and then stepped forwards, lifting her heels and bending her knees just a little to control the movements of her hips as she'd been taught. Periodically she switched between the balls of her feet and her heels for a different step as she sashayed to one side and then the other, twirling the hand up on her leading side. Then, when she spun in a circle, she would let both hands raise – which brought the scarves up and swirling around her as she spun. There was a lot of graceful rippling motion as well in her upper body, which was one of the harder parts.

It was a very pretty dance, and she thought she had managed to perform it well enough, based off the applause and cheers once she was done, but she was more than happy to escape the stage. Her heart was hammering inside her chest faster than she had expected. Actually performing on stage was a lot scarier than she'd thought it would be … just going out there and looking pretty was so much easier.

As for Natsu, he thought she did great.

In fact, he thought a lot more than just that, and _**felt**_ even more than he thought – most of which didn't really compute or make sense to him.

She looked like living fire – if fire was going to take the shape of a girl – and he'd never thought he would think fire was sexy. Fire was hot sure, but not that way. Lucy though had managed to change his mind on that, and now he thought fire could easily be sexy, and beautiful, and graceful, and tasty…well, he'd always thought fire was tasty, but she put a whole different twist to that thought.

And her dance was mesmerizing, which was saying a lot coming from a dragon who personified attention problems. He couldn't take his eyes away from her as she spun and swayed, his eyes flicking from one set of bells to the other and then tracing over the curves of her scarves to the curves of her body.

It was enough to put Natsu into a semi-permanent state of confusion. For someone like him, who had never been attracted to anything – ever – this sort of feeling was entirely new, and he didn't even consciously know what it was. All he knew was that he felt hot and itchy and kind of sweaty, and his heart was beating a little too fast…. And if his tail didn't stop spastically twitching, he was going to tie it in a knot. It was all strange and uncomfortable, and he wasn't sure whether to thank Lucy or be pissed at her for it.

So, in true Natsu fashion, he did what he always did when something was too confusing for him to deal with…he simply blew it off as weird and forgot about it – although he couldn't quite entirely forget about it this time.

Seeing her in a pink polka dot bikini half an hour later didn't help very much either.

As for Lucy, she was glad when the whole thing was finally over. It was exciting to do for a while, but after changing outfits four times – even with a small break between the bikinis and formal dresses – she was getting just a little tired of it.

So it was with some relief that she slid into her final outfit. She'd gone with a floor length sleeveless gown made out of sky blue slinky material that clung to her in all the right places. On one side of the skirt a long slit crawled all the way up her thigh, while on her opposite hip a cascade of ruffles spilled down. Cancer put her hair up in a fancy bun with a few curls spiraling down here and there, and she put on her makeup.

This time they all filed out onto the stage together and then lined up with enough space between each other that their individual outfits could be clearly seen. One by one they were called to the front of the stage to answer a couple of questions from the master, and then fell back into place in the line-up. Some of the questions were a little silly, others were normal, and some were downright inappropriate.

He asked Wendy – who was wearing an adorable white ruffly dress with a red sash – how she was enjoying being part of Fairy Tail, to which she responded with, "Very much! I love it here!" Everyone whooped and cheered. They whooped for Juvia too, but for a different reason.

She was also asked how she was enjoying being part of Fairy Tail, and she answered in second person – which meant she was a little nervous. "Juvia is very happy here. Happier than she's ever been before."

"Wonderful! And what is your ultimate goal at the moment?"

"Juvia only wants to stay by Gray's side. And maybe…go on a date?" She started without any hesitation whatsoever, but ended on a blush.

That got a bunch of catcalls of course, and Lucy could see Gray in the crowd making a pretty terrible attempt at disappearing…especially when various Fairy Tail fans started snapping pictures of his response. She highly suspected this would end up in the gossip column of Sorcerer Weekly.

When it was Lucy's turn, she was first asked what her current goal was.

Her response consisted of, "Right now I just want to pay rent and keep Natsu's bottomless stomach full."

That was met with a round of boisterous laughter from the guild. Master also laughed and got a devilish twinkle in his eyes that suggested his next question was not going to be as tame.

"Speaking of Natsu, are there any plans between you two yet? Should we be expecting little blond and pink-haired babies anytime soon?"

Lucy was pretty sure she turned a hundred different shades of red, much to the amusement of the crowd – who all catcalled and whooped.

"Master! That's inappropriate! And no of course not! You know we're just partners!" she complained, though the flutter in her belly said something else – which was a little disturbing.

After that, she couldn't quite find it in herself to look out into the crowd and risk meeting Natsu's eyes as she made her way back to the line. So she spent the rest of the interviews either staring out over the heads of their audience or keeping her eyes on her fellow pageanters.

Once everyone had their chance in the limelight, it was time for the audience to vote on who they wanted to win, and everyone was given a single piece of paper to write their favorite contestant's name on. Then a collection box was passed around, and Makarov tallied up the final scores. A magical score board kept track of each name he read out loud, giving the corresponding girl one point for each time her name was read.

The race was pretty close, but in the end Erza won…which wasn't particularly surprising since she was undoubtedly the most popular girl up there. Lucy was still disappointed about losing, but she tried not to let it get her down. After all, she did get second place and a conciliatory prize, so it wasn't a total bust.

As she exited the stage, the first thing she was confronted with was Happy zooming up with a huge grin on his fuzzy face and a clear plastic baggy containing his prized fish clutched in his paws. Her disappointment faded in the face of his excitement, and she grinned widely as he almost ran right into her.

"Lucy! Lucy! Look! I finally caught Carla's fish!"

"Congratulations Happy! I'm sure she'll love it."

He beamed and without another word flew off at top speed, undoubtedly to look for his white-furred paramour.

Then her attention was pulled elsewhere as a hot arm was thrown over her shoulders. She staggered a little under the weight as Natsu leaned into her and gave her a sideways bear hug.

"Ya did great Luce! Now how about we go get something ta eat?! I'm starving!"

Before she had even given her consent – or protest that she wanted to change back into her normal clothes – Natsu was dragging her off towards the nearest booth. When he accidentally glued his teeth together with an enormous amount of cotton candy that he'd apparently attempted to cook in his mouth, she deemed it as appropriate karma and split off to change. By the time she returned in her normal clothing, he had unstuck his teeth and was busy trying out some other food that wouldn't melt. They spent the next few hours visiting and revisiting his favorite booths from yesterday and new ones for today.

Then there were a series of games that Natsu participated in while Lucy cheered him on from the sidelines. She was way too full and knew herself well enough to know that she'd get a stomach ache if she tried any of the ridiculous stuff he was currently doing – a theme which continued on throughout the rest of the fair.

The next couple of days were full of drinking and eating and fun … and Lucy yelling at Natsu for spilling foodstuffs on her.

There were plenty of events for them to participate in during the remainder of the fair. Natsu of course entered every physical contest, even dragging Lucy into more than one…like the sack race. That one had ended rather badly, with Natsu accidentally setting their sack on fire midway through the race – which had freaked Lucy out of course. Somehow she avoided getting burned to a crisp, although how that was she had no idea. The arm wrestling hadn't turned out much better – many tables had been broken, burned, frozen, and shattered during that particular contest … and it wasn't even all Natsu's fault.

Like Natsu's tendency towards the destructive, other predictable things came to pass as well.

After Carla grudgingly accepted Happy's fish, he ecstatically proceeded to follow her around for the rest of the fair. Juvia plastered herself to Gray – as usual – and followed him everywhere he went. Erza ate lots of pastries, particularly cake. Cana and Master Makarov had a drinking contest. Mira attempted to matchmake Lucy with Natsu and every other available bachelor in the vicinity. Natsu and Gray got into more fights than Lucy could count. Erza stopped them by clonking their heads together.

….. And then _predictable_ went out the window when Gajeel had a concert.

Up till then, none of them had known he was musically inclined. If Lucy had been told, she would have assumed he would be into hard rock…judging by his piercings, clothes, and wild mane of hair. However, as it turned out, he was " _Mr. Shoo-Bee-Doo-Ba_ " – as Master Makarov titled him – and had sort of a jazzy style that Lucy wasn't sure what to make of. In fact, none of them were quite sure what to make of it.

Even stranger, somehow he managed to recruit both Lucy and Levy as backup dancers, and they found themselves dressed in leotards, fishnet stockings, high heels, and bunny tails and ears. How _that_ had happened, Lucy still wasn't sure … nor was she particularly happy about it.

Levy was even less happy about it though, and after just one song, she ended up dashing off the stage with a bright red face.

"Oi! Shrimp! Where ya going?! Get back here!" Gajeel bellowed, sounding totally at odds with his dulcet tones from before.

Lucy was left confused and unsure about what to do as the iron dragon slayer bounded off the stage too, yelling back at her, "You stay there, Bunny Girl! I'll go get Shrimp!"

She scowled. "Don't call me Bunny Girl! I didn't choose this outfit!"

There was no way she was going to hang out by herself on stage, especially not in such an embarrassing get-up, so she completely ignored his demand and left.

The festival continued from there, with many more hijinks and chaos – in typical Fairy Tail style. By the time it was over, the guildhall was an absolute mess, and it took at least a whole week to put everything back the way it was.

Partially that was due to some strange events that occurred after the fair had concluded.

The day after the Summertime Games Fair had finished, Natsu and Lucy had been on their way to ask Makarov what they could clean, repair, or put away next when they ran into Juvia, who was stalking Gray from the shadows of a pillar.

"Oh…hey Juvia. What are you doing back here?" Lucy asked, curious about the somewhat odd behavior. Her blue-haired friend hadn't stalked Gray from the shadows like this in a while – because she did it openly now.

Juvia jumped in a guilty sort of way before quickly spinning around, and Lucy was shocked to see that she was tearing up a little. At the sight of tears on her friend's face, she instantly sent Natsu on without her to report for both of them while she stayed behind to talk to Juvia.

"Hey…What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Oh…Lucy…it's you." she said, rubbing her eyes.

Upon closer inspection, it was clear that Juvia wasn't just tearing up, but was also absolutely furious. Her eyes burned, and not just because they were blood-shot.

"Um. So what happened?"

All she got in response was Juvia whirling back around and glaring out into the guildhall … not at Gray, but at a pretty girl who was talking to Gray. Lucy had never seen the girl before, but – based off the pad and pen she was holding – she was probably a reporter for one of the magic magazines. She was likely writing a follow-up story on the fair.

"A rival has appeared…" Juvia practically snarled, and if looks could kill, that girl would be dead several times over by now.

"She's probably just a reporter interviewing him for an article…I doubt she's-"

"Juvia knows what she's talking about! That girl is trying to steal Darling Gray!"

Lucy blinked, noting that Juvia had used impersonal pronouns to identify herself…which was a dead giveaway that Juvia was uncomfortable – though in this case, she seemed to be going a bit past discomfort and into the land of crazy.

"Uh…"

"Just look at her! The way she's smiling at him, the way she's touching him!"

Lucy looked again a little harder and this time payed special attention to the girl's body language. Sure enough, there was a certain amount of flirtation going on. It was subtle, but it was definitely there, and unfortunately the girl was really pretty. Lucy winced when she lightly touched Gray's arm and laughed at something he said… and then winced even harder when Juvia let out a snarl like an animal next to her.

Probably even worse, Gray didn't seem opposed to the attention. Though, it was impossible for Lucy to tell if he was actually interested in the reporter, or if he just thought she was funny as he chuckled and offered her a small smile. It definitely pissed off poor Juvia though, because another terrifying sound came from her.

"I'm sure it'll be fine…she's not going to stay too long. As soon as she's done with her story, she'll go on about her business."

Juvia didn't seem to hear her, and after a moment, Lucy decided that it was pointless to talk to her right now. So, she headed off to find Natsu and Happy.

The next day, she wondered if she shouldn't have tried harder.

It started out normally, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy all arrived bright and early, ready to report for cleanup duty again. She headed to get an assignment from Mira, who was in charge today, and Happy accompanied her so he could get a fish from the bar. Meanwhile, Natsu ran off to pick a fight with Gray – and just as Lucy had predicted, the girl from yesterday was gone and he was alone.

Nothing seemed amiss, up until a sudden commotion drew Lucy's attention. Normally, she wouldn't pay any attention to it since hubbubs happened all the time, but this one sounded different somehow.

When she turned to look, her eyes landed on something that made her jaw drop open in shock. Evergreen was currently latched onto Elfman, hugging his arm and pressing it between her boobs. It was common knowledge that she had a crush on him, but she had never expressed it in any way aside from ragging on him and subtly being in his proximity. Now though, she pouted up at him as he stared down at her in shock and more than a little bit of fear.

"Elfman…why not be a real man and ask me on a date already?"

There was silence as everyone watched the drama. Then, another hullabaloo erupted from a completely different part of the hall. Erza suddenly collapsed, clutching her chest. Everyone around her hurried to her side, and even Lucy – who was across the hall – ran over to check on her friend. Most people forgot about Elfman and his strange predicament, and instead focused on Erza, who seemed to be in a great deal of pain.

Lucy couldn't see what was going on through the small crowd that had surrounded the redhead, but it sounded like she wasn't appreciative of the attention.

"Just…just go away and let me be…"

Most people backed off, but a few stuck around, which was less than smart on their part. Wendy was one of these, as she hovered anxiously.

"You look like you're in pain…let me -"

"I said leave me alone!" Erza yelled and suddenly stood and ran out of the hall, knocking poor Wendy over.

Everyone stared after her in shock. Tears had been running down her face as she dashed out of the guildhall, and she literally tore the door off its hinges in her haste to escape. With a creak, the whopper-jawed door hung for a few seconds, before the single twisted hinge still holding it gave up and the whole thing plopped to the ground with a bang.

"What the…?" Lucy muttered to herself.

Suddenly a shriek resonated through the hall and everyone swung around to peer at Carla, who was screaming at Happy. "Just go away you stupid tomcat!"

She appeared amazingly upset – angry, confused, and conflicted – and she also flew out of the hall in a fit of tears, leaving everyone staring after her in shock. Confused, Happy watched her leave with the saddest look on his face, prompting Lucy to hurry over to him. She scooped him up in a hug, and he started crying into her shirt.

"Wh-what did I do?"

"I don't know, but with everyone acting weird, I don't think it has anything to do with you Happy. I think something else is going on."

"You think so? So she doesn't really hate me?"

"No. She just looked really confused, like she was struggling with something personal. I don't think she hates you."

At that point, they were interrupted by Cana bursting into tears as well. Everyone turned to look at her as she gulped down her wine and sobbed loudly for no apparent reason.

Before anyone could go and try to help her, a vicious fight broke out between Jet and Droy – which wasn't entirely uncommon since they often squabbled over Levy. This time was different though. It apparently started when Droy suddenly pounced on Levy, grabbing her in a way that he normally would never do, and Jet had been forced to rip him off her. Lucy caught the tail end of that, and then watched with wide shocked eyes as Droy proceeded to go after Jet in a fit of what looked like jealous rage. He was so insensible that he very nearly took out Levy too, and Gajeel waded in to scoop her up by her collar and removed her from the situation.

Then, the sound and shocking light of a strike of lightning had everyone spinning around once again to look at Laxus. A rather fried looking Freed was sitting in his lap.

"L-Laxus…but…" Freed blubbered, looking like he was going to cry.

"I told you I'd blast you if you didn't get off me."

Slithering off his lap, Freed got on his knees in front of the lightning dragon slayer and groveled. "My apologies…I'm so sorry…please forgive me!"

He'd always been really flamboyant about his devotion to Laxus, and Lucy had even played with the idea that he was gay and liked his team leader as more than a friend…but this was a bit over the top.

Laxus was unamused. "Get up, you idiot. What's gotten into you?"

The poor guy just dissolved into more tears, and with an exceptionally aggravated sigh, Laxus groaned, "Jesus…" and stood. He picked up Freed by his collar – much like Gajeel had just done to Levy – and dragged him out of the guildhall.

Once again, the whole guild was left staring blankly at the doors, wondering what the hell was going on.

Of course Natsu was the first to say it. "What the hell is going on h-Ahchk!"

The end of his sentence was some sort of weird choking noise, and Lucy whipped around to see him having a coughing fit.

"Natsu! Are you okay?" she asked as she ran over to check on him.

Happy hopped out of her arms and flew along next to her.

"Yeah, just…what the fuck…?" he groaned and staggered a slight moment. Then abruptly his head snapped up and his eyes landed on her.

The look on his face was extremely odd. His eyes were blown wide, his pupils fully dilated to make his eyes even blacker than normal. He stared at her with slightly parted lips, and she could hear how his breathing picked up. His nose flared, and then suddenly he jerked back, squeezed his eyes closed, and shook his head. It was so strange that she completely ignored the sounds of all the other mayhem surrounding her and entirely focused on Natsu.

"What the fuck…?" he repeated on a groan and staggered back a step or two. "Shit…"

"Um…are you okay?" Lucy asked, reaching out gingerly to touch his shoulder.

He flinched back hard and snapped, "Don't touch me!"

She gasped and jerked her hand back as his head flew up and he glared at her. Suddenly his pupils shrunk while his irises flashed gold and started to glow. A burst of heat came from him, making her take a step back. His horns lengthened and his tail thickened – which meant that when it thrashed, the long red appendage smacked the table next to it hard enough to send the sturdy piece of furniture flying.

"Wh-what the…?" Lucy took another step back, actually a little afraid.

With a growl, Natsu grabbed his head, shook it vigorously again, and then turned and jumped through a nearby window.

…

Leaving Lucy to wonder just what in the world was happening, Natsu ran as far away from her as he could. The strange feelings rushing through him made no sense and scared the spit out of him.

After choking, a rush of heat had filled his veins, and when he'd looked up to see Lucy right there, looking so damn cute and worried about him, he blew a gasket. The fire filling him felt a little like the itchy feelings that he'd experienced when watching her dance on stage, but they were so much worse and weirder.

It was almost like the rush of adrenaline he got before a fight, but he could hardly expend that energy the way he normally would – by pummeling his enemy. Something told him that punching Lucy would kill him, in more ways than one. Plus, he would never _ever_ hurt her, not just because it was forbidden. She was his best friend, and the most precious person to him in the entire world, so like hell would he ever strike her.

Yet, he felt the desperate need to do something, _anything_ , to vent this rampant strange energy burning him from the inside out – which was a problem, because it was all linked to HER. For the life of him, he didn't know how to expend that energy without potentially hurting her.

He wanted to pick her up and hug her tight and then swing her around in a circle…and maybe fly off with her somewhere. He wanted to grab her and never let go, claim her for himself and horde her away in a castle or a cave – like dragons of old with their precious treasures.

There was also an intense gut-wrenching desire to get as close as physically possible to her. He wanted to wrap every part of himself around her and then squeeze until there was nothing at all between them, or even get inside her somehow and lodge himself so deep it would be impossible to tell where he ended and she began. It was like his normal need to be around her had been magnified by about a million and then lit on fire.

The sensation was unlike anything he had ever experienced before, and it was so potent that it sort of made him wanna throw up. The safest thing for him at the moment was to put as much space between them as possible, because he had no idea what he might do if he stuck around for too much longer. While he would never intentionally hurt Lucy, with the way he was currently feeling, he might break her entirely by accident.

…

Back at the guildhall, Lucy worried about Natsu and wondered if she had done something wrong, but something told her that there was a greater force at work here.

Working on a hunch, she started hunting around, and sure enough she found Juvia in a corner, holding a potion bottle. As she watched, Juvia blew the bubbles that floated up out of it, obviously aiming them at Gray. This time they actually hit, and he choked, just like Natsu had.

As soon as he swallowed the bubbles, Juvia stepped out from behind the pillar she was hiding behind and walked towards him, stopping a little ways away with glittering moist eyes and flushed cheeks. She looked so hopeful that Lucy stayed back and didn't confront her.

As soon as Gray saw her, Lucy saw a muscle in his jaw twitch, and then his cheeks flushed. His eyes widened for a moment, and then with a sharp inhale he turned on his heel and rushed out the door.

"Gray! My Darling!" she called as she ran after him.

Predictably, no more strange incidents happened.

Thankfully, there were no lasting damages, and everything got straightened out. By the next morning everyone had gone back to normal. Natsu absolutely refused to tell her what had happened to him though, as did basically everyone who had been affected.

All Lucy could figure, was that whatever Juvia had been blowing, it hadn't been a love spell like the bluenette probably thought. It was more likely some sort of emotional enhancement potion that increased whatever your normal feelings were substantially. That would explain why Evergreen had gotten so forward … same with Freed and Droy. But Lucy couldn't even begin to try and decipher the rest, and decided it was best not to try.

Thankfully, after all that excitement, things went back to normal for Fairy Tail …. aside from Gajeel insisting on calling her "Bunny Girl" now, much to her irritation.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _With a deep sucked-in breath, she snatched the offending piece of paper off the board and rushed over to her waiting team. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Happy notice her, and he flew over to join them as well._

 _"Guys! Juvia's been kidnapped!"_

 _Four different variations of, "What?!" were thrown at her, but Gray's was undeniably the loudest and most perturbed of the lot._

 _She wasn't surprised. Despite avoiding Juvia, she had also noticed the long looks he sent in her direction when he thought she wasn't watching. It seemed that maybe her unreturned feelings were slowly being returned. That was probably why he had been avoiding her, because he was obviously uncomfortable with it all._

 _At this moment though, it also meant that Gray freaked out even more than everyone else. He grabbed Lucy's shoulders and urgently asked, "What the fuck you talkin' about Lucy!?"_

 _"Here. Look at this! It was on the board, but as soon as I looked at it, the words shifted around and turned into this!"_

 _Everyone peered down at the paper she was waving around. It read: "To those it may concern, we have captured Juvia Lockser. If you wish to ever see her again, meet us here." It finished with an address._


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:**

Hello Everyone! Salutations!

Aaaaaand here we are again...another chapter! :D This is the start of a pretty crazy arc, so buckle your seat-belts. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

As always, huge, thunderous thanks and cheers and applause and confetti for all of my wonderful reviewers. You are all absolutely fabulous! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Elphaba818, FantasyDreamer06, dlshieldss, TheOGFTfanatic, WisdomDragon27, ravenqueen162, Larissa, Ksta, Donthedarkdragon26, valerioux, Lady La-sara, RoyaldragonSevgisi15, and Wolves silver wind. Equally big hugs and kisses to all my new reviewers: Bakers28, RavenShadow, and noseinabook145. Can I just say that I am truly amazed and touched by the amount of feedback this story has gotten? You are all absolutely amazing!

I'm actually thinking about altering my review policy, no, don't give me that look, you'll like it, trust me. I think I'm going to go back to posting on the weekend (either Saturday or Sunday) and then if it gets ten reviews by Wednesday, I'll post an extra chapter. With how much everyone has been commenting, I'll likely end up posting two chapters every week - instead of just an extra chapter every other week. It's just going to make everything simple, so you won't have to look at when the last chapter was posted to estimate when the next one is going to be out, and wonder if it'll come early or not. (Oh, and it'll still be five reviews for a sneak peek of next chapter of course.)

If you all think this is a good idea and want an **e** **x** tra chapter every week, be sure to **let me know**. :D I'll base my decision on the response. If you all like it, it'll go into effect this weekend.

Oh, also, I just wanted to address a comment really quickly. Someone noted that I have been including a lot of Gruvia elements in this story, and wondered if I shouldn't add them into the tagline for it. It was a very good suggestion, but I don't think I will. I don't intend to ever have the story be in their POV, or have any scenes with just them in it, so I don't consider them main characters. But you can expect to see more of them, and more of Jellal and Erza, and more of the other couples - because I do want a subplot of this story to be getting all the canon couples together...but it's never going to be the main focus.

So anyways, with all that said, let's get to the story shall we? Stay tuned for the sneak peek at the end. :D

* * *

Several weeks passed with everyone going back to their usual routine of going on missions, brawling and destroying the guildhall on a regular basis, and causing chaos wherever they went. Still, it was the normal amount of crazy, so nobody thought anything of it.

Things had mostly gone back to normal between everyone who had been affected by the love spell incident as well. Freed had apparently straightened things out with Laxus and was back to his normal self. Carla was just as dismissive of Happy, so nothing had changed there. Erza was likewise seemingly unafflicted by any aftereffects of the spell – though it was still unclear what had even happened to her since she refused to tell anyone why she had run out of the building in tears.

There were a few mild differences though, such as Evergreen avoiding Elfman like he had the plague. And as for Juvia…she was just as clingy as ever, but Gray had gone back to being somewhat uncomfortable around her. In fact, he seemed to be outright avoiding her now for some reason.

But aside from those small changes, things continued on as usual.

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy went on several missions, along with Erza and Gray. Mostly they were easy low-level and low-paying missions, mainly because nothing promising had shown up on the board since the Summertime Games Fair. It always took a little while for things to pick back up after such a huge event, which was bad for Lucy because her rent was coming up once again and she was short…as usual. There always seemed to be a mad scramble for jewel right at the end of the month.

So, Lucy was perusing the board for a mission her team could take, when one stood out to her. The writing on it seemed kind of weird and squirrelly, like it was wiggling under her gaze. Peering closer, she watched in astonishment as the words completely rewrote themselves. This was strange enough to capture her entire attention.

She wasn't allowed to ponder the how and why of it for very long, because the message very quickly finished rewriting itself and she got a good look at it. With a deep sucked-in breath, she snatched the offending piece of paper off the board and rushed over to her waiting team. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Happy notice her, and he flew over to join them as well.

"Guys! Juvia's been kidnapped!"

Four different variations of, "What?!" were thrown at her, but Gray's was undeniably the loudest and most perturbed of the lot.

She wasn't surprised. Despite avoiding Juvia, she had also noticed the long looks he sent in her direction when he thought she wasn't watching. It seemed that maybe her unreturned feelings were slowly being returned. That was probably why he had been avoiding her, because he was obviously uncomfortable with it all.

At this moment though, it also meant that Gray freaked out even more than everyone else. He grabbed Lucy's shoulders and urgently asked, "What the fuck you talkin' about Lucy!?"

"Here. Look at this! It was on the board, but as soon as I looked at it, the words shifted around and turned into this!"

Everyone peered down at the paper she was waving around. It read: "To those it may concern, we have captured Juvia Lockser. If you wish to ever see her again, meet us here." It finished with an address.

"Alright, when is the last time anyone saw Juvia?" Erza asked, apparently trying to ascertain the validity of this notice.

"Last week…she went on a solo mission and was supposed to be back a couple days ago." Lucy said, and Happy confirmed it with a nod and, "Aye."

"…shit." Gray cussed.

"Well, what're we all standing around here talking about it for? Let's go get her back!" Natsu offered, already turning on his heel to head out. Lucy snagged his scarf to stop him, and he came to a halt with a cough.

"Wait up, we have to show this to Master Makarov and let him know where we're going so he can send backup if we don't return!"

"Good idea." Erza approved with a nod, and without saying anything further she snatched up the paper and strode towards the master, leaving the rest of them to catch up to her.

As soon as she showed him the notice, he immediately authorized them to go on a rescue mission. So they all set out right away.

It was several hours away by train, and then they were left to walk down a small dirt road to find the address listed. It took some asking around to even find the almost hidden path leading out of the small village listed on the paper, and all the residents warned them not to go that way. Everyone knew that a dark guild had headquarters somewhere down that road.

As they asked around, they failed to notice the hooded figure that overheard their conversations and began to follow them. However, once they were on the narrow pathway leading into the woods, Natsu quickly picked up on the sound of someone following them in the forest.

When he stopped and spun in place to glare into the thick woods edging their path, Lucy nearly ran right into him. Immediately she started to ask, "Natsu, what…"

He didn't even let her finish the question before saying, "There's someone following us. OI! You there! I can hear your big heavy footsteps, Buddy, so come on out of there!"

There was a long pause, and everyone waited with bated breath until finally the leaves rustled and out came a dark figure.

"My footsteps are only heavy to someone with your ears… Natsu." a familiar voice intoned dryly, and Erza gasped.

"Jellal? What are you doing here?"

He flipped his hood back and granted them a rare smile – which was mainly directed towards Erza of course. "I happened to overhear your conversations in town, which was quite fortuitous. I've been tracking this particular dark guild for a while, and it seems that once again our paths have crossed. May I ask why you're pursuing them?"

"They kidnapped Juvia." Gray answered in a dull tone, and Jellal's eyes darted towards him.

"I see…that's terrible news, I'm sorry. Perhaps I can offer my assistance. As I said, I've been tracking this guild … with the intention of disbanding them if given the opportunity. Perhaps now would be a good time to do so, if you'll allow me to accompany you into battle?"

"Of course. Thank you for the help." Erza answered for them, and he stepped forwards to join their party without another word. His hood came back up to mask his face, just in case they came across another traveler on this road – as unlikely as that was.

Eventually, the path tapered off, leaving them in the middle of the woods without an idea of where to go. At that point, it was up to Natsu and his nose to find the right way. Within a few sniffs, he grinned and pointed them in the direction of people. Happy flew up through the trees to get a bird's eye view and then zipped back down, saying, "Yep, he's right. There's a small shack that way…but it doesn't look big enough for a whole guild."

"Well, we just have to hope that we're going the right way." Lucy responded, not seeing any other options at the moment.

So, they continued in that direction, following Natsu's nose mostly, though Happy popped out of the trees every now and then to make sure. Soon they found themselves on a nearly invisible path.

Without thinking, Lucy muttered to herself, "It feels good to be the rescuer for once…"

Natsu sent her a confused look and she realized he must have overheard her.

She flushed a little and said, "Uh…I mean, I tend to get captured and have to be rescued a lot, so it's nice to be on the other side for once!"

Her words must have been louder than she'd intended, because Gray said somewhat sharply, "I doubt Juvia's happy to take your place."

Lucy glowered at him. "Hey! It's not like I'm saying that I'm happy she's been kidnapped!"

"Yeah but you _**were**_ saying you'd rather it be her than you!" Gray spat back, and Lucy jerked, a little surprised.

On the one hand, his sharp response made her happy in a way, because it meant he was sticking up for Juvia and therefore was developing at least friendly feelings towards her. On the other, she was a little irritated that he was taking his concern out on her.

"Now look. Juvia is my friend too. In fact, I'm the first person to befriend her after she joined Fairy Tail! So don't go accusing me of stupid stuff like that. If I could take her place I would happily do it, and you know that." Then, just to test the waters and because she felt like calling him out on it, she added, "Just because you've got feelings for her now doesn't mean you can snap at me."

Right on cue, Happy chimed in with, "He _loooooooves_ her."

Gray turned bright red and ducked his head down while his fists clenched.

Well, that verified that he definitely had a crush on Juvia at least, and Lucy smirked smugly. Natsu caught the look and just snorted at her in amusement. He sent a friendly elbow into her ribs, and she shoved his shoulder for it.

Behind them, Happy whispered teasingly, "You _looooove_ each other…"

They both sent him scowls over their shoulders, and he snickered behind his paw.

To clear the air, Lucy turned back to the group and added, "Anyways, nobody can deny that I've probably been caught by the enemy more than anyone else here." Then under her breath she grumbled, "And it's usually a pervert…"

Once again Natsu made a little "pfft" sound, and muttered, "Yeah, maybe that's thanks to those clothes you wear."

"What's wrong with my clothes?!"

"Nothing. They're just a little…well… _little_." he said, sending her a sideways look. Then to prove his point, he poked her where a line of skin showed between her shirt and skirt.

She lightly swatted at his hand. "Oh, whatever."

Then from the front Erza suddenly said, "Being held captive doesn't make you weak Lucy, so don't ever feel bad about being targeted."

That shut Lucy up, because she was abruptly reminded that Erza and Jellal had both been held captive on multiple occasions…often by each other when Jellal was a captive of his own mind.

The rest of the walk was completed in silence, and soon the path led to a nearly hidden hovel which was covered in vines. It appeared to be barely more than a shack, but the feel of magic was so strong around it that there was no doubt it was a mirage of some sort.

"You were right, Happy. This definitely looks too small for a whole guild, but it has to be an alteration spell of some sort." Lucy said, glancing down at her blue companion.

"Oh yeah, for sure. Just feel that magic coming off it." Natsu agreed.

Before Natsu was even done talking, Gray suddenly stomped forwards and threw open the door with a bang. The rest of them followed him swiftly as he strode into the rickety looking structure.

Sure enough, it was much larger inside than it was outside, though it was still dark and dank.

As soon as all of them entered the room, the door behind them closed and another door suddenly appeared in front of them. Happy squeaked and grabbed onto her ankle with his paws.

A wave of dejavu washed over Lucy, and she just couldn't hold back a groan. "It was a trap."

"Damnit!" Natsu grumbled, probably feeling the same thing Lucy was.

Ignoring the two of them, Gray stepped forwards to read a sign that appeared on the door now in front of them. " _To enter this door, state the number of contestants that wish to participate in the game. The prize is one Juvia Lockser, and the return of any who get captured during the game. If no contestants step forwards to play for her, then she will be disposed of_."

Gray almost blew a gasket. "They think this is a fucking game!? I'm gonna kill them!"

Everyone else sported similarly pissed expressions.

"There are six contestants!" Erza said with a strong voice laced with the same anger they were all feeling right now.

There was a long pause, and then the sign rewrote itself. _"Please proceed. If you win, you will be allowed to leave with your prize. If you lose, then she and any who are captured will be disposed of."_

The sign then disappeared, and the door opened. Gray was once again the first to stomp through the open doorway, still muttering angrily to himself under his breath about this being a game to them.

Through that door was yet another room, and once again the door shut with a snap behind them, getting another flinch from Happy. "I don't like this Lucy…" he whispered, and she gently reached down to stroke his head.

"I know. Me neither."

Inside this room was three doors. The first one opened with a creak.

"Wait up, let me go first and give it a good sniff to see if I can smell her." Natsu said as Gray started to step forwards.

Reluctantly, he hung back so Lucy's partner could go instead. Natsu walked into the hall, and they all peered in after him. When he didn't announce right away whether or not he smelled Juvia, Lucy stepped forwards too, asking, "Natsu? Do you smell her?"

As soon as she passed through the doorway, a barrier was erected, knocking Happy back on his butt, and the door slammed shut behind her. She whirled around and pounded on it. Natsu joined her at the door too and banged on it as well.

"Lucy!" Happy screeched from the other side.

"Happy! Are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm okay!"

Erza's voice came through the door next. "It seems like it's going to force us to split up…"

"We'll just see about that!"

That was all the warning Lucy had before Natsu set his fist on fire and threw himself at the door with full force. The ricochet caused fire to spit back at them, and with a yelp she took shelter behind him, since he was a fireproof shield.

"Natsu! This space is too small for that! You're going to cook me!" she protested loudly, and he instantly put out the flames.

"Oops my bad. Sorry Luce, you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little singed…" she grumbled, patting out the small fires licking at her skirt.

"Here, let's try this." She grabbed Taurus's key. "Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"

With a bellowing moo, her loyal minotaur popped into existence.

"Hello Miss Luuucy!"

"Hi Taurus. Would you mind breaking down that door for me please?"

"Sure thing! And then will you give me a smoooooch?"

"No, you horny bastard, she won't." Natsu answered for her, and Taurus blew hot steam from his nose.

"It's nooone of your business you dragooooon!"

"Sheesh Luce, you sure do have a lot of horny spirits…" he grumbled, spitting a little fire at the minotaur.

"Both of you stop it! This is kind of an emergency!"

"Sooorry Miss Luuucy." Taurus mooed.

He sent Natsu one last dirty look before raising his ax and leveling it at the door. He gave it a heavy swing, which should have broken the door to absolute bits. However, the wood just bounced, and Taurus was thrown back on his butt, making both Lucy and Natsu scramble out of the way as his giant ax flew through the air.

"Hey watch it idiot! Don't chop us!" Natsu spat, currently pinning Lucy tight to the wall where he had protectively shielded her from any and all flying weaponry.

"It's okay Taurus, but I don't think it's going to work." she quickly soothed, pushing Natsu off her and reaching out to pat Taurus on the shoulder when she caught the murderous glint in her bull spirit's eyes.

He turned to her with remorse. "I'm sorry Miss Luuucy. If you need help with anything else, just let me know…" And with that, he poofed.

"Well guys, it looks like we're stuck." Lucy called to the others.

"Alright then, I guess we'll just have to split up. Good luck." Erza called back through the door.

"Lucy…" Happy whimpered.

"It's okay Happy, just go with one of the others. Help them like you would help me, and we'll get out of here before you know it."

"Okay…"

And so, Lucy and Natsu continued on down the dingy hall they were trapped in. Soon enough they arrived in another room, and once again the door slammed shut behind them. The room they now found themselves in was large and round, and lining the walls were barred doors, like prison cells almost.

A sign appeared in the middle of the floor, and Lucy read it out loud. _"One of them has the key."_

The key mentioned was obviously to a large wooden door staring them in the face from the other side of the room, but Lucy had no idea what the sign meant by, " _them_."

"Them, huh? Them who?" Natsu mumbled as they wandered into the room. He made a beeline for the nearest prison door and peered in, before leaping back to avoid a wad of poison spit that lobbed itself at him.

"Well, I think I found one of the " _them_."" he said with a grin.

"So how do we get in there to get the key off it then? Or do we let them out?"

She stepped forwards too and examined the space around the gated door. A two-handed lever sticking out of the wall caught her attention. "I bet it's this."

Reaching for it, she grabbed onto the handles and was getting ready to pull it down when pain bit into her palms, as if the lever was coated in acid or poison. With a yelp, she dropped it like a hot potato.

"You okay!? What happened?"

"Those sadistic bastards…they coated the lever in poison or something!"

"Well shit…here, I'll do it."

With a grunt, Natsu grabbed onto it, quickly grimacing as he undoubtedly experienced what she just had. He quickly yanked it down, and with a groan the barred door next to them rose up. As soon as it was raised, Natsu released the lever, only to swiftly grab it again as the door slammed shut.

"I guess I have to hold it until the thing is out…fuck…" Natsu grunted, gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes at the pain.

Lucy cringed, hating to see him in pain. Something deep in her gut twisted at the expression on his face, and she felt a little sick, wanting to tell him to stop. One look at his stubborn face though, and she knew that would be pointless, so instead she hurried to act as bait to lure the thing out, running in front of the cage and taunting it.

"Yoohoo! Come out here and fight us, you big ugly monster!"

The thing – which turned out to be a giant spider, much to her horror – skittered out in hot pursuit. As soon as it was free of the door, Natsu let it slam shut. However, as soon as he released the lever, a chain – which they hadn't noticed yet connected to the spider's leg – reeled it back into the cell and the door slammed shut again behind it…. Leaving them staring at the shut door in absolute astonishment.

After a moment of shock, Lucy mumbled, "So…one of us has to stay at the lever while the other fights…"

Natsu nodded, seeming speechless for once. After a moment, he asked, "How about I hold it open unless you have trouble with the monster?"

Lucy licked her lips. "I think it might work better for you to fight. You'll probably take them out a lot faster than I could…"

"I don't want you to have to go through that pain Luce. I know you can handle them just fine."

Reluctantly she nodded, hating every minute of it. But when he turned to do it, she grabbed for his arm and yanked him back around. He spun and faced her with a wide-eyed look of surprise as she manhandled him, grabbing his wrist and flipping his hand up to look at his palm. To her utter relief, he didn't have acid burns or poison marks.

"Thank goodness. At least you aren't physically hurt. It must be a pain spell or something." she sighed and released him.

"Uh, yeah. Probably." he grunted, still eyeballing her a little funny. That disappeared quickly though and his normal grin replaced it. "Alright then, go get 'em Luce."

As he stepped back towards the lever, a sudden surge of resolve bit her in the butt. If he was going to do that, then she was going to beat these monsters as fast as she possibly could. Before he even touched the lever, she was summoning Taurus, figuring he would appreciate another shot at something. She had no doubt that he could squash this overgrown tarantula in a few seconds.

As Natsu grunted and lowered the lever once again, she said, "Hey Taurus, would you mind taking out that spider for me?"

"With pleasure Miss Luuucy," he said with a grin, and as the spider skittered out, he raised his ax.

"Watch out, he spits poison," she warned.

"No problem. Come here ya baffoooon!"

The spider was pretty fast, but Lucy snapped her whip to snag one of its legs, which allowed Taurus to land a solid hit. "Excellent! Now quick, we have to look it over to see if it has a key somewhere on it!" she yelled.

Taurus seemed a little confused about that, but he helped her look for any sign of something shiny. When nothing showed up, she called to Natsu, "Nothing! It's not this one!"

With a groan, he released the lever. "Shit. Well, on to the next one." Then he glanced down at his hands and cocked an eyebrow. "Looks like you're right Luce, the pain really is just from magic. There still aren't any burns or anything."

Lucy sighed, relieved that he still didn't sport any injuries.

The body of the spider was dragged back into the room, and Lucy couldn't help but feel sorry for the critter, being locked up and used in such an awful way. Even a monster deserved better than that. Still, they proceeded on to the next prison cell, and Natsu grabbed onto the next lever, ready to pull it. Lucy cringed, waiting for his pained response, and sure enough he hissed and released the handle.

"What the hell?!" he cussed, staring at it offended. "This thing burns! I'm a fucking dragon! Heat should NOT burn!"

"It must be a kind of magic that makes you feel pain, whether or not that thing would normally cause it."

"Well, it sucks."

Still, he grabbed it and gave it a tug, cussing even more viciously under his breath as he did so. Out of that cell came a drake, and before she gave Taurus the signal to strike she stalled out. It was a little dragon, and she couldn't quite bring herself to hit it when she had a dragon for a partner.

The creature, which was about the size of a horse, inhaled and spat flames, causing Lucy to dive out of the way with a yelp. That turned out to be unnecessary though, as Natsu sucked them over to him and ate them up with a burp.

"Oi! You there!"

The lizard turned its head to eyeball him.

"Yeah, you. Stop spitting fire and let my partner search you for a key."

The lizard growled at him and arched back its head before blasting him with a roar, fire swirling at him full force. Of course he just ate it, then roared right back – and his roar made the whole room shake. Lucy cringed as a crack appeared in the floor beneath him and radiated up the wall. His aura flashed, briefly showing the image of a massive dragon towering over the little lizard.

When the flames had dispersed, they showed the fire drake cowering on the ground, unharmed but obviously cowed.

"Now, like I said, let Lucy get a look at ya for your key. If you behave, I'll even ask 'em to break your chain."

It just nodded and stayed hunched to the ground with its eyes squeezed closed tight. With a nod from Natsu, Lucy approached and she and Taurus searched the lizard for a key. None showed up, and she had Taurus cut the chain with his ax to let the drake go. It slithered into the corner and huddled up like a puppy in timeout.

Natsu released the lever with a hiss, and then rubbed his palms briskly together. "That was freaking weird."

Right at this point, a new sign appeared in the middle of the room, and Lucy turned to read it. It said: _"Happy the Cat has been captured, and his life is now forfeit."_

"Say what?!" Lucy shrieked, absolutely infuriated and terrified for her friend.

"Shit!" Natsu added, sounding just as upset as her.

There was a pause as they both freaked, but then Natsu growled and seemed to forcibly calm himself – which was pretty special to see. "We'll get him back. Don't worry Luce."

Swallowing hard, she nodded. "Yeah."

Stalking over to the next cell door, Natsu grabbed onto the new lever and cringed, cussing under his breath. Lucy once again felt like she might throw up with the way her belly tightened and twisted at the low pained noise. She absolutely hated this, if she could take his place she would.

"Um…Natsu? How about I do that this time?"

"No fucking way Luce. You just take 'em out. I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Biting her lip, she focused on the rising door. To her shock, a relatively small creature zipped out. It was bright yellow, and was nearly impossible to even see. Taurus had no chance of catching it, so she hurried to switch him out with Scorpio.

Scorpio, Gemini, and Aries had all come to her to make a contract after the Oracion Seis and Nirvana incident – since Angel's keys had been taken from her when she was captured by the Rune Knights. If she had treated them well, they probably wouldn't have defected until another celestial mage captured their keys, but since she had treated them as tools they hadn't felt the need to stick around.

"Open! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!"

He showed up in a burst of sand. "Yo!"

"See that little zippy thing? We need to catch him!"

"Wicked!"

He sent a blast of sand out of his huge metal scorpion tail, targeting the yellow dot, while Lucy aimed for the chain that was whipping around. She used her whip to try and snag the metal tether, which would bring it to a screeching halt. As it ran around dodging blasts of sand, she finally managed to snag its chain and it was suddenly yanked to a stop, letting her finally get a good look at it for the first time. To her shock, it looked like some sort of rodent, with long pointy ears, a short round body, and a long zigzagged tailed.

With a high-pitched squeak, it suddenly created a lightning strike, and Lucy watched with shock and horror as that electricity traveled down her whip. It hit her hand with all the subtlety of a train smacking into her, and she was knocked over with the blast. Her hand felt like it was on fire and yet numb at the same time. Her whip dropped from her fingers as they spazzed out. Her heart made a few abnormal beats, which strangely hurt, and it felt like her whole chest was compressed with the organ. Thankfully that was all that happened, though she noted a few red burn lines radiating from her palm.

That hand was completely out of commission, so she was forced to leave it entirely up to Scorpio, who was only too happy to do so after watching his mage get zapped.

"Come here ya little bastard! I'm gonna sand you smooth!"

He sent two sand tornadoes at the little yellow squirrel thing and managed to corner it. One of the tornadoes picked it up and sent it slamming into the ceiling. Once the sand and wind had dispersed, the little yellow body plopped to the ground, apparently knocked out. Lucy gingerly walked over to it, relieved to see that it was still breathing, but a bit nervous about searching it for the key.

Thankfully she didn't have to search it, because the key was on a collar around its neck. She pulled it off, and then switched Scorpio out with Cancer to cut the chain. This little creature didn't deserve being used like this, and she wouldn't leave him to be tortured or forced to fight anyone anymore. To her absolute shock, when the chain was cut, he disappeared in a shower of yellow sparks…as if he was a celestial spirit.

With a relieved grunt Natsu let the lever drop and shook out his hands and arms. Chances were, they were probably numb and burning like her hand.

But she had other pressing matters on her mind. "Was that a celestial spirit?"

"That was Lepus the Hare, Baby." Cancer answered.

"Shit…" she hissed and turned to eyeball the salamander from before. He was still huddled in the corner and didn't show any sign of disappearing. She also wasn't picking up any trace of celestial magic from him.

Natsu walked over to join her, still rubbing his hands. She glanced him and asked, "Was that last lever electrocuted?"

He nodded. "Yep, each of the levers matched the element of the creatures inside the cell."

"Ouch."

"It's fine. It didn't actually do any damage, so at least they work properly after." He fisted his hands and wiggled his fingers to demonstrate.

She winced. That was more than she could say for her hand, which was still out of commission. But at least they finally got the key and could proceed.

However, she had something to do first. Marching over to the next lever, she yanked it down, ignoring Natsu protesting loudly.

"Luce! What're you doing?!"

"When it comes out I want you to cut the chain Cancer." she instructed with gritted teeth, dealing with the sensation of sharp teeth tearing into her hands.

"Damn it…" Natsu hissed, but hung back and let her do it. Or rather, he ran to another lever and started helping out.

When two positively enormous and colorful wolves dashed out of Lucy's cell – foaming at the mouth and rabid – Cancer cut their chains and they went poof. Two more doors released wolves, and another two released spiders like the first. She also opened the first spider's door once again, and Cancer went into its cell to cut it loose. Like the other two, it disappeared with a wisp of black smoke. All of the spiders had given off entirely different magic signatures than she was used to, but she didn't waste time wondering about it. The rest of the creatures they released were salamanders that hung around in the room after Natsu had subdued them.

Finally, once every cell was empty and all the spirits had been returned, she released the last lever with a sigh and groan.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _As they turned to inspect the room they now found themselves in, they realized that it was basically a dead end…with two doors. The bottom of Lucy's stomach dropped out. Undoubtedly, this was going to be exactly the same sort of thing that happened back in the first room, where they were all forced to split up._

 _"Well…crap…" she muttered under her breath._

 _For once Natsu didn't have anything to say at all. He just glared at the two doors with enough heat that they should probably burst into flames._

 _"You know what this means right?"_

 _"No way. We ain't playing that stupid game."_

 _"It doesn't look like we'll have a choice.…"_


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:**

Alrighty! Here we are! A brand new chapter, as promised!

Right off the bat, let me say that everyone seemed very happy with the new review policy, so it's going into effect now! In case you missed the notice last chapter, from now on, if I get ten reviews before Wednesday, then an extra chapter will be posted on Wednesday, and you get TWO chapters that week! Otherwise, I will always be posting on the weekends for the normal chapter update. :D

Now, as always, big, huge, magnificent, wonderful, joyous thanks to all my lovely fantastic reviewers out there. You are all amazing! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Elphaba818, mumof4, WisdomDragon27, TheOGFTfanatic, moeruhoshi, Donthedarkdragon26, valerioux, TheJSmooth, ravenqueen162, Leomae2.0, Wolves silver wind, RavenShadow, dihan, and FantasyDreamer06. And equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Shadowslayer15 and FairyTailBookworm. You are all amazing and wonderful!

And finally! On with the show! Be sure to stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter!

* * *

The next room was just a long hall.

Of course, the arrows that were shot at them from the opposite end made it slightly less than pleasant.

That was no problem for Natsu though, because all he had to do was blast flames at them and they fell into a pile of ashes on the ground. Unfortunately, they were shot continuously, so he had to keep blowing fire nonstop as the two of them made their way through the hall. Most of the projectiles were burned up, but a few managed to sneak past the fire through sheer repetition of shots. Natsu had to breathe sometime. He couldn't keep up a constant stream of fire forever.

Of course he covered his front in scales to guard himself, and any arrows that snuck through his fire just bounced off him. Since he had shoved her behind him to act as her shield, she didn't get poked either…at least not until they reached the middle of the hall and suddenly arrows started firing from both sides and behind as well. At that point all bets were off, and even Natsu couldn't completely get them all.

Several pierced his sides and back before he got his scales up – particularly since he wasn't entirely focused on protecting himself. Instead, he had spun around and snapped his wings out to wrap around Lucy. Just spreading his wings had knocked all the arrows back with a gust of wind, but they just kept coming. With his fire, wings, and scales, he did his very best to protect her as they made a mad dash towards the exit. Even so, some still snuck through to cut at them with glancing blows that left gashes.

When they finally managed to get past all the projectiles and escaped the hallway into the next room, both had to pull some arrows out of themselves.

"Ow…" Lucy hissed as she yanked one out of her bicep that had hit before Natsu could wrap his wings around her. Thankfully it hadn't severed or punctured anything important to the use of her arm, but it still left a decent hole and hurt like the devil.

"Sorry Luce…"

"It's not your fault. There were too many to get them all."

He grumbled something and obviously still wasn't happy about it.

Natsu had a lot more actually in him than her, especially in his arms and back and legs, though thankfully they hadn't gone too deep with his tough skin. As she watched him yank one out of his shoulder she winced, then averted her eyes to focus on her own wounds. She simply couldn't watch him removing any more arrows.

Most of hers were just nicks and scraps where an arrow slid past, thought there were a few deeper gashes here and there. The only arrow that had actually stuck was the one in her bicep, which she'd already dealt with and tied off with a strip of cloth ripped from her shirt. However, there was one other injury that worried her. When the arrows had shot from behind, one had hit her inner thigh and nicked her femoral artery pretty good, and that one just wouldn't stop bleeding. All her other cuts were already starting to ooze to a stop – aside from her arm, but even it was slowing down under pressure – but the one on her thigh just kept steadily trickling blood down her leg. It was a pretty decent gash, and she knew that if she left it unattended she could slowly bleed out.

As much as she hated to suggest it, there was really only one solution she could think of. "Hey Natsu? I think one nicked an artery, and it won't stop bleeding."

When his head shot up and he looked at her, she pointed at the cut on her inner thigh. He crawled over, since they were both sitting, and took a look – which was a bit awkward given the placement of it.

"Ouch…" he hissed as he took in the sight of her blood still steadily pumping out. It wasn't gushing, but it was definitely bleeding too heavily to ignore.

"Yeah…I mean, I know it's not super deep, but if it keeps bleeding like this I'm gonna run into some problems in a couple of hours."

He nodded, also looking concerned. "Okay…well…any idea on how to stop it?"

"I think…I think you should cauterize it."

"Say what?!" he yelped and jerked back. "I do _**not**_ want to burn you Lucy!"

"But it's not like you're doing it to hurt me! You're just closing my wound!"

"It'll still hurt though…"

"I know, but we don't really have a choice. I could tie something around it, like a bandage, but if we have to do any more fighting, it's going to bleed through pretty quickly."

With a sigh and a thorough head scratch, he leaned back towards her again. "Alright…fine. I guess. But I still don't like it."

He lit one finger on fire and gingerly laid it over the cut. Lucy tensed, expecting a great deal of pain, only to relax a moment later when she felt none. Her eyes – which had scrunched closed of their own accord – opened and stared in surprise. She could feel his finger touching her, and the heat of the flames, but it didn't hurt. Not really. It stung a little, but it wasn't like the burning pain you would get from being … well … burned. Still, it was really, really, _**really**_ hot despite not hurting, and so it _was_ uncomfortable.

When he took his finger away, the skin was closed and slightly shiny and red, but still didn't hurt. It also didn't really look like a burn, and it didn't feel like a burn either when she poked it lightly – which was all incredibly surprising to her. Still, she didn't really feel like pondering it for too long … they still had to rescue Juvia.

"Thanks Natsu." she sighed and stood.

"Sure. I hope it didn't hurt too bad."

"Actually, it barely hurt at all. Mostly it was just uncomfortably hot. And it doesn't hurt after either. You must have used a really weak flame, huh?"

He just stared at her, as if in shock.

"What?"

"Oh, uh, nothing. I'm just glad you're alright." he hurried to say, but Lucy could tell that he was hiding something. She didn't press the issue right now though, because they had stuff to do.

As they turned to inspect the room they now found themselves in, they realized that it was basically a dead end…with two doors. The bottom of Lucy's stomach dropped out. Undoubtedly, this was going to be exactly the same sort of thing that happened back in the first room, where they were all forced to split up.

"Well…crap…" she muttered under her breath.

For once Natsu didn't have anything to say at all. He just glared at the two doors with enough heat that they should probably burst into flames.

"You know what this means right?"

"No way. We ain't playing that stupid game."

"It doesn't look like we'll have a choice. Unless…" an idea came to her. "What if I go through the door, then you pop through the celestial realm and reappear on the other side of the door?"

A broad grin appeared on his face and he agreed with a vigorous nod. "Way to cheat Luce!"

She grinned back, and then took a deep breath before going through the first door. Expectedly, it slammed closed behind her. "Alright Natsu!"

There was a pause, and then he cussed. "It's not working Luce! I can't close my gate to return!"

"What?!"

A jerk of fear tugged her heart, and she quickly snatched up his key and tried to do it herself. "Close! Gate of the Fire Dragon!"

Sure enough, she felt the gate twitch, but nothing more. It was as if there was a magical door stopper jammed into it, holding it open. "What the…this didn't happen with Taurus or Scorpio, so why is it happening with you?" she called through the door.

"Maybe cause I'm a 'contestant' in this stupid thing?"

She felt like face palming. Of course. It made complete sense.

"Well now what?"

"I'll wait here until you come back."

After a moment of thought, she shook her head. "No. How about you just go through your door? It's best if we hurry. The faster we can get through, the faster we can get out of here. And after you've completed your section, maybe it'll let you double back through my door to give me back up if I need it."

There was a long pause, and then she could hear his enormous sigh from the other side of the door. "Fine. I guess. Don't get yourself hurt."

"Not planning on it."

So saying, she turned around and strode down the dark hall she now found herself in. Despite wanting to pussyfoot around and creep forwards at a snail's pace out of nerves and discomfort, she walked quickly and with purpose. This place and these despicable people were not going to cow her.

Once she reached the end of the hall, she exited into a dark forest and blinked in shock, wondering if she had exited the building entirely. When she looked up though, the ceiling was made of tall stone arches like a huge cathedral, instead of the sky, and she knew that she was still in this increasingly crazy place.

Despite the ceiling, it truly looked like a forest, one that was dim and misty and really creepy. It was exactly the sort of setting for a horror film, and she grimaced, thinking to herself that this would be the part in the movie where she would be yelling at the heroin to turn around and get the heck out of dodge. Wishing she could follow her own advice, she stepped into the woods and was almost instantly swallowed by them. The walls disappeared, and no matter how she wandered, she couldn't seem to find them again. There was absolutely no way to orient herself, and she quickly became lost.

After wandering around for a while, the sound of a low growl made her freeze in place as cold shivers skittered down her spine. She'd known it was too good to be true that this was merely a maze. Of course there had to be some sort of monster to avoid as well.

Turning slowly, she saw a pair of glowing amber eyes peer out at her from the trees. And then another pair blinked open… and then another. And another. And another. Before she knew what was going on, she was surrounded by glowing eyes.

Terror assaulted her senses and a cold wave of paralysis tempted her to freeze in place. Instead she eased her hand down to her keys and fingered them, waiting to see what she was dealing with before picking what spirit to summon.

Slowly, the first pair of eyes grew closer, and then out of the trees an enormous wolf prowled, similar to the ones she had released from their cells. This one was larger though, and pure white, with bright red markings that were obviously not of this world. There were streaks around its eyes like eyeliner, and a second set of lines crawled up over its cheeks and slid down the length of its nose. A spiraled circle of red adorned its forehead and a line from that continued up between its ears. Spirals that looked almost like red tribal flames adorned its shoulders and hips and streaked its tail. Smaller versions of the markings embellished behind its wrists and ankles, where tufts of wing-like fur resided.

It was absolutely magnificent, but Lucy could hardly appreciate the beauty of this creature, because following the first – ten, then twenty, then thirty more came. They were all different colors and possessed the strange markings, but none were as magnificent or quite as large as the first, who was obviously the alpha. All of them were much larger than normal wolves – almost the size of deer or small horses – and Lucy found herself facing off with at least thirty of them.

"Get her," the alpha said in a deep feminine voice, and Lucy jerked, shocked that she could speak.

She didn't have time to be too surprised though, because she suddenly had to run. Yanking her whip out with one hand, she fended them off with pops to the muzzle whenever they tried to bite her. This close, she could feel the undeniable magic coming from them and instantly recognized it. The wolves she had freed in the other chamber must have had their magic dampened by the chains they wore, because their magic signatures had been much duller than these – and of course that would make sense, considering that the chains had been keeping them in this world.

They were definitely from the celestial realm, and the confirmation worried her… up until she realized that their magical signature was much closer to Natsu's than her other spirits.

Suddenly she had some hope. Out of all her spirits, only Natsu could easily ignore a direct order from her. She couldn't even close his gate without his permission – a fact which she had discovered once when throwing a temper tantrum after he'd popped in on her changing. If she tried to force his gate shut, she butted up against his magic – which was immense and much more powerful than her own – so if he truly didn't want to go, he wasn't going anywhere. If these were mythic spirits like him, there was a chance she could convince them to leave her alone.

"Woah, wait! I'm sorry for intruding into your space like this, but I have to get by!"

"Nobody passes through this forest. That is our purpose here." said a gunmetal gray wolf with vivid purple markings.

There was something about the way the wolf said it that she didn't like. There was a certain tone in its voice, a note of exhaustion and something else…something that sounded almost rabid and pained. When she looked closer at them, only a few were actually looking at her with sane eyes – at least half were sporting glazed looks and foaming mouths, like the ones that had been chained.

Something here was very wrong.

"Your purpose?" she grunted as she fended off a black and electric blue one with a pop of her whip to its butt, sending it scooting off with its tail tucked.

When two more attacked, she was finally forced to summon someone. Thinking fast, she summoned Leo, and he appeared with a brilliant flash of light as usual.

"Hey there Lucy, long time no see. You should really summon me more often."

"Well, you usually come of your own accord when you miss me." she countered, and he shot her a bright grin.

"True! But all that aside…what exactly do we have here?"

The wolves had backed off for a moment to judge the new threat, and Leo stared back with eyes that were just as calculating.

"These wolves refuse to let me by. But more than that, there's something fishy going on here, and I intend to get to the bottom of it." The last bit was said softly, and Leo's cat ears swiveled to catch her words.

"I understand. I won't hurt them too badly, I'll just keep them off you."

"Thanks."

So saying, Leo knocked the next attacking wolf back with a flash of light. Lucy turned to the nearest sane looking wolf and asked it, "What did your packmate mean by your purpose? Surely you were just summoned here to deal with me right?"

"We're always here…"

Lucy had to absorb that for a second and shared a confused and surprised look with Leo.

"Um…If I'm correct, you're all mythic celestial spirits, right? Shouldn't you be able to come and go as you wish?"

By this point, the attacks from all the sane wolves were starting to taper off, while the ones that seemed to have gone rabid continued fervently.

"And what's up with you guys?" she continued, as one of the rabid wolves attacked and she popped him on the nose.

"Those are the ones who have succumbed to exhaustion. Our mage has wedged open our gate and simultaneously cursed us to stay here. The walls of this room are etched in a webbing of curses that prevent us from leaving and saps our magic to keep us under control. If anyone passes through the door on the other side, another kind of spell will activate that give us pain." the alpha explained.

Lucy was left speechless. "Wha-how…how could your mage do that to you?!"

"It's a punishment. We refused to follow one of her commands, and this is what we received in return."

"So…you're _**forced**_ to participate in this sick, twisted game? How many people could they possible put through this stupid place anyways?!" Leo asked, sounding disgusted.

"You would be surprised. They call it a 'funhouse' and take great pleasure in causing others pain…plus they always get something out of it. Once defeated, they rob the 'contestants' of anything valuable, then either hold them for ransom or sell them as slaves."

"That's just so wrong..."

Lucy couldn't quite keep herself from tearing up. She hated this, every bit of it, and grew even more determined to take this dark guild down. "My friends and I are here to rescue a guildmate that your guild kidnapped, but I promise to take down the mage who has so horribly abused you. I'll _**force**_ her to release you."

The alpha cocked her head and stared at her with bottomless eyes. "And why should we trust you?"

At this point Leo stepped forwards. "You can trust her. She saved my life. I had been banished from the celestial realm for two long years before she came along and convinced the Spirit King to reconsider my punishment."

"Leo the Lion. Everyone in the celestial realm heard of what happened. It's good to know that you've been reinstated. And you…" The wolf turned her eyes back to Lucy. "You spoke to the Spirit King and convinced him to return Leo? I'm impressed." After a long pause, she finally sighed. "Very well, perhaps we can trust you. Cease!" At the barked order, the rabid wolves stood down, though it was obvious they didn't want to.

"Come. I will show you the way out."

"Thank you. I promise you won't regret it."

Lucy followed the alpha, and Leo poofed. The white wolf led her all the way through the forest, which didn't take all that long surprisingly. There must have been some sort of spell for confusion in the mist, and it obviously didn't work on the wolves.

Soon they had reached the other side and a door, which Lucy assumed would take her to the next room. As she reached out to open it, she stalled, remembering what the alpha had said would happen to them.

Turning back, she bowed. "I'm so sorry for causing you pain."

The alpha blinked, as if surprised. "We accepted that fact when we chose to trust you. As long as you uphold your promise, the pain is nothing to worry about."

"I understand. Thank you again for showing me the way. I won't let you down. As a celestial mage, I would rather die than break a promise."

And with that, she walked through the door and tried her best to ignore the agonized howls that erupted instantly behind her. They were muffled somewhat by the door, but they still cut into her mind and heart, and she resolved herself to do everything in her power to free them. They didn't deserve this torture.

The door led into yet another dark hallway, which she passed through without wasting any time, and soon she was bursting through the door on the other side. She exited out into a large chamber brightly lit with tall windows. It was absolutely gorgeous really. There were all sorts of plants everywhere in pots, and delicate furniture was scattered around tastefully. It looked like some sort of arbor from a host club – perfect for accommodating fine parties with tea, coffee, and cakes.

The scene was ironically innocuous after going through so much hell.

"What the…what is this?"

"Ah! How lovely! Company at last. It is quite the relief to see you managed to get through all those challenges mostly unharmed. I do hate leftovers."

She stared at the fine gentleman who rose from a chair by the window. He was holding a cup of tea, which he set down gently on its saucer as he stood. His suit was impeccable, and in every way he looked like a wealthy gentleman. Of course, with his slicked back dark hair and finely tailored suite, he could also easily be a mafia boss, which was certainly more in line with everything she had experienced so far.

"I hate your type…" Lucy groaned, already knowing how this was going to play out. The smooth-talking gentleman villains were always the worst. They could be so unpredictable. It was precisely the kind of person who would give you a polite smile as they pulled a trigger.

"Oh my, that's a little rude. Why don't we get to know each other a little better before trading insults? For example, my name is Pierre. What's yours?"

"Lucy. Nice to meet you."

Pierre grinned. "Wonderful. See? That wasn't so hard was it?"

She just rolled her eyes. "Look, we both know how this is going to pan out. You're not going to let me leave, so I have to defeat you in a fight. Why should we trade pleasantries first?"

He sighed. "As you wish."

Wasting no time, her fingers latched onto Taurus's key and she called, "Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"

With a loud, "Moooooo!" Taurus popped into being with a puff of smoke. "Helloooo Miss Luuuucy!"

"Hi Taurus. Sorry to call on you so much today."

"It's no problem, Miss Luuucy. I'm happy to help! Especially if you give me a smooooch!"

"Um, no. Can you take out that guy there for me?"

Taurus eyed the prissy suit and gave a grin. "Of cooourse."

Her minotaur spirit hefted his ax, stomped his hooves, and then charged. Strangely, the man just smiled and sighed. "Too easy."

He snapped his fingers and a hot pink magic circle flashed. Suddenly Taurus came screeching to a halt. He almost seemed to go limp - his shoulders went slack and his fingers dropped his ax. By the heaving of his shoulders, Lucy could see that his breathing had picked up, and she worriedly called out. "Taurus! Are you alright?"

He jerked and then swung around. His eyes were glassy and glazed over, and a little drool was starting to collect on his chin. When he faced her, his nostrils flared, and suddenly he mooed and came at her instead of the enemy.

"Taurus!? What's going on?!" she shrieked, stumbling back.

The answer was quickly presented to her when she got a really good look at his front. A certain bulge in his trousers explained his behavior at least, if not the cause of it. The only possible explanation was that the pink magic circle her opponent had cast made Taurus go bezonko.

"You! You did something didn't you?!" she screeched at Pierre as Taurus managed to knock her off her feet and pinned her to the ground.

"Of course. That should be obvious I would imagine."

"Stuck up son of a…" Lucy grumbled as she strained to reach her key. Taurus got a couple of humps in before she snagged it, but finally she was able to yell, "Close! Gate of the Golden Bull!"

He went poof, and she collapsed back onto the ground for a moment, stunned and traumatized. "Well…let's not do that again…"

"Shan't we? It was quite amusing from my perspective."

Lucy sent Pierre a fierce glare, absolutely infuriated. "You perv! I never would have pegged you to be so twisted, but that was just wrong!"

He chuckled and crossed his legs, sipping on his tea once again. Seeing him sit there, acting utterly unruffled and almost bored, made her blood boil. She scrambled to her feet with a growl. Right next to her was a fountain, and without thinking Lucy grabbed up a new key and plunged it into the water, shouting, "Open! Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"

Before Aquarius had even fully emerged, Lucy realized that she had made a mistake. If the guy could influence more than just lust, then she might be in some trouble.

"You! I was on a date! How dare you summon me?!" Aquarius raged, glaring at Lucy as usual.

"I'm sorry. But could you please just take that guy out for me? I promise not to summon you again for at least a week."

The mermaid spirit scoffed. "Good grief…"

Before she had even aimed her water at the pompous jackass, he had summoned another circle, this one bright red. She stopped her water-filled vase in mid swing and there was a poignant pause. Then, with a bloodcurdling shriek of pure rage, the fountain exploded, sending Lucy flying. Normally Aquarius would return back to the spirit realm after washing Lucy away, but this time yet another wave of water followed the first, hitting her as she smacked into a nearby tree pot. Lucy coughed, feeling like she was drowning.

The water just kept coming, and so she grabbed Aquarius's key and sputtered, "Close…Gate of the Water Bearer."

Finally, the torrential flood ceased, and Lucy was left to cough up a surprising amount of water that she had apparently aspirated without even realizing it.

"My, my… what a mess. I must insist you clean it up."

"You…jerk…" Lucy coughed, glaring at him through watery eyes.

If only she'd mastered her Urano Metria attack, she might have had a better chance. He probably couldn't influence planets at all. Unfortunately, at the moment, there was just no way she would be able to manage it.

So, she was once again climbing to her feet, and grabbed for another key. This time she actually put some thought into it though. Her best option was Gemini, without a doubt. If she could turn his magic against him, she might be back in business.

"Open! Gate of the Twins! Gemini!"

As they popped into being, she lurched a little, feeling the drain. They took a good amount of power to summon.

"Pirri Pirri!" the twins chirped their usual odd greeting in unison. "What can we do for you today Miss Lucy?"

"Him…can you turn into him?"

They glanced at him. Of course, to turn into him, they would have to touch him, so they immediately flew at him at full speed.

His eyes widened as the two blue haired twins flew at him, and he hurried to make a magic circle. A large ice blue seal appeared in front of him, almost like a shield, and from it came a blast of freezing terror, driving the twins back as they cowered in midair. Even Lucy was driven to her knees.

Too much terror coursed through her body for her to do anything at all. It was like her brain just ceased to function and everything in her shut down. She didn't even notice as Gemini disappeared, driven back to the celestial realm from the sheer amount of fear hitting them. When the oppressive emotion lifted, Lucy was left gasping, with tears streaming down her face.

"Sh-shit…"

A warm hand landed on her shoulder. "Lucy…I'll take it from here."

"L-Leo?"

Sure enough, it was Leo. He was also in his suit and pushed up his sunglasses with a finger while smirking mirthlessly at Pierre. "You'll regret making Lucy cry."

"Wait Leo! He can control a person's emotions, be careful!"

"That's a low trick. I hate dirty scumbags like you."

Without saying anything further, Leo charged, one fist glowing hot like a sun. Pierre summoned a red circle, but that only seemed to fire up Leo even more, and he broke through the magic seal to actually make contact. The fancy-pants suit man was knocked back into the window, which cracked, and his perfect hair became tousled. A bruise rose up on his handsome cheek, and he winced lightly, dabbing some blood off his lip with a handkerchief.

Like heck was Lucy going to let Leo do all her fighting for her, and she dragged herself to her feet – one hand going to her whip and unravelling it.

Pierre neatly dodged Leo's next blow. "So…you can channel rage, and it doesn't make you sloppy. Very well, let's try…"

Another icy circle went up, and Lucy flinched as once again the room filled with frigid terror. This time she was expecting it, so she was able to at least remain standing, but it still made her want to throw up or pass out. Through the terror, she forced herself to walk forwards, staying to the sidelines of the fight so she could get a good shot at him and hopefully give Leo an opening.

Leo was frozen in place for a long moment as one eye squinched closed. A visible shudder worked its way through him, and the light at his fists flickered. Undoubtedly he would have pushed through the fear and attacked, but Lucy was quicker. She had already experienced this unholy terror before, so she was somewhat able to deal with it. Plus, the circle hadn't gotten her full force, and it wasn't as bad as last time.

Edging up to the side, Lucy finally got in range, and she sent her whip snapping forwards, ripping through the circle and cracking across Pierre's face. The force of her whip snapped his head back and knocked him off balance, leaving him open for Leo to land a kick in his chest. He went flying again and hit the wall.

"Nice one Lucy!" Leo called, and she sent him a tired grin.

"Nice one indeed, you make a formidable pair." their opponent said, sounding mildly intrigued as he picked himself off the ground and brushed off his suit as if nothing particularly interesting had happened. There was a long cut across his cheek and nose where her whip had caught him, and his clothes were mussed, but otherwise he seemed fairly untouched.

Before Pierre could make another circle, Leo let loose a ray of blinding light, managing to knock him back once again and temporarily blind him. He gave a shout and covered his eyes, but after the initial grimace, he grinned.

"Clever! Very clever!"

He wasn't smiling for long though, because before his vision returned Lucy snapped her whip tight around his neck, holding him for Leo as he flew forwards with a full-forced attack. Somehow, the smug bastard managed to bring up his arms to block a lot of the impact and only ended up sliding back on the balls of his feet, yanking Lucy's whip from her hands as he did.

The long black bullwhip slithered loose and fell to the ground. Lucy made a mad dash for it, throwing herself to the floor in a running slide and snagging it as she rolled to her knees. When she saw Pierre make a hot pink circle she winced and threw herself to the side again, this time behind a tall plant.

As she dodged, she also shouted a warning to her partner. "Get out of the way Leo!"

This was the one that had sent Taurus into a lusty mess, and she knew just how much of a womanizer Leo was. It might work on him.

Despite her warning, he didn't manage to dodge the hot pink ray of light that flashed from the circle.

As the pink magic hit Leo, he froze in place. Then he started to laugh. "Oh please! Like I would be distracted by that during a fight!"

He blasted Pierre with another beam of light, this one singing his coat a bit and slamming him against a tree with a pretty good amount of force. He just so happened to land relatively close to Lucy, and she darted out from behind her plant to give him a solid Lucy Kick in the face. Unfortunately, somehow he snagged her foot and tossed her back into Leo with a shocking amount of force. The two of them hit the ground in a tangle of limbs.

"Then try this on for size!" An even bigger and darker pink circle went up, double layered with the first in front.

Lucy sucked in her breath and scrambled to escape again, but it still hit them both. Leo had just been standing up as it fired, while Lucy was already on her feet and moving out of the way. So, it smacked right into the middle of Leo, and she got a glancing blow as she scrambled behind the nearest object.

Leo paused in the middle of straightening to his full height and then did an abrupt reversal of movement as he almost doubled up for a moment. "Ah…okay. So…it's not just emotions, but also physical feelings you can manifest…. That's just wonderful." he grunted, sounding pained and out of breath.

She could understand why – that had been a lust spell on steroids, and as he had said, it had a very physical effect. Even though she hadn't taken a full-out hit, it still caused uncomfortable heat to flash through her and settle in the pit of her stomach. The most irritating thing about it was the disgusting stickiness that suddenly appeared between her thighs, and she felt the sudden urge to shove this guy's head in a hole and let Natsu run over him with a fire ball. This was just so wrong on so many levels that she was instantly enraged.

As she stomped out from behind her shield, Leo was just getting himself together. He inhaled deeply and seemed to suck it up, standing up straight. "Well, I can still fight with a raging case of blue ba…uh." He cut himself off, sent Lucy a sideways glance, flushed, and cleared his throat. "Right…"

She didn't bother to address Leo, instead she paid her full and undivided attention to their enemy. "You are the most disgusting pervert I have ever met! What the hell kind of spell is that?! It's downright crude!" she yelled, snapping her whip angrily.

With a subtle gesture and eye contact, she motioned to Leo that she would take the left side, and he nodded. They launched themselves at Pierre with gusto, both of them beyond ticked off.

She coiled her whip around his ankle, yanking his legs out from under him and leaving him vulnerable to Leo's attack. He got a good few punches in before their opponent managed to throw him off, and then when he staggered to his feet Lucy was right there to kick him in the teeth. He was knocked back, only to meet Leo's knee as he shoved it into his tailbone. Then the lion's fist met with the back of Pierre's head, sending him temporarily to his knees.

As he fell forwards the arrogant man twisted, landing on one hand, and threw a leg out backwards, sweeping Leo's legs out from under him. Pierre flipped back onto his feet, sparing a brief second to straighten his jacket, and then held out both hands, one facing Leo and the other Lucy.

"Fine then, if that won't do it, how about this?"

A jagged black circle – shot through with what looked like white lightning – appeared at each hand. Before they could dodge, black and white lightning zapped from the circles and squarely hit both of them.

Leo was still in the process of standing back up and fell to one knee as the lightning hit him. Meanwhile, Lucy doubled over, falling to both knees as she cringed. The spell was pure pain. It felt like every ounce of her body – especially the place where the spell had hit – was burning with agonizing electricity. Every nerve screamed as all her muscles spasmed in shock and pain. Some sort of high pitched noise sounded in the back of her throat, stuck there because her jaw had locked tight in a muscle spasm. Now she knew who had enchanted those levers…it was obviously this guy and his sadistic magic.

"…well, at least that fixed the boner…" Leo grumbled as his body cringed as well, and Lucy couldn't quite help but choke on a laugh.

"Still, I'm perfectly capable of fighting through pain you know."

With a groan, he dragged himself to his feet. Even though his jaw was clenched and he was quivering a little, he still fought back, sending a barrage of light at the emotion/pain mage.

Lucy also somehow managed to fight through the pain and get herself up, but by the time she had steadied herself, she was almost sent back to her knees with relief as Leo broke their opponent's circle and the pain left her body.

Leo also went limp for half a second before catching himself, and Pierre took advantage of their momentarily discombobulation to start forming another circle. Before it could finish, Lucy cracked her whip through it, and her weapon slapped hard across their opponent's chest, sending him staggering back. That gave Leo an opening to send a flying Regulus Kick his way.

Pierre flew back to hit the wall again, but he somehow managed to recover enough to cast a spell from where he was slumped on the ground. Before either of them could get to him, he'd drawn another circle of pain – this one laced with red. It hit them both and they were once again stalled mid-attack, as what felt like pure fire engulfed their bodies from head to toe.

It got a sharp agonized cry from both of them, and as they cringed in pain on the floor she turned to look at him. His tormented expression tore her heart apart, and she felt positively sick as sadness and guilt twisted her insides.

Gritting out between clenched teeth, she groaned, "Leo, go back…. It's okay…"

"No! What will happen to you if I go back?"

She had no response to that, other than to bite her lip and try not to cry. Her heart hurt almost as badly as her body, which was saying a lot considering that she felt like she was being burned from the inside out. Her blood was boiling in her veins, sweat popped up all over her skin, and her vision went blurry.

Still, Lucy knew Leo was going to have to leave soon anyways. Physical exhaustion was sapping at her very low magical reserves, and it was slowly draining her. He might have used his own magic to bring himself here and maintain his presence, but once her magic ran out he would be forced back to the celestial realm. Even with his own magic being used, he still tapped into hers to keep himself tethered.

Only mythic spirits had the ability to stay out after their mage ran out of magic or passed out.

Speaking of mythic spirits, she could feel a hint of warmth bolstering the last dregs of her magic and knew that wherever he was, Natsu was trying to lend her his strength – but it was really hard to do when they were separated like this. It wasn't going to be enough to keep Leo out for too much longer.

Leo knew just as well as she did that his time was limited, and he peeled himself back up from the ground to throw his fists and feet at their opponent. She likewise managed to crawl back to her feet. Their attacks grew fiercer and more desperate, even as they were beaten down time and time again by those magic circles. Their enemy was tiring too, and he was starting to limp and show a good deal of wear and tear – no matter how ridiculously tough he was. But he was wearing down much slower than Lucy.

It was only a matter of time, and eventually she did run out of juice.

Leo began to glow, and it was obvious that he was fighting the tug of his gate with everything he had. She could feel him using up more and more of his power to stay out, and it was draining him at an alarming rate. His attacks grew weaker and weaker until he no longer had the power to do any sort of magic at all and just resorted to pure brute force.

"Just go on Leo. It's fine. I can take it from here." Lucy said with a smile, doing her best to put on a brave face.

Her leonine spirit grimaced and reached for her right as he started disappearing. It was obvious that he didn't want to go, but there wasn't anything either one of them could do to prevent it now. With a final glitter of gold, he vanished, leaving her alone with the sadistic bastard. Pierre was definitely worse for wear, but not nearly as much as her. If it was a one on one fight, she was going to lose, there was no doubt about that. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to fight him with every bit of strength she had left … and possibly make a strategic withdrawal if it came to that.

"Alright…let's do this then." she growled, turning to him and grabbing her whip with both hands, drawing it taut with a little snap.

All she got in response was a polite grin edged in sadistic glee. His true colors were showing now that they had chipped away some of his polished exterior.

She was going to have to be fast, and so – gathering her strength – she darted at him, sending her whip flying. Another of those cursed circles showed up, and she managed to dash behind a nearby tree. She took a detour around several bushes and trees and came out behind him, snapping her whip across his back. He was knocked forwards and she followed him with a kick to his head that send him stumbling even more dramatically. Somehow he kept himself from falling and spun, making another circle aimed at her. Before she could dodge, a shaft of pain slid into her gut, making her stumble and fall. This one was black and gray, and it felt like she'd been stabbed. Every move she made caused new shafts of pain to spear her, as if she was in an iron maiden caught in a net of spears.

It got a scream from her.

Oh it hurt, but she gritted her teeth and somehow staggered back to her feet, with another scream for good measure. Once up, she swayed in place a bit before finding any sort of balance and then eyeballed him with blurry vision. He was just standing there, his hands in his pockets, looking smug and arrogant and so posh that she just wanted to drag him through the mud behind a magic vehicle driven by Erza.

She got some forward momentum going, and once she'd started she couldn't stop, because it would have caused her to fall over again. Her velocity was terminated by shoving her fist into his face, which probably only worked because she somehow took him by surprise. Maybe he wasn't expecting her to just stomp up to him and hit him.

Either way, the punch was relatively weak, but still broke the circle. That didn't really matter though, because he just grabbed onto her wrist and swung her around to smack into a nearby pillar. She hit hard enough to feel her chest compress and have to wheeze for air.

"Well, it was fun. But you look about done."

"I'm…not…"

"Oh really?" he questioned pleasantly.

She managed to crack her whip in the space between them, driving him back as she dove behind the pillar she'd been slammed into. Scrambling like crazy, she beat a hasty retreat, going for her last resort. If she could just stall him long enough, she had to believe that Natsu would come for her.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _"Natsu!"_

 _At the sound of Happy's voice, he turned and squinted until he found the little blue cat standing in the middle of the room._

 _"Happy! What are you doing here?!"_

 _He rushed towards the little cat and immediately knelt to pick him up. As he hugged him though, something struck him as very wrong. "Why is your scent so weird?"_

 _Suddenly a sharp pain got him right in the neck, and he jerked back to see Happy wielding a syringe and a devilish smile. "So gullible!"_

 _"You're not Happy!" he exclaimed as he dropped the imposter and staggered back._


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:**

Alrighty! Here's your extra Wednesday chapter. :D

You guys are all absolutely amazing! I can't tell you how much I appreciate all your wonderful reviews! As always, big hugs and kisses to all my repeat reviewers: WisdomDragon27, valerioux, mumof4, noseinabook145, ravenqueen162, TheOGFTfanatic, Shadowslayer15, TheJSmooth, FantasyDreamer06, Ksta, Elphaba818, Larissa, Wolves silver wind, and Leomae2.0! And of course equally big hugs and kisses to all the newest reviewers for this story: KitsuneLover15, Firefly9917, TurboWolf, RedFantasies, thechani, and Kowareta1468! It's all of your wonderful reviews that have made Wednesday postings possible. :D

Well, buckle your seats...we're in for a bumpy ride folks! On with the show!

And stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;)

* * *

As for Natsu, after splitting up he found himself in a really damn frustrating maze.

There had been a short hallway, and then he'd emerged into this room – where he had been stuck for what felt like forever and a day, but was probably only a few minutes, given how short his patience for this sort of shit was.

The room consisted of a whole lot of really tall white walls that were made of some kinda sticky substance. He knew it was all one room though, because it all smelled the same, and he could see a single ceiling up there totally separate from the walls. Trying to climb over the walls didn't work though, because the longer he was in contact with the them the stickier they got, until it felt like he would never get off them. Flying didn't work either at first, because the space between the walls was too narrow and his wings got all gummed up with whatever stuff the walls were made of.

After thrashing in white gummy shit for a minute, he gave up on patience and just lit his body on fire. The stuff hung around for a few moments, but when he ramped up his fire power it finally crisped up and fell off. He could feel an evil grin spread his lips wide, and he chuckled as his wings snapped out in a dragon wing attack, sending out a blast of flame that cleared out all the nearby walls. After that, all he had to do was take off and fly to the exit – leaving behind a mess of destruction and fire in his wake…which was normal for him.

When he arrived at the exit, a voice stopped him from opening the door. "My…what a mess you made, Natsu."

"What the…Arachne?"

"Long time no see Natsu. I guess I have you to thank for releasing all my pets?"

He turned to see the half spider half woman descend from the ceiling, and greeted her with a grin. "You mean those big ugly spiders chained up back there were yours?"

"Of course. And they aren't ugly." She sniffed, sounding a little offended.

He chuckled. "If you say so. But anyways, what's a demon like you doing here?"

She shrugged. "I'm the only one my master has. The rest are like you."

"You say 'master,' but we both know you've never truly had one." Natsu said sardonically, crossing his arms over his chest.

It was true, though he had known the demon for centuries, she had never once actually obeyed her master unless it was what she wanted to do. But she was a manipulative creature and knew how to make them think that she was obeying them. For some reason, Natsu liked her though. They had been frenemies from the get-go, occasionally fighting but mostly just throwing insults back and forth – not that they had many chances to interact. She came from the demon realm, and he came from the celestial realm, so they only ever interacted in the mortal realm when they just happened to cross paths…like now.

"So…what scheme are you part of this time?"

She sighed, and to his surprise seemed frustrated. "To be honest, it's really stupid. But it's coming from higher up the food chain, so I don't really have a say in the matter."

"Higher up the food chain?"

That peeked his curiosity. There were few that outclassed Arachne, she was a demon lord – the equivalent of a zodiac spirit. But the demons comparable to mythic spirits – like him – were positively terrifying, and those were the demons she must be referring to. They were normally pretty unorganized though, and usually were too busy squabbling over territories in Asphodel – the demon realm – to get anything done.

"You mean the kings and queens are actually throwing their weight around?"

"Well...I guess you could say that."

"What do ya mean? Has someone finally taken over as emperor?" he asked, knowing that the kings and queens had been fighting over that position for centuries. The last emperor had died a very long time ago, and nobody had been able to take her place.

Arachne sighed and nodded. "Yeah, and he's sort of…changing things up a bit."

Natsu nodded back, and then a thought occurred to him. "So I guess this dark guild works for them, huh?"

"Well…yes. They pay tribute." The smirk on her face told him far more than her words. Undoubtedly she was playing them for her new demon boss – keeping an eye on them and probably pulling all the strings from behind the scenes. They likely weren't even aware that they were being controlled/manipulated by an outside source.

"Poor saps. So…what are you after specifically? Do you have anything to do with Juvia's kidnapping?"

"You aren't going to like it. So I'm not going to tell you."

At that, his eyes narrowed. "Arachne…don't make me hurt you."

"As if you could."

"We both know I would win. I've beaten you every single time we've fought."

She pursed her lips and then finally admitted, "The emperor is after that pretty little blond master of yours…and all her keys. Meaning you too of course."

"They're after Lucy?!"

He lost his temper when he heard that, and she recoiled to a much higher airspace at the burst of flames that licked his body.

"Oh, bring it down a few notches Dragon Boy, I doubt they're strong enough to beat you." she snapped, which calmed him just a tad.

He still glared hotly and considered roasting her for orchestrating this whole thing. Still, he knew she was under someone else's orders, and that prevented him from going off on her.

"You're damn right they're not strong enough!" he growled and then spun on his heel to stalk back over to the door.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

"I'm gonna go get Lucy before anyone has a chance to capture her! Which means I've gotta beat whatever stupid shit is behind this door and then double back."

"Uh…I'm not supposed to let you go any further so…"

"You wanna fight me? Bring it! I'm all fired up and ready to blow off some steam."

She winced but spiraled down on her web to engage in combat. Like the few times they had fought before, she put up a decent fight, using webs coated with special saliva that wicked away his fire, but he still beat her within ten minutes.

Once he was done with her, he gave her the hairiest eyeball he could summon and snarled, "Keep that in mind the next time you decide to come after Lucy."

"Looks like you really like your master." she sneered, trying to get up and failing.

"Yeah? And it looks like you've lost a lot of your strength. Last time we fought you lasted at least twice as long."

She just flicked him off, which he ignored to stomp through the door. Obviously he needed to finish this up quickly if they were after Lucy.

The next room he entered into was a viper pit basically. He could smell them…all those scaly reptile bodies and the stench of poison filled his nostrils. It was just a really long hall basically, but he could see all the little holes in the ground where they were hiding.

Ignoring it, he just stomped through, steaming mad – quite literally. At the first little zip of movement, he glanced down and glared at the viper ready to take a bite out of his ankle. It took one look at him and suddenly turned around and slithered back into its hole.

"Smart little bastard…" he grumbled, continuing to stalk through the hall. Just to be safe, he lit himself on fire. Any snake stupid enough to bite him would burn to a crisp before even getting its fangs in.

After that hallway, was yet another long dark tunnel. This one sounded with millions of skittering feet, and his flames lit up the shifting bodies of insects on the walls. There were scorpions and spiders and centipedes and wasps, all of them poisonous he was sure. Paying them no mind, he just amped up the fire licking his skin a little and continued stomping through. The smell of cooked bugs filled the space by the time he was done.

Finally, he exited into a room that nearly blinded him. He almost staggered back at the bright light and vivid purple color that assaulted his eyes after being in a dark tunnel.

Weirdly, at the end of all that creepy crawly shit was a pretty princess looking room, with purple walls, chandeliers and lamps dripping with crystals, and spindly delicate furniture that was beautiful to look at but he doubted would hold his weight.

"Natsu!"

At the sound of Happy's voice, he turned and squinted until he found the little blue cat standing in the middle of the room.

"Happy! What are you doing here?!"

He rushed towards the little cat and immediately knelt to pick him up. As he hugged him though, something struck him as very wrong. "Why is your scent so weird?"

Suddenly a sharp pain got him right in the neck, and he jerked back to see Happy wielding a syringe and a devilish smile. "So gullible!"

"You're not Happy!" he exclaimed as he dropped the imposter and staggered back.

Whatever had been injected into him was making him feel exceptionally sluggish. He would have passed out if he were human, or even a normal celestial spirit – but since he was a fire dragon he could raise his temperature and burn through it. Still, it would be in his system for a few minutes, so he was forced to sit down rather hard.

"What…who are you?!"

The fake Happy laughed, and then with a wave of his palm he turned into a man.

He had spiked white-blond hair and wore a shit-ton of earrings. The dark purple pants that he had on were way too tight in Natsu's opinion, while up top he wore a white silk shirt that was halfway unbuttoned – showing off toned muscles. The purple lipstick and smoky eyeshadow finished the picture.

Natsu wasn't quite sure what to make of him. Mostly he was just pissed and confused.

"So…what? You're the one I'm supposed to fight?"

"Sure, sweet cheeks. Although, I wouldn't mind doing other stuff with you instead…" Vivid purple eyes looked him up and down, and then he licked his lips with a lusty look on his face. "What do you say?"

Natsu scowled at him. He was usually oblivious to innuendos and stuff, but the half-mast flagging him down from the guy's pants was a dead giveaway. Plus, the scent of lust was almost overpowering.

"Ew. Calm the fuck down and back off would ya?"

Blondie laughed, his eyes glittering. "Oh my…are you afraid? That would make it so much fun to play with you…"

"Why would I be scared?"

"The idea of a man coming on to you seems to disturb you … are you homophobic by any chance?"

"I don't give a flying flip that you're a guy. I just don't like ya because you're the enemy."

At that, Blondie's eyebrows arched, and he seemed intrigued. "So…you like men?"

The fire dragon was getting even more pissed. This guy and his one-track mind were going to make Natsu lose his. "I don't have any preferences, but that has absolutely nothing to do with kicking your ass! So shut up and let me pound you into the ground!"

"I would be down for some pounding…" Blondie said with a grin.

Natsu was confused. It didn't make sense for his enemy to be interested in getting beaten up, but it wasn't like he was going to argue. The poison, or whatever that stuff was, had mostly been burned out of his system by now, so he was raring to go.

"Great!" he said with a broad grin, and launched himself at the other guy, hitting him fist first.

Blondie went flying, hit the wall, broke some flimsy furniture, and then cried out. "My face! How dare you punch my face?! Well, now you've done it!"

With that, he seemed to finally take the fight seriously. To Natsu's surprise though, instead of fighting back in a conventional method, he instead turned himself into Gray.

"How about this? Fighting your fellow guildmate and friend?"

Natsu just stared at him, confused once again.

Blondie glanced down and licked his lips. "Hmmm…your friend sure does have a fabulous body. Maybe I can borrow him when he's captured…" One of his hands trailed down Gray's chest and then settled on his crotch in a completely inappropriate way.

"Holy fuck! Gross!" Without thinking any further about it, Natsu flew forwards and punched fake-Gray in the jaw, before solidly kicking him in the stomach.

The fake gasped, shocked. It was such an un-Gray reaction that Natsu had a little trouble not laughing.

"You would hit your own friend?! What kind of barbarian are you?"

This time, he did laugh. "You picked the wrong guy to look like. Gray and I fight all the time."

"Oh really? Well how about this then?" So saying, he turned into Erza.

That just made Natsu laugh harder, and he didn't hesitate to fire up his fists and proceed to pummel his opponent. Somehow the fake-Erza managed to escape his barrage, but she was definitely singed pretty good and seemed to be limping now.

"You would even punch a girl?!"

"Erza's a hundred times scarier than you, and you don't do her justice."

The fake-Erza pouted, then tried imitating Jellal. "Maybe you won't want to punch this friend then."

"Barely know him," was all the dragon said as he continued his assault.

Juvia's form didn't cause him to hesitate at all either. It wasn't until his opponent turned into fake-Lucy that he hit a snag. As soon as her face appeared in front of his fist, he stuttered to a halt and glared. "Shit. Really?"

Fake-Lucy grinned triumphantly. "Aha! I found your weakness! This must be your sweetheart then, am I right?"

"She's my mage, Dumbass." Natsu responded sulkily and wasn't sure why his face felt hotter than normal.

"Looks like you have the hots for your mage then, Lover Boy."

When fake-Lucy slapped him hard across the face, he snarled, but couldn't quite convince himself to hit her.

"All that aside though, why aren't you flat on your butt? I injected enough of that sedative to put down an elephant."

At that, Natsu smirked. "A dragon is a lot bigger than an elephant. Idiot."

"You're not in your dragon form though. So it still should have worked."

"Super high metabolism and hot blood. Burns that shit right out of my system. Sorry."

That got raised eyebrows and parted lips from fake-Lucy. "No kidding? So you literally boiled it off? Fascinating! Well…never mind then. I suppose I'll just have to do this a different way."

She slithered over to him and then trailed a finger down his chest. "How about I entertain you in a way your Lucy won't?"

Heat settled low in his gut, but he scowled. This was not Lucy. Real-Lucy was somewhere else, fighting desperately and hurting. He could feel that much through their link, and for a little while now he had been trying – and failing – to send her magic. So he couldn't afford to mess around with this joker. Breathing deeply through his nose, he shut his eyes. If he didn't look at her and simply used his opponent's scent to fight, then he could beat her no problem.

She certainly wasn't expecting him to burst into flames as she snuggled up to him and let out a screech as she got burned. That was another clear sign that this wasn't Lucy, because he was positive that she wouldn't have been burned.

"You burned me! How could you Natsu!?" she cried, trying to sound like Lucy, but it didn't work.

"Lucy isn't burned by my fire…so suck it."

Her mumbled, "I would have if you'd just-" was cut off with a flaming fist.

He found himself squinting his eyes every now and then to orient himself but mostly fought blind, and doing so let him wale on the idiot until he turned back into his blond purple self and stayed down. After that, Natsu opened his eyes and stared at him for a moment, making sure he was down for good. When he just groaned and stayed limp on the ground, the dragon turned on his heel and rushed back out.

"I'm outta here."

Right on cue, a sign popped up in front of him. He glanced at it, and then his body suddenly turned into an inferno. The sign read: _"Lucy Heartfilia has been captured."_

"Shit!" he spat and upped his speedy walk to an outright run.

On the way back, he just plowed through all the scorched obstacles without really paying any attention to them, and thankfully the door let him out back into the room where they had split up. That meant Lucy's hunch had been correct. As soon as the "boss" of an area was defeated, they could retrace their steps and regroup. Both of the other doors were open, giving him a choice as to whether he wanted to go down the path Lucy had taken, or if he wanted to head back the way they had come.

"I'm coming Luce! Just hang in there!"

…

Meanwhile, Lucy was not having a fun time.

She had managed to evade her opponent for a little while, but he eventually caught up with her – which wasn't too surprising considering how exhausted she was by that point. He had easily subdued her with another circle of pain, and then while she was down he kicked her in the head.

She must have passed out, because the next time she peeled her eyes open, she found herself in a cage.

"What the…hey! Let me out of here!"

She jerked upright and instantly latched onto two bars with her fists, testing their strength. They didn't even budge a little when she rattled them. At the moment, it looked like she was alone, but not for long. Shortly after she woke up, Pierre sauntered into the space – looking much spiffier than he had when she'd passed out. It looked like he'd even changed his clothing and reapplied some hair gel.

"You…"

He just grinned. "I do hope you enjoy your accommodations."

"Bastard. Let me out!"

"Do you really think asking me that will yield any results?"

There was no response to that, and so she just turned her back on him and stared at the wall. Furious, one of her legs snapped out and kicked one of the metal bars on her cage. She regretted it when pain lanced up her foot, but she refused to show it.

"Now…" She heard the sound of a chair being pulled out and him sitting in it. "I would like you to surrender your keys."

All she had to say to that was a derisive snort. "Like hell. Why didn't you take them when I was unconscious, Dumbass?"

"… my, my. Such foul language. Very well. I will simply have to convince you to hand them over."

The long pause before he spoke suggested that he simply hadn't thought about removing her keys while she was out cold, which amused her. In fact, based on his appearance, she would wager that cleaning up had been his top priority – not getting her keys.

The squeak of his chair told her that he had stood up, which was all the warning she got before pain suddenly hit her in the back. She gasped and bent forwards as ice seemed to pierce her inside and out. It was the pain of being dunked in a bath of salted ice water, which she would know since she was stupid enough to do a pain tolerance test once with some of the other mages in her guild. But this was a hundred – no – a thousand times worse.

She couldn't quite hold back the groan that wheezed from her throat, but otherwise just stayed in a ball on the ground. However, when she happened to feel some movement, her eyes snapped open to see Pierre's arm reaching through the cage bars, aiming towards her keys.

Despite the pain, she sent out a leg to stomp on his arm, managing to catch it between the bars and grinding down hard on it with her boot. The pain circle shattered with his concentration, but a new one appeared on his hand and he grabbed her ankle. The direct contact sent much worse pain shooting through her leg, and she recoiled, releasing his arm from her cage. He drew back.

Getting mad, she lashed out with her words, which was the only thing she could do to fight back at the moment. "You really are an idiot, aren't you? I'll bet anything that as soon as you locked me up in here, you rushed off to pretty yourself up and didn't even think about getting my keys!"

His eyes narrowed and for the first time he actually looked a little angry, but he covered it up quickly. "Personal hygiene is important. Besides, it's much more entertaining to take an item of significance from someone who is awake."

She scowled but wouldn't put it past this guy to leave her keys alone on purpose just so he could take them when she was awake. That was exactly the sort of sadistic thing he might do.

"Either way, you lost your chance to get them," she finally growled and grabbed for her keys.

To protect them, she unsnapped the pouch from her belt and then reached up under her shirt to attach it to the front band of her bra. That would be much easier to defend. He watched her do it with calculating eyes and cocked a brow.

"Well now…I didn't expect that."

"Let's see you get them now."

He shrugged. "I will."

Since she was facing him this time, she watched with dread as he formed a new circle, this one the ice blue of fear. Two of them.

The terror hit her harder than before, doubled from what she remembered, and it sent her to the ground. At least she still had the presence of mind to curl up in a ball to protect her keys, but that was about it. The fear smashed her flat – blinding her to absolutely everything else – and her heart began to pound so hard in her chest that she feared she might go into a heart attack. It actually hurt, her whole chest ceased up with it, and her fast breathing certainly didn't help. The physical problems only made her terror worse, and she could do little besides tremble and sweat. Tears choked her, and she gasped and sputtered pathetically. Words tumbled from her lips without her say-so, and she frankly had no idea what she was even saying.

"S-stop…please…make it stop…please…"

Slowly, that faded, leaving her panting, gasping, crying, and shivering in a ball. Slowly, she raised her head to stare with bleary eyes and watched as a new circle started to form. Leftover terror skittered down her spine, but it was dull after what she had just experienced.

"Hand over your keys."

She just stared, and he shrugged, finishing the new circle. This one was a deep blue, and she had no idea what it might do to her. When it hit, she was unprepared for the wave of grief that dragged her under. It was like when her mother had died, and the memory of that grief only made this facsimile worse, because she instantly associated it with those memories. The sense of loss was so painful that she once again curled into a ball, this time to simply sob and try not to choke on herself. Shuddering cries wracked her frame, sobs so hard they hurt her still sore chest, and she felt like she couldn't get enough air.

"D-damn you…"

Her hands crawled on top of her head to tangle in her hair and yank on it, trying to pull herself out of this nightmare. She felt something touch her neck, and she tucked herself into an even tighter ball – trying to guard her throat. Bending her elbows, she tucked her forearms against her chest and clasped her hands behind her neck, feeling a rope there that she yanked free. Her hand brushed against his hand, but she was too far gone to hope to hurt him. The most she could do was clench her palms to the back of her neck and hold herself together.

There was an exasperated sigh, and then the sorrow slowly vanished. She didn't move though. Instead, she just stayed in her hunched-up position, waiting for whatever he would throw at her next.

The next thing that hit shocked the hell out of her, and she barely knew what to do with herself.

Giddy happiness made her toss headfirst into a laughing fit, which was incredibly strange after everything that had just happened. It was enough to thoroughly confuse her, but the happiness filled her with so much joy that she couldn't bring herself to be frightened or angry about anything anymore, and her guard completely relaxed. The laughing didn't stop, not until a green circle lit up in front of the yellow, and suddenly she experienced a surge of lethargy, making her feel sleepy and content and peaceful, like she wanted to take a nap. It was glorious and beautiful … she was happier than she had ever been in her entire life – as if all her dreams had come true.

It seemed to last forever but was probably only a few minutes.

Then, all the happiness and peace shut off. Almost instantly, pain assaulted her nerves, and she experienced a form of whiplash she'd never been privy to before. It shocked a full-throated scream from her. Then, when terror was added on top of it, more screams came. Apparently he was utilizing the entire spectrum of human emotion and sensations to drive her mad.

That only lasted for a few moments, and then that shut off too…leaving her a shaking trembling mess. Mixing emotions and sensations that generally shouldn't mix left her dizzy and very, very disturbed. Terror and dread mounted within her as time passed and nothing else happened, winding her tighter and tighter with tension and anxiety. Eventually she couldn't take the suspense and cautiously raised up to look and see what was happening.

Apparently, that was precisely what he had wanted from her, because as soon as her chin untucked from her chest, a rope slid under it, dropping around her neck before she could yank it off. It was a noose, one that synched tight as it was jerked up through the bars of the cage. The rope was looped through a pully attached to the ceiling, and it had been lowered unseen while she was curled up.

As the noose tightened around her throat, she reached up to grab it, her fingers digging underneath to keep it from choking her. It still pulled her up onto her knees though – which was as tall as she could get in this particular cage.

Once she was upright, he tied it off, leaving her kneeling there.

"Now…this should make it easier to get those keys of yours. Will you hand them over like a good girl?"

"No way! You're not getting them!"

"Right…" Another circle formed in front of her, and he hit her with a shockwave of terror.

Being upright, and forced to stay upright, made dealing with the fear much worse. She grew lightheaded and felt like she might pass out as she shrunk back as far as the rope would let her. The rope itself proved torturous when paired with the terror, and she couldn't keep herself from panicking. Her fingers went on autopilot and fought the rope, leaving long bloody scratches along her throat. Frantic yelps and screams came from her as she gasped, panted, and cried out, hands scrabbling at both skin and rope. When he reached through the bars to try and grab for her keys, she used the terror to react like an animal and screamed, lashing out with her nails to leave deep gashes on his hand.

He jerked back and scowled.

"Fine then."

Pain replaced the terror, which made her automatically double up, but she was drawn up short when the noose around her neck pulled tight and choked her. Her scream was cut off into a series of pained coughs. Her fingers looped back around the rope while she kept her forearms pressed tight to her sternum and her keys. She used a white-knuckled grip on the rope to hold herself up as the rest of her body convulsed in agony. Once again, she felt like she was melting … like she had been tied to a stake and lit on fire. Her whole body seemed to fight the leash on her neck, throwing against it and cringing, and only her fingers kept her breathing. Soon they were bloody as the rope rubbed them raw.

Once again, his hand reached for her chest, which was guarded by her forearms. This time though, he had a magic circle on his hand, and she knew it would shoot her through with even worse pain when it touched her. Sure enough, when his fingers brushed her skin, she seized up and screamed loud enough to make herself hoarse.

Her thrashing made it more difficult for him to get the keys though, so when she refused to move her arms he withdrew. It seemed that he was getting frustrated now, and he drew another circle in front of the one already burning her alive. It was the one that made her feel like she was being skewered, and paired with the heat it suddenly felt like she was on a very spiky barbeque pit.

By now she was sobbing as well as screaming.

He reached back through the bars and latched onto her shirt, yanking her close. That hand stayed twisted in the material, while the other shoved up under it and snagged her keys. With a rip, he yanked them off her, and one of her hands left the rope around her neck to grab for them. She snagged only one but clenched it tight. He yanked harder and released her shirt to grab her wrist with a hand that had a magic circle on it. She screamed louder as pain stabbed through her where he touched, but she kept her grip – even as he laced the pain with lightning to make her muscles spasm.

With another yank, that one key came off the ring and he took the rest. She flailed desperately with her other hand, letting the rope cinch tight around her neck as she blindly tried to grab the rest of her spirits. She would rather die than lose them.

"Please! Give them back!" she cried, though the words were silent as her throat was cut off.

But those were gone already, tossed dismissively onto a nearby table. As he reached for her last key, she yanked it back into the cage with her and retreated to the furthest corner away from him, cowering and choking. Her free hand latched back around the rope and loosened it enough for her to wheeze for breath.

She grasped her last key in her fist and held it to her chest, determined to keep it no matter what.

The process from before was repeated – pain, terror, grief, and even happiness again – he used every trick in his arsenal to catch her as she threw herself from one side of the cage to the other to avoid him. Eventually, he snagged her again and dragged her to the bars. His hand clenched tight around her wrist, yanking it out of the cage and prying at her fingers to get the last key.

As soon as he touched it though, the key flared red hot, and he jerked back with a curse as he cradled his burned fingers.

"What in the world is this?!"

"That…is a dragon's key…" Lucy chuckled, clenching it even tighter in her grip. It didn't burn her, even though she could feel the heat of it.

"…I see."

He still had her wrist grasped tightly. Instead of going for the key, he simply drew a circle on the hand holding her, and suddenly electrical pain shot through her wrist and down her hand. She cried out but held onto the key, even as her muscles spasmed out of control. When she didn't drop it after a minute of that, he drew a second circle on top of the first, and the pain amped up in intensity. She screamed.

Every ounce of her concentration was dedicated to keeping her hand clenched around Natsu's key. She would not release it. No matter what.

However, she wasn't given a choice in the matter. At the third circle he drew, her hand simply stopped functioning, and every muscle clenched and released of its own accord. The key dropped, and he released her. She lunged for it, even as the noose around her neck threatened to strangle her. Before she even got close, he kicked it away, and she was left crying out desperately to have it back as tears blinded her and the rope cut off all her screams.

She watched as he took Natsu's key – holding it with his coat – and put it with the others, then put them all into some sort of pipe in the wall, which whisked them out of sight.

Everything in her went numb with defeat as she watched her keys get taken from her, but then a surge of resolve stiffened her spine. This wasn't the end. She _**would**_ get them back.

* * *

 **Quick Author's Note:**

I'M SORRY! *runs and hides behind the couch*

Yes, I know it's another cliffhanger...and a bad one at that. But! I'll be posting the next chapter on Friday (because I'm going out of town again) so hopefully that'll make up for it.

Okay, I'm done making excuses. On with the show!

 **Sneak Peek**

 _"Well, now that we have Juvia, let's all get the hell outta here." Gray announced, already walking towards the exit._

 _"Hang on. Did either of you encounter a celestial mage?"_

 _"Uh…no? Why?"_

 _"I have a bone to pick with one that's been mistreating their spirits." Lucy growled, remembering the promise she had made to those wolves_

 _"Alright. Well, they must be down the route that Jellal and Erza took."_

 _Lucy nodded and followed them out to the first room again. There, they split up again – Juvia and Gray exiting the building entirely, while Lucy and Natsu went through the last door. Happy chose to come along with them as well and stayed perched on Lucy's shoulder_


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:**

Alright! So sorry again about leaving you guys on a cliffhanger last chappie, but hopefully this one will make up for it! It's not quite the end of this arc yet, but hopefully it ends a little better than last time and resolves some stuff for you guys. :D

Also, it's a super long chapter! Since I know I won't be able to post on Wednesday, I figured I'd double up on this chapter.

As always, HUUUUUGE thanks to all my WONDERFUL reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: WisdomDragon27, TheOGFTfanatic, valerioux, Shadowslayer15, Lady La-sara, Elphaba818, MiseryWolf97, thechani, RavenShadow, mumof4, TheJSmooth, Donthedarkdragon26, Leomae2.0, FantasyDreamer06, Ksta, Firefly9917, moeruhoshi, and Wolves silver wind. You are all amazing and wonderful!

Now, on with the show! And stay tuned till the end for the next sneak peek.

* * *

Lucy was still having a really bad day.

After Pierre had sent her keys to who-knows-where, he turned back to her. For a long time, he sat and watched her while sipping on his tea. Eventually though, he sighed and put that aside.

"Entertain me."

"Despite being strung up like one, I'm not a puppet. Amuse yourself." Lucy spat back, indignant.

"Very well. I shall do so."

A magic circle formed in front of him, and Lucy cringed as the light from it hit her. She screamed once again as it felt like her body was pierced by hundreds of spears. The sensation, and her cries, lasted up until a distant crash distracted him.

It caught Lucy's attention too, and she lifted her head to stare at the door with both hope and dread welling up within her. It was Natsu. She knew it was, and the thought filled her with glee. But…this man was a monster. She wasn't even sure _Natsu_ could beat him. Plus, there was no doubt in her mind that Pierre was going to use her to hurt him.

Sure enough, the door blasted open in a billow of fire, and there stood her fire dragon, out of breath and looking supremely angry.

"Why is Lucy screaming?!" His enraged eyes landed on Pierre first, and he asked, "Was it you?!"

"Natsu!"

His gaze flashed to her, and there was a second of absolute silence as he took in her appearance. Pitch black eyes darted from her face to her neck and hands, lingering on the sight of her blood as his nostrils flared and blood vessels erupted on his forehead. A few long seconds later his eyes flashed bright gold, molten with rage, and he positively exploded. A blast of heat unlike any she had felt from him before scorched the room. Every single plant went up in flames.

Pierre hurried to summon a magic circle and aimed it at Natsu. Before Lucy could cry out to warn him, a flash of green light hit the dragon, and all his flames went out. He went to his knees with a gasp, and his palms hit the floor.

"Wh-what the hell…?"

"Natsu! He can control emotions and make you feel things that aren't really there!" Lucy shouted, though it was too late.

Her warning cut off with a scream as their opponent sent a magic circle for pain her way. With a gasp, she was once again set to writhing in her cage, clutching at the noose around her neck to keep from strangling herself.

As for Natsu, just the sight of her in that cage with a rope around her neck and blood seeping out from under it was enough to send him into an ungodly rage the likes of which he had never felt before. But seeing her actually convulsing with pain had his blood positively boiling.

"STOP IT!" he roared, and flames licked the ground in front of him.

"Oh don't worry. I'm not causing any physical damage. Only pain." the smug suited man told him.

Despite the sudden exhaustion that had put him on the ground, he rose to his feet and a deep snarl worked its way up his throat. "I said…stop it…"

He had to keep his feet spread wide and planted to keep himself up, but like hell was he going to lay around on his ass while Lucy was being tortured. Before he could actually try to attack though, a second green circle sent him back to the ground as every single muscle in his body seemed to stop working and go to sleep.

"You do realize she doesn't have your key anymore right? So, you no longer hold a contract with her, and therefore no longer have to help her."

"That's bullshit. Until I've contracted with someone else, my contract with Lucy stands – key or no key."

"Suite yourself. I'm certainly not opposed to entertaining more guests. In fact, this could prove very amusing."

"I dunno what you're planning, but leave Lucy alone!"

"Ha! Please. My puppet is the star of this show … and the key to making you so entertaining."

"I already told you I'm not your -" Lucy cut off with a gasp as he hit her with another magic circle.

Natsu watched in horror as she seemed to cave in on herself and get as small as that damn noose around her neck would let her. The expression on her face was one of pure terror and panic, and Natsu's stomach dropped out as tears dripped off her chin in an unending flow. Even from this distance, his keen hearing could pick up on her pounding heart and panting. Her entire body started to tremble, and it looked like she couldn't even hold herself up.

Glancing up at that rope holding her strung up like dead poultry, he felt a surge of rage. Without even bothering to think about it, he spat flames at the rope above her cage, burning through it in an instant. Without it, she collapsed and fell flat on her face … going utterly limp as soon as the line was cut.

Her raw fingers scrabbled at her neck and yanked the rope off, gasping as she did, and her bloody fingernails told him how her throat had gotten scratched up so badly. She'd been clawing at her own skin to get the rope off, and the thought sent another gut-wrenching blast of fury through his veins.

However, on the plus side, burning the rope had surprised the enemy, and both circles broke. Natsu immediately staggered to his feet and turned halfway towards her.

"Luce, you okay over there?"

A very quiet, very hoarse voice answered, "Yeah. Just fine."

"Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out. Just hold on."

She lifted her head and gave him a tearful smile. "I know you will…"

He felt his heart clench tight and try to choke him.

The moment was shattered by that posh bastard, as he scoffed and made another circle aimed at Natsu. "Sit back down. You haven't amused me enough."

Natsu wasn't given much choice in the matter. Pain seared his blood, and it suddenly felt like he'd been dunked in a cold sea. Being a fire dragon, pain born of ice was not fun, but he was hardly a stranger to it thanks to Gray. This was a different kind of pain though – like ice water had been shot directly into his veins almost, and it knocked him back on his ass. He hit the ground hard and writhed half a second before getting his shit together.

"Natsu!" Lucy screamed, and he did his damnedest to send her a thumbs-up.

"A-Okay over here, Luce. Don't worry 'bout me."

At Natsu's attempt to sooth Lucy, their opponent drawled, "How adorable. Perhaps it's time to make things more…interesting. Let's see how the two of you deal with this."

He heard Lucy scoff, and then her voice changed to one of horror. "Oh no…don't you dare, you dirty bastard…"

The abrupt shift had Natsu raising his eyes to her. Another circle was aimed at her, and she had her arms wrapped tight around her body as she seemed to cringe. However, she didn't seem scared, or exhausted, or in pain – so he had no idea what she might be fighting.

"Stop it! Whatever you're doing to Lucy, stop it right now!" Natsu bellowed.

The enemy then turned to him. "Oh right…I suppose you won't be able to enjoy the show if you're writhing in pain. We don't want you distracted, now do we?"

The circle aimed at him flickered and changed color as it was switched out for the one that made him super tired. Natsu was able to get to his feet again for a brief moment, but he staggered and went to his knees as soon as a second circle joined the first. The enemy smirked and apparently deemed him not a threat, because he turned back to Lucy – who was glaring at him viciously.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" she hissed, though Natsu still wasn't sure what he was doing to her.

He shrugged and smiled politely. "For humiliation purposes mostly."

"Humiliation…?! You son of a bitch!" Lucy spat, seeming absolutely infuriated.

"It seems that it's not strong enough yet for that though," the enemy continued as if she hadn't said anything, and Natsu couldn't help but growl at how dismissive he was of her protests.

A second circle formed in front of the first, and when it hit her she groaned and curled up into a ball, leaving Natsu to wonder just what the hell was going on. He had no idea what the guy had meant by ' _humiliation purposes_ ,' – though Lucy certainly seemed to understand – and he had the odd thought that maybe their opponent was making her feel like she really had to go to the bathroom or something.

By this point, he normally would have attacked _**somehow**_ despite his lethargy … except … a certain scent had hit him, and he was left paralyzed. He had no idea where it was coming from at first, only that it was one of the most intoxicating smells he had ever come into contact with. It made him feel downright drunk – and as his mind grew a little fuzzy, he felt heat pool low in his gut and set his blood on fire.

Why the hell he would feel this way in such a fucked-up situation he had no idea, and it left him spinning for a loop. As a celestial dragon, he always chose when he wanted to get a boner, and it had never once popped up without him actively deciding to get one. Usually he only made that choice when he was bored out of his mind…generally when he was stuck in time-out in the celestial realm after doing something to piss off Lucy or whenever she was on some form of transportation. During those times it gave him something to do at least. But he had never popped a tent in this world because there were always more interesting things to occupy himself with. He certainly hadn't ever been tempted to do so in the middle of a fight.

And yet now … for some reason that scent was making it extremely hard for him to control his body, as if he was instinctively responding to it. It was almost like that smell – whatever it was – had hijacked his mind and was forcing him to make a subconscious decision to get turned on…in a _**very**_ physical way…and it was downright maddening.

In fact, the scent was completely taking over his body, and now he knew for sure that it was instinct at work. He normally wasn't driven by instincts – but as a dragon he sure as hell had them, and when they got activated they were impossible to ignore. On the plus side, that was overriding the lethargy that had been pinning him to the ground…. not that he really noticed, since he had become single-minded in figuring out where that smell came from.

"Okay, what the hell are you doing now?! Where the fuck is that scent coming from?!"

…

Meanwhile, as soon as Pierre hit Lucy with the first lust spell, she felt like she'd definitely died and had gone straight to hell. Or else she had fallen asleep and was having a nightmare. There was simply no possible way that she was dealing with this guy and his perverted spells while Natsu was in the room.

It was rude, crude, and unacceptable in her book. She sat up partially to give him a heated glare as the stupid sensations pulsed through her body, settling low in her gut and making everything start to throb in a way she resolutely ignored.

However, when he completely ignored her protests and hit her with a second lust circle, she gave up on fighting back verbally and switched to just hiding her face and pretending she didn't exist. Curling into a ball and doing her best to ignore everything seemed the best option at the moment, and she tried her hardest to believe that none of it was happening.

This was bad. Really, it almost hurt in a way. The physical problems, plus the actual emotion clouding her brain, was a one-two punch that almost sent her to la-la land. She fought it, trying to breathe deeply and slowly, instead of panting the way her body seemed to want to do. Controlling her breathing also helped to control her pulse, and it was something to focus on other than the things going on with her body that she refused to acknowledge. It was all just too embarrassing to accept, and like hell was she going to let this guy see that she was being affected in any way.

If she ever got out of this cage, she was going to literally kill him. Or maybe neuter him.

It was all absolutely humiliating, but she just had to hope that Natsu would remain oblivious at least. That hope was shattered though when he opened his big fat mouth.

"Where the fuck is that scent coming from?!"

At first she had no idea what he was talking about, but then she remembered his sensitive nose and - with mounting horror - realized that he could actually smell how her body was responding. Her head snapped up and she stared at him aghast, her mouth working silently as she failed to think of something to say.

Thankfully it seemed like Pierre hadn't put two and two together as he frowned at Natsu, who was now standing and growling and looking around angrily. Apparently he had somehow broken through the sleep spells that Pierre had put on him.

"A smell? I don't know what you're talking about…and how are you standing up all of a sudden? How did you break my spell?" he asked, but Natsu wasn't paying any attention to him any longer. His nose had turned him in her direction, and he was staring at her with wide eyes.

She stared back, equally shocked about what was going on. Her brain seemed to have simply short-circuited and ceased to work.

The enemy looked back and forth between them, and then seemed to figure out just what was going on. As soon as he did, he started to laugh.

Her eyes snapped from Natsu's, and she instantly aimed a glare at the laughing lunatic. "Shut up!"

"Oh! But this is too rich! He can actually _smell_ you! Just how aroused are you?!"

At that, she felt like she'd definitely gone to a different dimension. It was like an out-of-body experience, only without the out-of-body part. This conversation didn't exist in this reality. There was simply no other solution that made sense.

That didn't keep her from flushing so hot that she was sure a raw egg could be cooked on her face, and she felt like just melting into the floor and dying. Instead of hiding her head again though and curling up into a ball like she wanted to, she decided to embrace the anger that kept her fried brains somewhat sane.

"Well I don't know. You're the one doing it! How about you tell me?!"

He just laughed some more and she growled. The anger drained away though when she risked a glance at Natsu and instantly regretted it. His mouth was hanging open, and he was just staring at her. Apparently his brain had also been fried.

Her cheeks tried to roast her alive again, and she just finally gave in to the desire to curl up into a ball and pretend that she wasn't here again.

"Can you please just kick his ass already?! This really sucks you know!" she finally yelled at the floor, and she could almost hear Natsu snap out of whatever daze he'd gone into.

"Oh! Right! Sorry!"

…

Natsu was kind of horrified at himself for dazing off like that, but as he turned to look at the guy and saw him laughing at Lucy, suddenly everything this jackass had done to her flashed before his eyes. His imagination filled in a lot of it, but the evidence was more than enough to piss him off on its own…. plus, now he could smell her tears mixed in with the other stuff.

Also…his instincts were still all fired up, but now they were screaming a completely different message from before. Instead of shouting at him to CLAIM and TAKE…and a few other things that made him flush to think about…they were now shouting only one thing loud and clear. **PROTECT**.

Not only had every possessive instinct been woken up inside him, but now the person who he thought of as **HIS** had been hurt – was _still_ being hurt – and the enemy who was doing it was standing right in front of him.

It was going to stop. Now.

He roared and sent a blast of fire scorching towards the bastard… just as a preliminary statement of his anger.

Then, clicking his teeth together and cutting off the fire, he let his tail slither out from where it was wrapped around his leg and transformed. His aura was let loose, and a blast of volcanic heat blackened anything that still wasn't scorched. The image of his immense true form hung over his body, and he allowed a deep growl to erupt from his chest – the sound echoing much louder and larger than it should from this body. It was an expression of the pure, unadulterated rage that had blanked his mind.

When the smoke cleared to show that his opponent was still alive and only partially cooked, Natsu grinned – making sure to give full fang exposure – as he opened his wings with a snap. The guy's eyes widened, as if he only just realized what he was dealing with, and he scrambled to make a magic circle. Natsu was hit with a wave of terror, but he fought through it easily enough. At this point he had more than enough fuel to fire him up about a hundred times over.

When he was hit with a pain circle, it barely even fazed him in this form. Another deep growl sounded out of his chest, and he enjoyed the fear that lit up his opponent's eyes at the feral sound. This bastard deserved a little fear after what he put Lucy through.

Gathering fire into his wings, he lifted off – just a foot or so above the ground – and then yelled, "Fire dragon wing attack!" His wings snapped forwards at full force to hurl all the flames in two deadly lashes at his enemy.

They hit and sent him flying through the wall. The backlash of flames took out every window in the place. Lucy squeaked from where she was still in her cage, and he looked through the roaring fires to see her cringing in a red-hot cage.

"Natsu! Get me out of here!" she screamed, and by the last word he was already grabbing hold of the bars and bending them open. They were soft from being heated, so it was easy.

She reached for him as he reached for her, and he snatched her out of the cage and hauled her into his arms. He wasn't even concerned about the flames licking around his body, because he knew they wouldn't hurt her …. though her clothes were another thing entirely. As her skirt started smoking, she protested, and he put out the fires coating his skin.

As for Lucy, she was still in a state of shock about everything that had just happened. So, after putting out her smoldering clothes, she rested her cheek against his burning chest and let him fly her out of there. Normally, she would have insisted he put her down and that she could walk for herself, but at the moment she was actually thankful for the assistance. In fact, if taking a nap wasn't impossible, she would have loved to indulge in one right about now.

She felt totally sapped of all strength and energy, partly because of all the pain and suffering she had just endured, and also from the physical drain of fighting. So she just closed her eyes and let Natsu do the flying for them. The soothing sound of his heartbeat pounded under her ear as she rested her head on him, and the rhythmic beat strangely made her want to cry.

Before she knew it – and before she was really ready for it – Natsu was setting her down back in the very first room they had come to, the one with three doors.

As she was set on her feet and met Natsu's eyes for the first time since everything happened, the most embarrassing parts suddenly rushed back to her, and her cheeks lit up like firecrackers once again.

Clearing her throat, she grimaced and said, "Hey, uh…can we forget everything that just happened and never, ever talk about it?"

Natsu blinked and stared at her, nonplussed. "Uh…why?"

"Because it's embarrassing, and I don't ever want to talk about it!"

He jumped a little when she snapped at him, and for once he actually seemed to listen to her. "Okay. Sure. I guess." And then he mumbled, "Still dunno why though…"

Strangely, the fact that he didn't seem to think it was embarrassing helped to relieve some of her own discomfiture. Still, she exhaled a relieved breath and shoved the memory of this incident down into her mental files … never to be disturbed again.

"Thanks."

As he turned away, she quickly swiped her hands down the insides of her thighs to wipe away any sticky evidence that still might be there, and when she came away with wet palms she was glad she'd done so. At the moment there wasn't anywhere for her to wash her hands, so she simply squatted down and wiped her hands on the dirt floor…hoping that it would help disperse the scent that Natsu had picked up on. She brushed the dirt off her palms as she stood back up.

"So, I guess we just go down the next route?" Natsu asked, sniffing the doors for clues. "Happy went down this one!"

Instantly Lucy was throwing that door open, and Natsu eagerly followed her as they rushed down the hall. Much to their surprise, the very first room yielded a cage, and in it was the blue cat in question.

"Happy!"

"Lucy! Natsu! Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you came! I was so scared Lucy! I just knew someone was going to come and take me away!"

The little cat started bawling as they reached the cage, and Lucy inspected the keyhole on the door. It was just a simple lock, and all she had to do was hold her hand over it and let her magic unlock it for her. If only she'd been able to do the same on her own cage, but for the life of her she hadn't been able to find it.

As soon as the door swung open, Happy leapt from it and jumped into her arms, where he buried his face into her chest and continued to cry. She cradled him in her arms and petted his head gently to help soothe him as they looked around the room. Before they could even attempt to figure out how to progress, the door on the other side opened, and out came Gray and Juvia.

"Gray! Juvia! Oh! _**Juvia**_! I'm so glad to see you're alright! Good job getting her back Gray!" Lucy cheered, and Happy raised his head to cheer with her.

Of course she instantly noticed that they were holding hands, and both their faces were flushed. Something must have happened down there, and Lucy hoped that maybe – just maybe – Juvia had gotten her deepest wish and Gray had confessed his love or something to her…. as unlikely as that seemed.

Naturally Natsu completely missed all of this and went straight to being pissed. "And just why was Happy in a cage? Did you leave him behind, ya Ice Jerk?"

For once, the ice mage didn't have a defensive come back, and his eyes landed on Lucy's before guiltily skittering away to look at the ground. "…yes, actually. I wasn't really given much of a choice. One of us had to stay here and turn ourselves in…"

"It's okay…it was safer out here actually. And Gray's much stronger than me." Happy said from Lucy's chest. Normally he would have had something snarky to say, but it seemed that this had been a mutual decision.

Natsu steamed but seemed willing to let it slide. For now.

"Well, now that we have Juvia, let's all get the hell outta here." Gray announced, already walking towards the exit.

"Hang on. Did either of you encounter a celestial mage?"

"Uh…no? Why?"

"I have a bone to pick with one that's been mistreating their spirits." Lucy growled, remembering the promise she had made to those wolves. _And_ she'd bet anything that when she found the other celestial mage, she'd find her keys. There was no way that she was leaving without them. Even if she had to turn this entire place upside down and inside out...she would find them.

"Alright. Well, they must be down the route that Jellal and Erza took."

Lucy nodded and followed them out to the first room again. There, they split up again – Juvia and Gray exiting the building entirely, while Lucy and Natsu went through the last door. Happy chose to come along with them as well and stayed perched on Lucy's shoulder

As they stood in front of the last door, Lucy sent Natsu a somewhat tired grin. "You ready?"

He grinned back, somehow still enthusiastic and energetic after everything that had happened so far. Then again, he wouldn't be Natsu if he wasn't bouncing off the walls with overabundant energy. "I'm fired up Luce! Let's do it!"

Apparently he had completely recovered from his angry meltdown earlier, but that wasn't exactly surprising. He always tended to bounce back to a state of happy after he had kicked their enemy's ass.

As usual, his positive attitude rubbed off on her and some of her exhaustion was wiped away. "Yeah! Let's go kick some ass. Right Happy?"

"As long as it's not our butts getting kicked, I'm in." he chirped, and they threw open the last door.

As soon as they passed through the doorway though, Happy got tossed back out. "Hey!"

"Oh for the love of…that's still in effect?!"

This time, Happy wasn't nearly as upset about getting separated from Lucy, though he still sounded concerned through the shut door. "I'll be okay. I'm just gonna go outside with Gray and Juvia. But promise me that you'll be okay! Okay?!"

"We'll be fine Happy. You just go wait for us with the others. No worries."

"Okay!" …. And his voice disappeared.

"Well…he didn't sound too upset about being kicked out." Natsu said.

Lucy chuckled. "He's a brave little guy, no doubt about that. Normally he's all for fighting, but I think he was traumatized earlier and just wants to get out of here."

Natsu's cheerful mood instantly went south again. It was true that he was a normally happy individual, but he could also be prone to mood swings – usually from happy to pissed and back. He'd cheered up after beating their last opponent, but now he had another one to get pissed at.

"Don't blame him really. I'm getting sick and tired of this shit. Why can't we go up against a dark guild that just meets us at the door and fights us?! I mean, if someone busted down my door and started messing up my house, I'd be after them in a heartbeat. I wouldn't sit back and watch them run around destroying stuff."

That was probably the longest rant Lucy had ever heard Natsu make, and it caused her to cock an eyebrow at him. "You've given this some thought haven't you?"

He growled. "It just seems like all they ever wanna do is fuck with us. I just wanna get in there and fight 'em! Not go through all these stupid traps and mazes!"

By this point they were exiting into the first room and were confronted by a lake of lava. Lucy blinked at it in shock and horror, but Natsu instantly perked up again.

"All right! Now this is more like it!"

"Natsu wait! That doesn't seem like a good idea-!"

Her warning fell on deaf ears as Natsu jumped into the lava. It rose up to his chest, and Lucy flinched. Surely even a fire dragon wouldn't do well in lava.

That notion was proven utterly incorrect as Natsu proceeded to eat all the flames from the lava. Slowly, the molten rock turned dark, and now Lucy yelled, "Don't get stuck!"

Again, she was ignored as he sucked every bit of heat out of the lava and it turned cold, hard, and dark …. incasing him up to his chest in rock.

Once the last bit was sucked past his lips, he let out a satisfied sigh and then belched loudly enough to shake the rafters. "Now I've got a fire in my belly!"

"Oh yeah? And how are you gonna get outta there?" Lucy asked somewhat snarkily, irritated at being ignored twice in a row.

He blinked and then glanced down. "Huh. Oh yeah…"

He started struggling and punching at the rock, but it was too hard and didn't budge. Of course, that only lasted a few seconds before he lost his patience and released a whole bunch of magic all at once, creating a fiery explosion.

She was sitting on the sharp ledge rimming the pool of ex-lava, and her proximity meant that the blast knocked her over. With a little scream she landed on her back, her legs in the air, and her skirt tossed up. She stayed there a moment, pouting up at the ceiling and wondering why she had been surprised by that outcome. With Natsu as a partner, destruction was inevitable … and with that came being knocked over, made completely filthy from head to toe, and usually running from the authorities.

After a short few seconds, the dragon in question jumped up next to her and laughed. "You worry too much Luce!"

She quickly smoothed her skirt back down and glared up at him from her position on her back. "You could have warned me!"

He shrugged and grinned. "It's not like my flames can hurt ya."

That confused her a little. Sure, she'd gotten lucky a few times and avoided being roasted – and for whatever reason it hadn't hurt when he'd cauterized her wound earlier – but she didn't doubt that he could turn her into a toasted marshmallow if he roared at her or something.

Scoffing, she sat up with a groan. "I doubt that. But whatever. Let's get going."

Jumping down onto the rock bed, they walked across the dead lava, and reached the other side in no time at all.

The next door led to yet another hall, and based off of all the weapons and spikes and stuff sticking out of the walls and floors, it was obvious that it was rigged with booby traps. It looked like most of them had already been diffused, but likely some were still plenty active.

"Natsu…we should – hey wait!"

As usual, he was just charging ahead at full throttle, and sure enough he triggered some more booby traps along the way. Standing back and watching, Lucy called out warnings that he actually started heeding. "To your left! Above you! Below you! Don't step there, Idiot!"

He dodged most of them but got poked a couple of times with spikes. Lucy just shook her head and sighed as he finally arrived on the other side, a little worse for wear, but not too bad off.

As for her, she proceeded much more carefully. The triggers seemed to consist of tripwires that were placed at every conceivable angle and height, but she figured it was safe to stuck close to the already triggered traps. So, she made a conscious decision to walk close to the spikes and scattered weapons she saw throughout the hall, edging along them and keeping her eyes peeled for any tripwires left over. With this method, she reached the other side unscathed, and gave Natsu a look.

"What?"

She just shook her head at him and walked through the next door.

"What?!"

"Nothing…let's just keep going." She'd given him numerous lectures about charging forwards into a dangerous situation, and just didn't feel like getting into it at the moment.

The next room simply held a pedestal with an empty bottle, and the door on the other side was already open.

"Huh…well I guess this was a one-time trap and they already sprung it." Lucy surmised and Natsu just shrugged in agreement.

They continued on without stopping to investigate it closer.

Beyond the strange drink room was a seemingly endless cave – similar to the mazes that both Natsu and Lucy had encountered, only this one was booby-trapped as well. They found that out when Lucy stepped on something and suddenly a mass of giant stalactites fell down, aiming to skewer them.

They both threw themselves to the side, and Natsu landed on top of Lucy and shielded her with wings that spread open with a snap. As the giant rock spikes hit the floor and shattered, a good number of shards bounced off the dragon leather of his wings.

"Your back!" Lucy gasped, worried about rocks hitting his back but not really concerned about his tough wings.

He tsked at her and rolled his eyes before reiterating, "You worry too much…"

Once the shower of rocks was over, he got off her, shed his vest, and turned around to show her the crimson scales now coating his skin and the line of black spikes poking out of his spine. Though she probably shouldn't have, Lucy couldn't resist reaching out and running a hand down his new red hide in amazement. Because she was so relieved and happy to see his transformed skin she didn't notice how he tensed up at her touch, and then curiosity took over her attention as she touched his scales. They were burning hot of course and felt hard and smooth like armor. It was amazing how something so hard could move, and she was momentarily entranced by the sensation of scales shifting under her hand as his muscles tensed and he breathed hard.

This all happened within the span of a few seconds, and then she realized that she was acting like a weirdo and withdrew her hand quickly.

"Sorry." She didn't know if she was apologizing for touching him strangely without permission, or apologizing for not trusting him to be able to handle it.

After that, they continued on a little more carefully, though at one point they fell into a pit of spikes and Natsu had to fly them back out before getting turned into pincushions. Other than that, they managed to escape with relatively little trouble, because Natsu picked up on the faint scent of their comrades and they followed it to the door.

That door lead them to a short hall, and then they emerged into another room. The door slammed shut behind them of course, and when nothing happened, Lucy tried the other door, but it was locked too.

"Well…what are we supposed to do?"

"Dunno…"

As if to answer their question, a sign appeared. _"Answer the riddles before the room fills with gas."_

"…gas?" Lucy asked with trepidation.

On cue, a soft hissing sound started up, and when she looked up she saw little holes perforating the walls in a line close to the ceiling.

A stream of yellow gas started filtering into the room, and soon Lucy's eyes started stinging. "Shoot. Tear gas."

Natsu growled and rubbed his eyes, which were already starting to water too. Quickly, Lucy looked towards the sign, which had changed into the first riddle.

" _You see me in water, but I never get wet. What am I?"_

She grimaced and Natsu growled again. "What the hell is in water but doesn't get wet? Some sort of wetsuit?"

There was the sound of an obnoxious buzzer, like a short alarm, and suddenly the gas started coming into the room faster.

"Crap. Every time we answer wrong, the gas comes in faster?"

"I guess so," Lucy muttered, closing her eyes as the stinging got significantly worse. It was hard to think when her eyes felt like hot peppers had been squeezed in them. Even her nose was starting to sting.

"In water…seen in water…doesn't get wet…so it can't be something…maybe…air? No…is it bubbles?"

The noise sounded again, and she flinched as the gas sound got louder. Even closing her eyes wasn't helping anymore, and she was finding it hard to breathe. It felt like the tear gas was burning the inside of her nose and even her throat and lungs.

"Shit Luce…"

"I know! I'm sorry!"

She went back to deconstructing it. There had to be a clue. There always was with riddles. "Always…see…in water…doesn't get wet…wait…you always _see_ me in water…see…that has to be the key! You see it! What can you see but doesn't get wet?"

"I don't fucking know! A reflection!?" Natsu spat, obviously just grasping at straws, but suddenly there was a ding and the hissing of the gas changed to a sucking sound.

"Wait…that was it! You did it Natsu!"

"I did?"

"Yeah! Good job!"

As the room emptied, her eyes slowly started to sting a little less and she risked squinting. She met Natsu's eyes, which were bright red, and he grinned at her. His face was a mess – nose running, eyes overflowing and bloodshot – and she suspected that she looked the same.

Wiping her face quickly, she looked back towards the sign, to see that a new riddle had replaced the first.

" _A hundred feet in the air, but its back on the ground. What is it?"_

"The heck?!" Natsu cussed, looking at it with squinted eyes as he rubbed his face too.

"I don't know." Lucy groaned, and massaged her temples.

Once again, she had to try and pick it apart.

"It's in the air and on the ground at the same time. What can do that?"

"A balloon?" Natsu supplied and the sound of gas hissing into the chamber made them both groan. It oozed out of the holes and fell to the ground where it started to collect.

"Nope. Uh…a shadow?"

The buzzer sounded again, and the gas filtered in quicker. At first Lucy had no idea what this gas did, but then her feet started to itch.

"Ah! Oh no…itching gas!"

At first it wasn't too bad, but soon her feet were unbearably itchy. It was incredibly distracting, and the way Natsu started hopping around scratching his feet was also pretty distracting. He tried flying above the gas, but his wing beats just sent the gas swirling around the room – which made everything else itch too – so he had to give up on that idea.

"Ah! In the air and on the ground too! What…gah! A hundred feet in the air and its back on the ground…in the air and on the ground…the sun?"

The negative sound honked, and she groaned as Natsu cussed vividly and scratched his feet raw. It was up to their calves now, and Lucy was hard pressed not to follow suit and jump around like a crazy person scratching herself bloody. She already had blood caked around her fingernails from where she scratched up her throat, and she was determined not to add to it.

Desperate, they both started shouting out things that could be in the air and on the ground at once. "Air! Rain! Light! Darkness!"

Each answer was followed by the honking buzzer that said they were wrong, and the room filled faster and faster. Soon their hips, their bellies, and then their chests were itching … and Lucy was crying.

"A hundred feet…in the air…on its back…"

"A hundred feet in the air? What's got a hundred feet?" Natsu asked, and Lucy spared him a weird look.

"A hundred feet? A centipede but-"

Suddenly something clicked. The riddle read, _'a hundred feet in the air, but_ _ **its**_ _back on the ground.'_

"Oh come on. You've gotta be kidding me. It can't be a centipede on its back can it?"

With that, the chime sounded for, 'correct,' and the gas was once again sucked out of the chamber. Falling down in relief, she collapsed into a fit of coughing. The gas had reached a point where even her throat and lungs were itchy. Both of them indulged in a little rolling around, scratching whatever they could reach as the gas slowly left the room.

Eventually, the itching slowly started to subside too, leaving them gasping and all scratched up.

The telltale hiss told them they weren't done yet, and they groaned in unison.

"Just how many of these stupid things are we supposed to answer?" Natsu grumbled as he pushed himself back up and inspected his bloody fingernails.

"Don't ask me…" Lucy groaned back as she stumbled to her feet and examined the sign once again.

" _What four lettered word can be written forward, backwards, and upside down, and still be read left to right?"_

"This one's all yours Luce. You're the writer."

She whined but dutifully put her head in her hands to think hard about it. Another heavy gas filtered in to sit on the floor and her feet started to sting, but she ignored it in favor of sifting through words in her mind. She started with letters. "It can't have any letters that can't be flipped upside down, so that cuts out A, F, G, J, L, M, P, Q, R, T, U, V, W, and Y. Which leaves, B, C, D, E, H, I, K, N, O, S, X, Z. Plus, it has to have the same letter in front and behind, and probably only one or two of the same letter in between."

"How about BOOB?" Natsu offered, and the hiss said he was wrong.

"Oh come on! That actually works!" Lucy protested.

"I guess they're looking for a different word though. Maybe they want the letters to actually be flipped backwards and forwards too."

Lucy racked her brain for something, as the gas levels rose in the air. The light sting from before was now mounting fast, and soon her skin felt like it was burning. It was a different sensation to the burning of the tear gas … this one felt like she was being bitten by hundreds of ants all at once. The sensation made it very difficult to concentrate once again, but she dutifully focused as much as possible on what word this riddle could want.

Finally, she desperately yelled, "NOON," and the bell chimed to say she'd guessed right and the stinging gas left the room. She gasped in relief, as did Natsu.

It wasn't over yet though, they still had to deal with a couple more rounds. The next gas hurt to inhale, and they almost died in fits of coughing as they tried to figure out the riddle. Thankfully, _"I travel all around the world but never leave the corner,"_ was quickly figured out to be a stamp, and they went to the next riddle as soon as they'd stopped hacking and choking.

" _I go in hard, I come out soft. You blow me hard. What am I?"_

Still wheezing a tad, Lucy stared at the new riddle in shock. "Seriously? It can't possibly be a…"

"Dick?" Natsu supplied with a snort. Just because he wasn't interested in sex didn't mean that he wasn't aware of the basics at least – especially with a friend like Leo and guildmates like Cana.

Lucy sent him a glare as the hissing sound of gas increased. "Come on, you knew it couldn't be that obvious."

He shrugged and then looked up to stare at the pink gas now puffing out of the holes. While Lucy was thinking about the riddle, he eyeballed the cloud of pink slowly filling their space.

After a moment where nothing seemed to happen, he asked, "What d'you suppose this gas does?"

"I don't know, it hasn't had any effect on me yet." she mumbled absentmindedly.

Then, suddenly she tensed as a sweet scent hit her nose, and heat immediately coiled through her. Given that she had just come from a mage who could use a lust spell offensively, she instantly recognized the sensation of her body being forced to respond in an inappropriate manner.

"Oh you have _**got**_ to be kidding me…" she groaned as she tried to refocus her mind on the problem.

A hiss from Natsu distracted her, and she glanced at him before realizing it might not be a good idea. Meeting his eyes in this particular situation was incredibly stupid, because not only was she being affected by the gas, but he was too – which she abruptly realized after taking a look at his face. He was flushed, his eyes were dilated, and he was panting.

None of that did anything to help her state of mind, and she found her brain fuzzier than before and even harder to control. Seeing him like that would have turned her on even without the gas – thanks to her crush on him – but with the gas she abruptly found herself losing a lot of higher thinking capabilities for a long moment as she stared at him.

Meanwhile, the gas just pissed Natsu off.

In fact, this whole situation pissed him off. As he had told Lucy before, he just wanted to get to where they were going and fight the last dumbass of this dark guild.

However, he couldn't deny that the gas affected him the way it was meant to, and he abruptly found himself having to – once again – adjust things with his tail so he wouldn't be sporting a flag pole where there shouldn't be one. It was incredibly convenient to not only wear loose pants, but also have his tail tucked around his leg inside those pants. Of course, he'd never needed to use it for this particular purpose, since he'd never been interested in sex before.

Now though, not only was the gas messing with him, but Lucy's scent and the sight of her was also making his blood heat up to an insane degree. His brain had already completely shut off, and he really hoped Lucy was in better condition than him, or else they were never gonna answer this one. And if they were in here much longer, he had no idea what would happen. This gas was doing weird things to him, and he didn't know what it might make him do.

Those new instincts had already been roused once today, and he was desperately doing his best to keep them at bay…but he was slowly losing the fight.

Lucy wasn't faring much better, and abruptly turned away from Natsu so she could try to gather her thoughts.

It took some doing, but once she was able to focus on the riddle again, she came up with a new answer. "Glass? Like, blowing glass?"

The answer was wrong, and she ended up having to sit down as the gas hissed even faster into the room. Her legs simply refused to hold her up any longer. The throbbing in her body was making it really hard to think, since it seemed like her mind had been burned up with the heat flooding her senses.

"Shit…what's the answer?"

After a long moment of silence, she jumped when Natsu rasped from somewhere behind her, "Hurry it up Luce…"

His roughened and deeper voice sent a shiver through her. "Well, help me figure it out then!"

"…don't think I'm gonna be much help, but I'll try." he growled back, and she adamantly wrestled her mind to keep herself from fantasizing about that tone of voice talking to her in a completely different setting.

"It says that you blow it. What's something that you blow?"

"…a whistle?"

They both ignored the gas as it increased its flow. She could barely see a foot in front of her now, the air was so thick with pink, and she risked a glance back at Natsu.

"No, because it's hard and changes to soft. A whistle is just hard."

"Well what is it then?!"

She couldn't see him clearly through the pink fog, but she could still see enough to note how tense he was. When he practically snarled his last sentence, his whole body jerked a little, and she could see his fists clench. One flung out to the side and hit the wall behind him with a resounding boom. She flinched at the sudden sound, but somehow couldn't take her eyes off his hand as he dug his fingers into the wall and clenched tight – almost like he was trying to anchor himself.

To be honest, it looked like he was pissed, and she wouldn't blame him if he was. The sexual tension was so thick that it was easily translating to frustration, and she could feel herself coiling tighter and tighter as well. It might not be long before she punched or kicked something to expend some of that built up energy too.

Forcing herself back around, she did her best to focus and not think about the way his muscles were currently rigid with tension, the glimpses of his burning eyes, or the sound of his ragged breathing.

The next time he spoke it was just to say her name…in a tone that was so deep and soft that she barely even heard him. There was a definite hint of warning hidden in the single word though, and it sent skitters of something shivering down her spine.

"I know! I know!" she whined back, burying her face in her palms and tangling her fingers into her hair, trying to think of the answer.

"…you blow it…what do you blow beside a whistle and glass…a bubble? But a bubble is soft, not hard…wait! You can blow a bubble with gum! It's gum!"

Finally, there was a sucking sound, and the gas started dissipating. They both gasped in relief.

Strangely, the next gas to filter in did absolutely nothing, so they were able to focus all their attention on the riddle and solve it quickly. They didn't spend any time wondering what that gas could have been, since they were already onto the next. At least it had given them both a breather to calm down.

The last gas was a sleeping gas, which was much more difficult. Lucy was the first to be affected and ended up teetering on her feet rather dramatically as she started to stagger. Natsu instantly reached out to try and steady her, but he was pretty unsteady too, and they both ended up toppling over. To stay awake, they helped each other by poking, pinching, pulling, kicking…basically anything they could manage. It took so long for their drowsy minds to come up with the answer that they had both almost completely passed out – which likely would have ended with them being captured.

However, when they eventually did solve it, the door opened for them – signaling the completion of that challenge.

"Oh…good. We're done…" Lucy droned, her voice half asleep still thanks to the sleeping gas. She still felt like she was about to pass out.

"Hey…Natsu…We did it…"

"Huh…?"

She gave him a good kick, which was pretty weak since she was only just starting to fully wake up again.

"I said we did it, Idiot. Now wake up!"

He woke fully with a snort and groaned as he slowly sat up. "Crap…my head. I feel like I've got the worst hangover ever…"

"Well we _were_ just subjected to a whole bunch of different gasses, so I'm not surprised."

They both managed to drag themselves to their feet and exited the room gratefully. Once outside, the completely clean air refreshed them, and the last dregs of the gas left their bodies.

With a sigh, they continued on.

"If we have to go through another thing like that, I'm gonna beat the ever-loving shit out of whoever's at the end of this path. I'll burn 'em to a pile of ash…" The anger in his voice made his threat sound real, and Lucy flinched back from him.

"Um, we already beat at least three of the bosses…"

"Yeah, but this last guy is _really_ gonna get it. Cause I am sick and tired of-" he cut off as they got to the next area and saw what looked like yet another torturous trial. Lucy could swear that she actually heard his teeth grind together.

"Come on Natsu, let's just get through this mess, and then we'll worry about beating up the last enemy together okay? I bet I can get through the next challenge faster than you!"

He instantly cheered up. "Oh yeah? What do you wanna bet? Cause I know I can beat it faster!"

"I did most of the work in that last room, don't forget…" she taunted, trying to get him fired up. Seeing him so frustrated hurt when she was so used to his cheerful smile.

He scoffed. "No you didn't!"

There was no heat to his words, and she knew he didn't believe them. He was just playing along with the game they were constructing.

She laughed along…up until she went over to the sign and read it. Then her laugh cut off pretty fast and was replaced with a gasp and a bright flush.

Sensing her change in mood, he came over and worriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

Before answering, she glanced around and took note of the set-up. They were in an area that was cut off from the hall by a glass wall, but she could clearly see through it and noticed how there were cameras lining the walls at key areas where it looked like there were obstacles to pass through. She shuddered, now knowing what this challenge was going to entail.

"Oi! What's wrong Luce?!"

"This is going to suck."

"Huh? Why? What do we have to do?"

She just pointed at the sign, and he glanced over it.

His eyebrows shot up. "We have to strip?"

She nodded.

"Okay…so what?"

She glared at him. "Not all of us are dragons who don't care about clothes okay? And it wouldn't be that bad if it was just you and me! But did you happen to notice the cameras?"

"Oh right…you get embarrassed by that kind of stuff…" he mused, as his eyes followed to where she was now pointing out to the hall. When he noted the cameras she was gesturing at, he added, "Wow…. This IS gonna suck for you."

"And _**you**_ don't mind them taking a video of you naked?" she asked incredulously.

"I don't care who sees me naked."

"And do you care about going through an obstacle course naked? Because that's what it looks like we'll be doing."

"That could be a pain, yeah. Depending on what we have to do. But we still have a bet on who finishes first, remember, so don't chicken out on me now."

Heaving a sigh, she decided to try and be positive like him. "Fine. But don't look at me while we do this, alright? Otherwise I'm gonna say you forfeited!"

He just rolled his eyes. "I'll try. But if you fall off a cliff or something, I'm gonna have to look at you to save your butt."

"Alright. But only then!"

"Fine."

They turned their backs to each other and undressed. When she was down to her skivvies, she asked, "Hey, are you done over there?"

"That's my line. You can actually look to see if I'm done, you know. Like I said, I don't care."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna take that to mean that you are done."

"Yeah."

"Alright, then…uh…how should we go about this?"

He heaved a sigh, and she heard him walk away. "Oi! Natsu? Natsu?!"

"Come on already, we don't have all day! And I'm gonna be first!"

She had no choice but to turn around. When she did, her eyes widened as she got a full-on back view of him. It wasn't like his great body was a big shocker or anything, he walked around with an open vest after all, showing off his chest and abs. But she hadn't quite expected his lower body to be equally impressive, with muscular legs and a fantastic ass. At that thought, she finally managed to avert her gaze and chastised herself for being a pervert. This was neither the time nor place to be admiring her partner – fine specimen though he might be.

As she walked forwards with him, she couldn't quite resist sneaking another look at his tail though, because it was downright fascinating. She'd never seen a tail on a person before, and it caught her attention. The way his skin turned to red scales and how it melted into the base of his spine was amazing. It was thicker at the base than she had expected …. but then again it was a lizard tail, not a cat or dog tail.

And then her attention was distracted as he ran into a barrier that wouldn't let him pass. She very nearly ran into his back, but stopped herself just shy of it and threw herself back – nearly falling over backwards with the strength she used.

"What the fuck?!" he cussed, distracting her from what had just happened, and she immediately saw the problem.

"Um…your scarf…"

He paused and then cussed some more. "I guess I have to take it off too…well that really sucks."

He carefully folded it and put it on top of his carelessly discarded clothes in the corner, and then looked at it sternly as if to say, ' _don't go anywhere_!'

"Can I ask what's so special about that scarf? You always wear it…and it's obviously important to you."

He paused, and then softly said, "It was a gift from my dad. He made it out of some scales he'd shed."

At first, Lucy was a tiny bit grossed out by the thought of using someone's skin to make a scarf, but she reined that response back in. Shedding scales wasn't nearly as gross as peeling off dry skin, she reminded herself. Her thought process on it screeched to a halt though when Natsu added one last very important piece of information.

"He died soon after that. In battle."

Suddenly it made complete sense, and she abruptly had utmost respect for him always wearing that scarf. It was way more important than she'd ever imagined.

"Oh…I'm so sorry."

He shrugged and there was a long uncomfortable silence. Then he seemed to shake it off, and she could practically see the gears in his head switch to a different track. "Alright! Well let's get going! Come on Luce! I'm all fired up! And I'm still gonna be first!"

She respected his decision to change the conversation and pushed her emotions on the matter down to be sorted through at a later date. "All right!

With that, they passed through the barrier that had prevented Natsu's scarf from entering. As soon as they entered the hallway, a horrid stench smacked them both across the face and poor Natsu retched. If it was this bad for Lucy, it must be a thousand times worse for him, and she couldn't even imagine how horrendous that was.

"You okay?"

He gagged but gave her a weak thumbs-up.

They started down the very long extremely well-lit white hallway, but soon Lucy called them to a halt. "Wait up…see those holes in the walls and all that gunk on the ground? What do you wanna bet they're gonna spit stuff at us?"

Natsu scoffed. "Oh yeah, and it ain't gonna be pretty. I can smell it from here."

She cringed and peered more closely at the mess of brown, green, and white smeared all over the floor, and she could vaguely make out footprints and streaks where it looked like someone slipped. "What do you suppose it is?"

"Dunno, but it's definitely rotten."

"Oh great…"

Without looking behind him, he reached his hand back and held it out for her. "Come on, let's just run for it!"

She gingerly grabbed his offered palm and then took a deep breath. With a jerk, he started charging and yanked her along behind him.

As they ran, sure enough the hall suddenly became a splash zone. Lucy very quickly figured out that the projectiles were rotten moldy fruits and vegetables that had mostly decomposed to mush. The stench was unbearable, and she guarded her face from it with her free hand. As the wet gooey produce hit her body, she cringed and nearly threw up. If Natsu hadn't been dragging her along with him, she might have keeled over from the smell and gross factor, but he wasn't going to let her do that.

Soon enough they had made it past that zone, and before they entered the next section of the hallway, Lucy yanked Natsu to a halt so she could catch her breath and try to figure out the next area.

"I bet I got hit less!" Natsu gloated, still trying to make this entertaining rather than horrifying.

Lucy was willing to play along. "I got…" she glanced over her body and counted, and then tried to count what was on her back just based on feel. "About twenty. You?"

"Eighteen! So I won that one!"

"Okay, I'll give it to you, but you definitely cheated. I saw you deflect some with your tail."

"Well they may have hit you too if I hadn't, so it's not really cheating."

She scoffed, and then grimaced as he suddenly lit himself on fire and all the rotten produce burned to a crisp and fell of him. The smell of burning mold was horrible for a moment, and then it got a little better. Mostly though, she was just jealous of his ability to dispose of it so easily.

"That's not really fair Natsu…" she whined a little, unable to help herself.

"You want me to burn it off you too?"

"No! You'll burn me to a crisp with the fruits and veggies!"

"No I won't."

"Yes you will!"

"You wanna bet?"

"No! Now let's just drop it and get going!" She was absolutely positive that he would fry her if he tried to burn the produce off her skin. Natsu was built for destruction, and the last thing she wanted was to end up like one of the many buildings he had accidentally burned to the ground on a mission.

He shrugged, and then she glanced past him to see what they had to deal with next. It was a pool that they were going to have to wade through, and she could tell from here exactly what it was.

"That's sewage isn't it?"

Natsu stiffened and must have looked at the pool. Then he nodded. "Yeah. Definitely."

"Shit."

"Well yeah. That too."

"No I mean…oh never mind."

"Luce…" The amused note in his voice said he was laughing at her, and she realized he'd been joking.

She scoffed and then sighed. "Okay…so how do we want to do this?"

Wordlessly he answered by popping out his wings, nearly smacking her in the process. "You've got a choice. Back or front?"

"Back or front?" she repeated, not quite sure what he meant by that.

"I mean, I can carry you, or you can ride piggy back style. It's up to you."

Both had pros and cons.

If she had him carry her, he would only be touching her back and under her knees – as long as neither of them accidentally slipped or fumbled and touched something they shouldn't. On the downside, he would get a pretty good look at her. Although… she could cover her breasts with her arms – not that she could shield them entirely. There would be some under-boob, side-boob, and cleavage, but at least she could cover the important middle parts. It probably wouldn't be any more exposing than a swimsuit, if she was very careful about it. But she wouldn't be able to cover her pubic hair. At least it was well groomed, since she'd just gotten a martini glass bikini wax, which was the way she liked to keep things down there. It looked nice, but there was even a con to that, because it didn't do anything to cover her private bits. So that was embarrassing. Still, if he just averted his eyes while picking her up, she could probably get away with it without exposing too much.

On the other hand, he wouldn't see her at all if she rode piggy back. But he _**would**_ be touching her in some key places – namely her breasts would be pressed into his back. Actually, the entirety of her front would be pressed up against him. She didn't even know how her crotch would land, or if it would come into contact with him inappropriately. Plus, she would get a really good feel of him as well.

"Well?" he prompted, and she snapped back, "I'm thinking! Give me a minute!"

Eventually she determined that the first option was better. "Is it possible for you to not look as you pick me up?"

He sighed. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Okay. Close your eyes."

He grumbled and snorted in an exasperatedly amused sort of way, but she assumed he did what she asked. When she walked around him, sure enough, his eyes were closed. What she hadn't counted on though, was the fact that she could see his front now, and instantly averted her own gaze so she wouldn't get a good look at his private parts. She'd caught a glimpse, and just that was enough to make her mind go straight to the gutter and her cheeks light up like a Christmas tree. She wasn't sure if she really needed to know that when it came to him, the carpet did indeed match the drapes.

"Alright, uh…can I just guide your hands to me and you keep your eyes closed?"

He started grumbling again, so softly that she couldn't hear, but held out his hands for her. It was kind of amazing he had put up with this for so long…given his famously short patience. By this point she would have completely expected him to just lose it and grab her. She certainly wasn't going to complain though, it was a nice surprise.

"Um…cool…" She awkwardly stepped closer to him and turned sideways. Reaching behind her, she grabbed his left hand and placed it on her back.

Getting his other hand down to her knees was the tough part though. Tugging on his wrist, she got him to lean over, but that put his head dangerously close to her breasts, and she instantly flinched away. After fussing with him for a while, he finally gave an exasperated sigh and knelt, leaving his left hand up high on her back, but it still slid down quite a bit.

"Oh. That works." She bent over, grabbed his right hand, and placed it on her knee.

He patted her knee, then patted around to find the backs of them both and mapped out where they were. He was gentle, but not so much that it tickled, and the slightly firm pats helped her to not feel like it was a weird touch.

"Okay, squat down a little so I can reach your shoulders." he asked, and she did so, tucking her arms tight around her breasts and squeezing her legs tight.

He patted up her back with his other hand and found the shoulder closest to him, then her far shoulder.

"Alright, here we go! Hup!" With a grunt, he stood in one fluid motion and took her with him.

She squeaked as he whisked her off her feet. There was a little fumbling and he nearly dropped her at one point, but finally he was holding her securely to his chest bridal style. Her arms covered her breasts, and the upwards angle of her thighs meant that they covered all the important bits from view. She resolutely refused to think about what the cameras might be seeing though.

"Can I look now?" he asked, sounding somewhat amused but also a little sick and tired of this.

"Yeah, and thanks for being so patient with me."

He heaved a relieved sigh and popped open his eyes. She flinched a little as he sent her an amused, slightly put-upon glare, and then tensed up when his eyes widened and stared a little longer than was necessary.

"Um…can you not…stare?" she asked, cringing a little. It wasn't like she was shy by any means. If she was in a bikini she wouldn't mind him staring as much as he wanted. But this whole situation was so unnerving … and being naked just made it all so much worse. The new feelings she had for him didn't help the situation any either – since having a crush on him naturally meant that she was more easily flustered by this sort of thing.

"Oh, sorry." He jerked his eyes up to stare straight ahead. Without further ado, he lifted off and flew them through the air over the pool of sewage.

Not being able to wrap her arms around his neck like she normally would, she just had to trust him to not drop her – which was pretty easy to do considering this was Natsu and she trusted him with her life several times over. Still, it made her just a little uneasy. Being carried over a puddle of sewage didn't make her feel any better about it either.

Once over, Natsu set down on the other side. He put her back down on her feet, and she quickly took a few steps back behind him again. Lucy didn't feel any sense of relief though as she stared at the next stretch of floor. Strewn across the ground was mass amounts of blood – and even worse, chunks of guts. She could clearly make out the shape of intestines and other organs mixed into the slop, and looking at it made her spin around and finally throw up.

Still partially kneeling, she croaked, "Where did it all come from?"

"No idea."

Groaning, she turned back around, and just tried her best to not look at the floor.

"Here, this'll make it easier for you to stomach."

Natsu inhaled, choked a little, and then roared, letting his flames turn all the offal to ashes. Lucy watched and felt her belly unclench.

"…thank you…" she whispered, trying not to cry with relief.

"No problem!" he responded cheerfully, and reached back to grab her hand again. "Now let's get outta here!"

She sniffed and grabbed his hand, letting him pull her along behind him as he charged forwards. Almost instantly, the ceiling opened up and blood and guts started raining down on them – answering her previous question about where it had come from.

She screamed, and Natsu yanked her closer, extending one wing over her like an umbrella as he just charged on through it. The slippery feel under her feet made her want to pass out, and she nearly lost her footing more than once on a chunk of something unspeakable, and each time made her retch painfully.

"Come on Luce! Almost there!"

With Natsu cheering her on, she made it through the horror show. But on the other side she collapsed to her knees and indulged in some more throwing up. That had been a scene from a nightmare, and she felt utterly traumatized.

"Just one more bit to go, and then we can leave this hall behind!"

"Right…" she croaked, and slowly stood, doing her best to ignore the smears of blood on her skin.

The floor in front of them looked reflective and wet, but the liquid appeared clear, as if there was just a thin layer of water there. It was with hope that she followed Natsu into it … up until jets of water shot out from both sides of the hall at such a high velocity that it felt like it was peeling off her skin.

A voice sounded loudly, _"Dirty boys and girls need to be scrubbed clean…and punished."_

It was obviously meant to rile them up and increase the humiliation of the whole thing, but it mainly just pissed her off. "Then you'd better get down here and submit to this bath, because you're a sick, twisted human being for making something like this!" she yelled back.

Even though it hurt, it was still a relief to have the rotten fruit and blood scourged from her person. That only lasted a short while though, because the sheer frigidity and pressure of the water just hurt too badly for her to feel any sort of relief. Natsu reached back, snagged her hand, and took off running – dragging her behind him once again.

They skidded to a halt on the other side.

"This better be the last door…" Lucy grumbled as she squeezed freezing cold water out of her hair.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek:**

 _As soon as her eyes locked onto the other mage, Lucy knew without a doubt that she was the celestial mage Lucy had been looking for. The tall brunette oozed celestial magic like a lighthouse, and Lucy could feel her own power rising up within her to compete._

 _"I'll fight this one…" Lucy growled, already taking another step forward._

 _"We will fight with you." Erza said, but Lucy shook her head and turned to lock eyes with the redhead._

 _"This is really personal Erza. I'd like to take her on myself…I made a promise to some celestial spirits I met on the way here, and I intend to keep it. If I fail…then I'll pass my promise on to you to uphold. I told them I would release them from their contracts, so beat her to a bloody pulp and take her keys. She doesn't deserve them."_

 _There was a long poignant silence, and Erza's eyes widened for a brief moment. Lucy held the eye contact, and after a moment, resolve and understanding made Erza's gaze grow significantly more intense. It seemed she understood, and solemnly nodded._

 _"I understand. We will remain here. And I promise to do what you asked if the time comes."_


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:**

Hello! I'm BAAAAAAACK! Wohoo! And now, here's the chapter I promised.

Again, sorry for missing Wednesday...I hope this chapter makes up for it. ;D

And as always, of course you guys was absolutely amazing and left some WONDERFUL reviews! Big hugs and thanks to all my repeat reviewers: Elphaba818, WisdomDragon27, 19vanelkc, TheJSmooth, Shadowslayer15, thechani, Lady La-sara, valerioux, Donthedarkdragon26, ravenqueen162, FairyTailBookworm, MiseryWolf97, TheOGFTfanatic, moeruhoshi, FantasyDreamer06, Wolves silver wind, Leomae2.0, Kowareta1468, and Larissa! And equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Rikudo Igneel, Daisy73, The Rain Will Fade, ThatOneAnimeGirl08, and fox0920!

Anyways, I know you're all eager to see what happens next, so I'll stop talking and get to the good stuff. Be sure to stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter! :D

* * *

When they burst through the last door, it was to the sight of Erza helping up a really disoriented looking Jellal. Both of them were amazingly beat up for such strong fighters – which told Lucy that they were probably about to go up against the guild master.

Erza looked like she had literally been put through a garbage disposal, her clothes were torn to absolute threads and she was covered in bloody scratches. She also looked very well bruised and some of her deepest wounds looked like ugly bites. Jellal bore the same marks to a lesser degree.

"You guys still alive over there?" Natsu called.

They got a tense nod from Erza, though most of her attention was focused on Jellal.

He looked like he was just coming off some sort of drug or had received a cranial injury, because he was holding his head and groaned, "What happened?"

Erza confirmed Lucy's first theory when she murmured, "You were drugged. Remember drinking the potion?"

"Oh…right. Yes…"

Neither of them looked like they were in any condition to fight, so Lucy stepped forwards, looking to the center of the room and finding their opponent standing there completely unscathed. Before she could go too far though, Erza tossed her something, and Lucy caught it out of surprise.

"Put this on."

Lucy glanced down to see a simple black halter dress in her hands and easily slipped it over her head. By this point she flushed hot to realize that she was still naked – not that she had exactly forgotten. But it _had_ temporarily slipped her mind at seeing her comrades so beaten up.

As she was dressing, Erza called out, "Unfortunately, I don't have anything for you Natsu. I don't think any of my clothes would fit you."

Lucy could practically hear him shrug.

"I don't care."

"Well that's wonderful, but this mage has a very thorny spirit that might tear up some delicate parts of your body. So guard yourself well." Erza cautioned dryly, and Lucy glanced over her shoulder to catch Natsu's wince.

Some heat leaked from him, and her eyes widened when red scales suddenly rippled over his thighs, hips, butt, and groin, making him a pair of red trousers. When she risked a glance at his crotch, she saw with some relief that all his male anatomy was apparently neatly tucked away like a reptile's. Of course his fantastic ass was still on display, but she was quite a bit more comfortable nevertheless.

"Hey! Why didn't you do that in the last room?"

"It didn't occur to me."

She just rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Would've been easier on me…"

Turning away from him in slight aggravation, she looked once more towards their enemy.

As soon as her eyes locked onto the other mage, Lucy knew without a doubt that she was the celestial mage Lucy had been looking for. The tall brunette oozed celestial magic like a lighthouse, and Lucy could feel her own power rising up within her to compete.

"I'll fight this one…" Lucy growled, already taking another step forward.

"We will fight with you." Erza said, but Lucy shook her head and turned to lock eyes with the redhead.

"This is really personal Erza. I'd like to take her on myself…I made a promise to some celestial spirits I met on the way here, and I intend to keep it. If I fail…then I'll pass my promise on to you to uphold. I told them I would release them from their contracts, so beat her to a bloody pulp and take her keys. She doesn't deserve them."

There was a long poignant silence, and Erza's eyes widened for a brief moment. Lucy held the eye contact, and after a moment, resolve and understanding made Erza's gaze grow significantly more intense. It seemed she understood, and solemnly nodded.

"I understand. We will remain here. And I promise to do what you asked if the time comes."

"Thank you." She spared her red-headed friend a heartfelt smile and then turned back to her opponent.

The other mage's eyes had already landed on her, and the brunette had been watching her as she talked to Erza. A broad grin split her lips. "…so, you're the other celestial mage that's been giving me so much trouble…"

"Yeah…and you're the one who doesn't know how to treat her spirits." Lucy spat back, stepping forwards into the room.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd been this angry. Even her recollection of Angel paled in comparison. The memory of those wolves screaming as she left them behind was still sharp in her mind, and it was enough to make her blood boil in her veins. This woman had done that, tortured those spirits to the point that they had become rabid. She couldn't even imagine how much pain and exhaustion had to be endured before that point. How long had they been in there? Months? Years?

Not to mention the spirits that had been chained in the other chamber. She didn't know if they were permanently kept there, but whatever the case it was still wrong to chain and cage them like that. They had been treated as gladiators … barbarically expected to either take out their opponent or get beaten to a bloody pulp … or possibly even killed. With those chains on them, it was entirely possible that they might die, since they couldn't return to the celestial realm until the chains were removed. If they got hurt badly enough and couldn't go home to heal, even a celestial spirit would die.

…. And then, when Lucy's eyes landed on a ring of gold at this other woman's hip, she saw red. Those were her keys. HER keys.

"Those don't belong to you."

The woman glanced down and smirked, looping a finger through them. "Yes…I do believe these were pried from your bloody hands. I can't tell you how hard it was to get the blood stains off this cute little pouch of yours."

She heard Erza make some sort of noise behind her but ignored the distress of her friend for the time being. Every ounce of attention she possessed belonged to this woman now.

She could feel her powers rising up alongside her charged emotions, and light began to radiate from her skin. There had been enough time since her fight with Pierre for some of her depleted magic to recover, but she was still dangerously low. This fight was going to be exceptionally difficult – potentially deadly – but she wasn't going to back down or hold back. She was getting her keys back and keeping her promise to free those spirits…no matter what.

The other mage's power responded to Lucy's, making her glow a little as well. The smirk on the other woman's face grew as she looked Lucy up and down.

"Oh…so you want to fight do you? Very well."

Pulling one of Lucy's golden keys out, she summoned Leo, and Lucy ground her teeth together in absolute fury. Drawing her whip, she stalked closer, ready to pulverize the bitch.

Poor Leo looked absolutely shocked and horrified that he had been summoned by someone else. "Lucy? What's going on here?"

"I'm so sorry…." Her attention was dragged to him, and she abruptly felt like crying. All the anger that had been propelling her forward leaked away to be replaced with deep regret and pain at failing her spirits so thoroughly. A few tears sneaked out without her permission.

"The other mage captured me and took my keys. I tried everything I could to keep them! I promise! But it…I just…it wasn't enough. I'm still too weak…"

She paused to wipe her eyes and gritted her teeth as the other woman laughed at her, making her feel even more pathetic. Sucking in a deep breath and nearly choking on herself, she cried, "I'll get them back! I'll get all your keys back! I promise!"

Her voice cracked painfully in her raw throat and she winced, her eyes watering with pain.

Leo's eyes were wide and sad, and she saw them dart over her body, lingering on her blood-smeared raw fingers and her bloody and bruised neck. A blood vein started visibly pounding in his forehead, and his teeth ground together almost audibly. Every line in his body tensed, and she could feel rage pulsing from him in waves.

For a brief second, she thought he was mad that she had lost his key, but that idea flew out of her mind as he croaked, "No…don't cry Lucy. It's not your fault. I was the one who failed to protect you…"

The other mage sneered and looked confused. "What are you two blabbing about?!" Her head swung to send Leo a glare, and she ordered, "Shut up would you?! Just attack already. You're my spirit now, not hers. So obey your master!"

He turned burning eyes on her and lifted his lip in a snarl. "We haven't made a contract Miss Whoever-You-Are. So I'm _**not**_ yours yet."

She glared right back and waved his key under his nose. "You belong to me! And a celestial spirit cannot deny the holder of their key a contract. So name your terms and get on with it!"

"Alright. Here are my terms. I will do whatever you want, come whenever you call, and my only term is that I will not fight or harm Lucy in any manner whatsoever. Accept or Decline at your leisure."

Lucy almost laughed at the expression of absolute rage on the other mage's face. It was completely within Leo's right to name terms such as the ones he just did, and there was nothing the other woman could do about it. It also showed his absolute faith in Lucy – that he felt safe in making a contract like that…it meant he fully expected her to get his key back.

Gnashing her teeth, the other mage spat, "Fine!" and closed his gate with a flourish.

Turning to Lucy, she growled, "Your spirits are just as annoying as you. Spurning his new master just out of spite. Ha! I'll teach him manners soon enough. Maybe I'll make him break his own fingers or gouge out his eyes…. It'll all heal quickly enough, but he'll feel the pain just as much, and I can make him do it as many times as I want."

Blistering rage pulsed through Lucy, and she snapped her whip with hands that shook from fury. The other woman's eyes widened as the tip popped an inch from her face. Apparently she hadn't noticed Lucy draw her whip earlier, or else hadn't expected her to actually use it, because she stumbled back with shock and gasped.

"Wh-what the hell?! You're a celestial mage like me! Why in the world would you have a whip?!"

The comment sharply reminded her of Angel, and the memory did nothing to make her mood more pleasant. How many celestial mages were out there who made their spirits do all their dirty work? It only made Lucy even more furious.

Practically spitting with rage, she hissed, "Because I fight along with my spirits! I don't just leave the grunt work to them! Now hand back over my keys, or I'll have to show you just what I can do with this thing!"

Grinding her teeth, the other woman reached for another key, and Lucy's stomach bottomed out as she saw the telltale red color of it.

"Open! Gate of the Dragon!"

Lucy felt a burst of heat from behind her and spun to see flames licking at Natsu.

He just grinned and said, "My gate's already wide-open, Dumbass."

"You're the spirit attached to this key?! Why are you still out after Lucy lost it?!"

"I never closed it, and until someone else summons me, I'm still hers. She's the last one to open my gate, since ya can't open something that's already open. Besides that, I'm a contestant in this stupid little game of yours, and it's been preventing me from going back."

The first part of that explanation didn't even make complete sense to Lucy, but she was willing to go along with it if it kept Natsu at her side. However, when she turned to look at the other woman, she could already see the gears working in her head, and watched with some dread as her confused expression switched to smug.

"Fine then!" she hissed, and pulled up a huge complex-looking magic circle in front of her. She fiddled with it for a brief moment and then dispersed it. "There! That just nullified you as a contestant. Now! Close! Gate of the Dragon!"

As if on a pivot, Lucy's head swiveled back to look at Natsu. His eyes narrowed and he grunted, heat leaking from his body in massive amounts. Flames licked across his skin and he growled, crouching under some unseen force, and every muscle in his exposed body went into high relief as he tensed. Lucy then looked back at the opposing mage and saw how she was sweating and struggling, her power glowing white-hot around her body as she tried to close his gate. They were in direct competition, power against power. Lucy knew from personal experience how impossible it was to close his gate if he didn't want to go, and – judging by his fierce grin – he wasn't feeling too much of a threat.

"Why are you fighting so hard to stay by her side?! I have your key! I am your rightful master!"

"No fucking way. I belong to nobody but Lucy Heartfilia!" he yelled right back, shocking Lucy out of her wits. She hadn't even thought he knew her full name.

There was a burst of flames from him and then an answering blast from his key, which knocked it clear out of the enemy's hand to sail smoking through the air. Meanwhile, she cried out and grabbed her hand, looking like she was in some serious pain.

She recovered from the burn before Lucy could take advantage of her distraction, and she grabbed another key which summoned forth a huge bush with lots of vines. It was just a silver key spirit – but it looked pretty nasty all the same. A massive rose blossomed under her feet while thorny vines sprouted all along the ground around her. One vine snapped towards Natsu's key and returned it to her open palm.

"I see that I'm going to have to beat the two of you down a little before you submit…." she heaved, her breath coming hard and fast.

This other woman was probably the strongest celestial mage Lucy had ever gone up against, but even so, she was starting to get tired. She had already fought Erza and Jellal after all, so there was no way she wasn't already worn down.

The vines from the plant lashed out and hit the ground, tearing it up, and then kept coming, reaching for Lucy. She tensed and took a defensive position, armed with her whip and readying for impact. Instead of being lashed from the front though, she was knocked over from something behind her. Gasping, she fell to her hands and knees… and when she tried to sit up, it was only to be pushed down once again. She craned her neck to see over her shoulder, and saw Natsu crouching above her, his wings spread like an umbrella to ward off the vines.

After the first few hits – which were hard enough to rock him into Lucy – fire erupted from his skin, and the vines began to burn and fall away almost before they even touched him. Of course Lucy wasn't overly enthused about being stuck under him while he lit up like a bonfire, but at least he kept it mostly to his back, so she wasn't _**too**_ worried about being lit up. Still, she huddled close to the ground just in case.

The vine attack didn't last long, probably because the enemy realized that she wasn't accomplishing anything. When they stopped coming, Lucy peeked out from under Natsu's wing to see that the rose bush thing had vanished. Slipping out from under Natsu, she stood back up – with him following her lead and getting to his feet behind her.

Apparently their opponent was really incensed by the fact that Natsu wouldn't follow her commands and was fighting against her, because she tried to close his gate yet again – instead of summoning a different spirit, which was definitely the smarter move. Lucy knew from personal experience that it was easy to completely drain all your magic power trying to close his gate, and she was thoroughly unsurprised when the same thing from before happened … a load of growling and heat and nothing else.

Magic power flooded the space between the mage and the dragon as she tried to master him.

Electricity seemed to set the very air ablaze, raising Lucy's hair on-end, and a powerful wind picked up, almost knocking her off her feet. Holding up her arm to guard against some of the wind, she leaned into it and started slowly walking forward towards the enemy – even with flames licking her back and the painfully tingly feeling of celestial magic popping across her front. As Lucy got closer to the other mage, she had to squint as the bright light coming from her made it almost impossible to see.

Still, she continued pressing forwards – fighting the powerful magic trying to toss her flat on her back, and probably across the room – until she was right in front of her opponent.

Rearing back, she did her best to gage where the enemy was, and then let loose a stiff right hook, managing to plant it right in the other mage's face. All the magic shut off like a light switch had been flipped as she staggered back from the blow, a hand over her bloody nose and a shocked expression plastered across her face.

Clenching her fist, Lucy took a stance and snarled, "Give me back my keys!"

She followed up the demand by cracking her whip across the other woman's body. Her opponent cried out, "Open! Gate of the Black Turtle! Genbu!," as she fell back, guarding her face with a raised arm.

Lucy was already rearing up a leg to slam into her in what should have been an impressive Lucy Kick, but her foot never connected. Or rather, it connected with something other than the woman she had been aiming for. Instead, it slammed painfully into a clear green barrier that suddenly popped into being. Hexagonal lines of light sparked across the magical barrier from the spot she had kicked, but it did nothing else – aside from practically breaking her foot.

She fell back with a curse.

The other mage had summoned a mythic spirit this time…and Lucy immediately knew he was going to be a pain in the ass.

She quickly sized him up – taking in his tall muscular stature, wet green hair, sharp shark-like teeth, and the two tattooed lines streaking back from the corner of his right eye. He wore black pants and nothing else, and his soapy skin suggested that he'd possibly been in the middle of a shower when he was summoned. When he turned to look at his master, Lucy noted a large black tattoo of a stylized turtle shell stamped across his entire back.

"You know I don't like to be summoned Aster…" he droned, turning unimpressed droopy eyes and sharp teeth on his mage – whose name was apparently Aster. He looked shockingly cranky, and certainly didn't sound overly happy when he addressed her.

She scoffed at him and didn't even respond. Instead, she turned gloating eyes back on Lucy. "Genbu the Black Warrior possesses an unbreakable shield…. There's no way you can touch me now. Which means I'm free to cut you down at my leisure!"

When his mage ignored him, the spirit sighed and turned his back on her as he rolled his eyes. "And you know I don't like that stupid name…. Bitch…what a pain in the ass."

Though his appearance was intimidating at first, his overall posture and expression now were…not. If anything, he looked bored out of his mind and even picked his teeth with a sharp nail as he proceeded to ignore absolutely everything and everyone on the field of battle.

Lucy didn't have time to pay too much attention to him though, because the rose bush was once again making an appearance, and she had to dive for cover. It caught her around the ankle and started to drag her back, but Natsu made a mad dash and threw himself at her, grabbing her outstretched hands. He dug his heels in and started playing tug of war with Lucy as the rope … which wasn't fun for her in the least. That thorny vine was tearing up her ankle, and she felt like she was about to be ripped in two by the powerful spirits.

Natsu spat a ball of fire at the bush, and though the flames dispersed when they hit Genbu's shield, they still fried the vines that had caught Lucy, and she dropped to the ground face first.

The fire must have caught Genbu's attention, because he suddenly participated in the battle with a comment. "Oh…you must be Dragneel the fire dragon. I'd heard you finally found yourself a mage."

"That's right bastard! And I'm gonna be the one to break that ' _impenetrable shield'_ of yours!"

There was a long pause, and Lucy risked a look back over her shoulder at Genbu … only to stare in shock as the uninterested spirit abruptly yawned. It wasn't even a pretend yawn, the gesture seemed like an actual, really _real_ yawn – complete with watery eyes and everything. He seemed to have stopped listening too and had started digging in his ear with a claw, searching for wax or something.

When she glanced back at Natsu, he had a blood vessel pounding in his forehead as he glared at the other spirit. It came has no surprise when he launched himself at the green barrier, making it light up like a neon sign. The harder he hit, the brighter the lines that crawled across Genbu's shield, and soon the pattern started to remind her of the hexagons on a turtle's shell. Which made perfect sense.

But no matter how fiercely Natsu attacked it, the shield remained unfazed. Even when Natsu transformed partially, he couldn't scratch it. In fact, he only seemed to succeed in hurting himself against the infuriating green barrier.

"Natsu! Stop!"

He reluctantly pulled his punches a little, knuckles bleeding freely and his breath coming hard and fast as he continued to glare and snarl at the unconcerned spirit.

"If you're done…shall we continued?" Aster asked, sounding snarky and amused at the failed attempt to break her spirit's barrier.

Reaching for another key, she summoned her pack of wolves, and in a blinding flash of light and a flood of mist, the whole wolf pack from before appeared out of nowhere. The alpha stepped forwards of course, and golden eyes instantly latched onto Lucy and thoroughly looked her over, scanning the injuries speckling her body. The white celestial wolf seemed amazed and shocked … but also disappointed and concerned.

Coming face to face with the spirit that Lucy had promised she would free, she felt her stomach clench with guilt for not having completed her promise yet.

"I'm glad you made it this far," was all the wolf said, but it was obvious she was worried that Lucy wasn't going to succeed.

"I still intend to keep my promise. And even if I die trying, my friend has also promised to get your key back." Lucy assured her and gestured back towards Erza – who also nodded solemnly.

The wolf's eyes widened and sharpened, glistening with something that looked like amazement, respect, and possibly wonder. Before she could say anything though, her idiot mage interrupted them.

"What are you doing, you dumb animal?! I didn't summon you to talk to them! Kill them!"

The entire pack had already surrounded Natsu and Lucy, while the alpha hadn't moved from her position standing directly in front of them. For a long moment the white wolf just stared into her eyes, gold into brown… and so, Lucy clearly saw when she made her decision. The sharpness of her eyes solidified into clear conviction, hope, and belief.

"No. We will not fight."

Her pack all pricked their ears and looked between Lucy and their alpha in shock. They obviously hadn't expected her to say that, but dutifully backed off.

"WHAT?! You dare to disobey me yet again?! Haven't you learned your lesson by now?!" the other mage shrieked, sounding absolutely incensed. She made them all disappear with a sharp gesture of their key.

The wolves and their mage weren't the only surprised ones either. Natsu whistled low behind Lucy, and even bored Genbu took notice. His droopy eyes widened, and he glanced at her, blinking a little in surprise.

"Fine! How about this?! Open! Gate of the Spider! Arachne!"

A strange half-woman/half-spider emerged, cringing a little as she did. She looked pretty beat up, which meant that whoever had defeated her must have done a really thorough job since she hadn't healed all that much in her realm.

She turned eight red eyes on the mage and silkily said, "I doubt you want my assistance in my current…. _state…"_ She shot Natsu a foul look – which answered the question of who beat her up – then turned back to her mage. "I don't think I'll be much use to you."

"I'm not in the mood Arachne. Either attack those two or suffer later."

A scowl ruined the careful image of servitude on the spirit's face. "Let me rephrase then…. If you try to make me do something I don't want to, then I'll have to break our contract, and you wouldn't want that…now would you? What was the price again for breaking our agreement?"

Aster paled a little and wordlessly sent the spider woman back.

Lucy didn't really understand what just happened, but it was definitely clear that this woman's spirits didn't like her across the board, and she just couldn't resist taunting her a little.

"It seems you're having some trouble with your spirits…. Maybe if you treated them a little better, they would be more loyal to you."

"You've got a talent for making spirits turn against their mages, Luce." Natsu laughingly added, and Lucy turned to scowl at him.

"Hey! That sounds mean! You know I don't do that!"

"Yeah you do. It's only natural for them to wanna be with a caring mage like you, when they've got a crappy mage like that."

"True." She had to agree, and then turned back to the crappy mage in question. "Now listen here! I'm going to free your spirits and then give them the choice to stay with you or leave! How many do you think will stay?"

"Probably none…she sucks…" Genbu answered for his mage, once again looking bored.

Aster gasped and looked positively offended. Lucy, meanwhile, choked on a shocked laugh that escaped her.

"LUCY HEARTFILIA! I will CRUSH you!" the other mage bellowed, looking downright livid.

Suddenly, Genbu jerked a little and weirdly blushed.

"Wait…you're Lucy Heartfilia?!" he sputtered, suddenly paying much closer attention.

"Uh…yeah?"

"Oh…well…in that case…you know…I'm, uh…just gonna leave now." He was definitely blushing now, and suddenly disappeared, leaving his mage behind with a flabbergasted expression on her face.

There was a long silence, and then Natsu burst into laughter. "Well look at that…another spirit abandoned you! How surprising!"

The other mage rounded on him again. "You think this is funny?! Once I've defeated her, I'll force your gate closed and then make you tear your precious little mage apart piece by little piece! How would you like that?!"

"No way…not happening." Lucy responded for him, and her whip snapped up to crack across the other woman's face. It knocked her back and she screamed bloody murder.

"You are not going to hurt any of my spirits, EVER. Emotionally or physically." Lucy continued, her voice harsher than she remembered it ever being before. With every word, she cracked her whip again – driving the other mage back step by step until she stumbled and once again summoned her rose vines.

Lucy was immediately caught up in a vine-versus-whip fight, and this time managed to hold her own. The poor vegetation spirit was still pretty crispy and lacking vines, so she only had a few to contend with.

"I could never lose to someone like you! I would never, EVER, let my keys be used by someone as cruel and twisted as you! I've already defeated one sadistic celestial mage, and you're no different!"

She finally managed to snap her whip in such a way that the tail curled around Aster's keys and ripped them clean off the other woman. Unfortunately, a vine snagged them in transit, and both keys and whip went flying. Natsu fried the rose bush – and accidentally destroyed Lucy's whip in the crossfire – leaving both mages weaponless.

At that, Lucy grinned, and could only imagine how she looked right now. Probably really, really, _**really**_ pissed. She took a fighting stance, staring the other mage dead in the eye and making a 'come here' gesture with her fingers that she'd seen Natsu do a thousand times.

"Neither of us have keys – at least none that we can use – and I don't have my whip anymore. So…. fight me fair and square…if you think you can." she challenged with a fierce grin, waiting to see if the other woman would come for her or dive for the keys.

Of course the coward went for the bundle of keys, and Lucy had to dash after her. She managed to tackle Aster to the ground, but the other woman squirmed free after elbowing Lucy in the gut. When they both scrambled to their feet, Aster was pissed enough that she threw cation to the wind and launched herself at Lucy with a screech of fury. Fists, elbows, knees, feet…they all came flying at Lucy, who warded them off to the best of her ability. She wasn't exactly a master at hand-to-hand combat, but she was definitely better than this bitch, and she quickly turned the tide.

Dodging a knee to her belly, she twisted and then landed a vicious uppercut on the other woman's jaw, sending her staggering back. Pressing the advantage, Lucy followed quickly with a roundhouse kick, and then finished the rotation to elbow her opponent in the solar plexus.

Aster sputtered to a stop and bent over, clutching her ribs.

Lucy skipped back, favoring her foot. Even though she could have won right there, she let the other woman catch her breath, and gave her the chance to back out.

"You ready to admit defeat?"

Her answer was a fist to the face, which Lucy blocked – but only barely. A swift kick to the shin, punch to the gut, and knee to the face later, Aster was spitting blood from her split lip and broken nose.

"I'm not going to stop fighting you until you've handed over your keys." Lucy threatened, wincing from her own injuries and wiping away the blood that dripped from some cuts on her forehead. Aster had gone after her eyes with fingernails, but thankfully Lucy had been able to deflect the attack with her forehead.

Another few rounds were all it took to make Aster give in finally. Once she conceded defeat, Lucy stepped past her and bent to pick up the bundle of keys on the ground.

She summoned each spirit and gave them back their key, releasing them from their contract. Only the spider lady declined, but the rest gratefully took their keys and disappeared.

After that was finished, they all limped out of there and left the sad excuse for a celestial mage behind. Thankfully all the traps were easily navigable from this side of things…though the hall of cesspools was still not fun. Still, they managed to make it out with minimal damage, though halfway through – somewhere in the cave maze – Jellal suddenly choked and flushed bright red, as if he was just remembering something. Lucy dragged Natsu with her a bit ahead of the other couple, giving them a little privacy to go over the stuff that had happened while Jellal was apparently under the affects of some sort of drug.

When they finally emerged from the 'shack' back out into the forest, both Jellal and Erza were a little flushed and avoiding looking at each other.

Jellal took his leave shortly after that, and then they all headed back to the guild, Juvia in tow and hanging off Gray like her life depended on it. He didn't seem opposed in the least.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek:**

 _Lucy was surprised. With the way those two butted heads – she was shocked that Gray would think hanging out with Natsu could ever be fun. "You're serious? He thought going on a double date with Natsu would be fun?"_

 _"Well yes. Despite them fighting all the time, they really are quite good friends you know. Of course, he protested at first, but after calling Natsu a few bad names, he admitted that it might be fun."_

 _That got a laugh out of her, because it sounded just like Gray. "Somehow I'm not surprised. Well, okay then! This will be fun."_

 _Juvia grinned and turned to run off again in search of Gray. It was only after she had left that Lucy realized just what she had signed herself up for and froze in the process of taking another sip of milkshake. The cold substance sat in the straw and her mouth as her eyes widened, and she stared blankly ahead for a long moment. She had just unthinkingly agreed to go on a double date…with Natsu…who she had a roaring crush on._

 _Actually, by now she was pretty sure her crush had turned into something infinitely more dangerous. But that didn't mean that she couldn't still try to ignore the feelings. However… it might be a bit hard to ignore her feelings for him if they went on a **date.**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note:**

Hello! It's Wednesday! And you all know what that means...another new chapter! Thanks to everyone and their WONDERFUL reviews.

So of course, I wanna give a wholehearted shout out to all the fantastic people who made it possible. :D BIG hugs and thanks to all my repeat reviews: Daisy73, 19vanelkc, Shadowslayer15, valerioux, mumof4, TheJSmooth, Ksta, Firefly9917, The Rain Will Fade, Elphaba818, thechani, ravenqueen162, Wolves silver wind, MiseryWolf97, ThatOneAnimeGirl08, moeruhoshi, Donthedarkdragon26, WisdomDragon27, Leomae2.0, and Larissa. Love you guys! And EQUALLY big hugs, thanks, and love to my newest reviewers: kilatails and TheOldIronKing!

So now...on with the show! I know you're all anxious to see what happens. :D And as you'll notice, it's another double chapter! Yay!

Be sure to stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter and a short Author's Note.

* * *

It had been several weeks since the whole Juvia kidnapping incident, and Natsu had been spending most of that time confused and with a headache as he tried to wrap his mind around the weird things he was constantly feeling now.

Things had changed…big time.

Natsu was not great with emotions and stuff – not the gooey fluffy kind of emotions at least. He knew when he was fired up and ready for a fight. On those few occasions where he truly got angry, there had been no doubt that he was pissed. Sadness was a no-brainer, especially after losing his dad. Happiness was his normal state of being, so he had no problem identifying that.

Those were all feelings he had plenty of experience with, but these new ones he'd been struggling with were unlike any he had ever felt before.

They were warm and fluffy and made him feel like he was sitting in a sunbeam on a soft poofy cloud. It was kind of like friendship in a way…sort of like the happy, warm, caring feelings he got when he saw Happy do something cute or funny, or the kind of feelings he experienced when his new adopted family all banded together and supported one another. Loyalty, the urge to protect, a deep sense of comfort…those were all there too, and they were also familiar. He'd been feeling those things for a while now whenever he walked into the guildhall, and even more-so when he walked into Lucy's apartment. It was a sense of belonging and of home.

All of that stuff was sort of hard to identify though and even harder to name for someone like him who rarely put words to this kind of stuff, but for the past couple of weeks he'd been trying to do just that…mainly because everything had suddenly gotten so much _**more**_ somehow.

And it was all tied to Lucy. That was the one thing he did know without a doubt.

He couldn't get her out of his mind, couldn't stop wanting to be around her twenty-four-seven, and basically just wanted to snuggle with her all the time. If he could have transformed into a small form – like a tiny version of his dragon self – and wrap himself around her neck to be worn everywhere, he probably would've been perfectly happy with that. He just couldn't get enough of her.

At night, he couldn't help but be even more insistent on sleeping with her, despite getting kicked out repeatedly. Occasionally, she'd let him stay, but it was still a rare and awesome thing when he was able to actually spend the whole night with her without being banished from the apartment – and she still kicked him out of bed when she woke up in the mornings.

Basically, she'd turned into one big dragon magnet, and he was helplessly stuck to her.

If it had just been that though, he wouldn't have been too perturbed about it. However, there were some other things going on that confused him to the point where he really had to figure it all out … or risk being driven insane.

Even while he craved it … being close to her and inhaling her unique and pretty aroma drove him absolutely nuts. As soon as her scent drifted into a room, it was like every sense in his body was tingling and pointing a big fat red arrow right at her – forcing his eyes, his ears, even his nose to swing in her direction. The whole thing was a huge distraction. It was even making it tough to get any brawling done – because any time he started, she would walk up, distract him, and he would end up with a fist in the face. It was even worse on the few missions they had gone on in the past few weeks.

And then there were the boners…

Natsu had never been one to pop a boner randomly. He was a dragon…it just wasn't really something dragons did on a regular basis. It was probably a carryover from having a massive reptile form – which was lucky. When he was fully transformed, he was twice the size of a normal two-storied house, and he couldn't really imagine anyone being overly enthused by a dick the size of a bus suddenly coming into the picture. Normally it was tucked up in his scaled belly in that form…but, yeah, he could still get an erection. So, the asexual thing just carried over to his human form.

That had all changed though.

Now, sometimes around Lucy he would randomly have a physical reaction without realizing that he'd made the decision to do so. It was like his brain had shut off and gone on autopilot.

It was usually triggered by something that normally never would have sparked interest in him, but somehow when Lucy did it he was suddenly all fired up. Something as simple as her sucking on an ice pop, or a drop of sweat going down her neck, or lifting her foot onto a chair to put on her shoes, or even just bending over in one of those short skirts of hers…. They were all things she'd done a million times before, and yet now he felt like he'd been slapped across the face each time. Hell, just her scent was enough to nearly toss him into boner-land face first without a warning.

All the warm fluffy sweet feelings combined with the crazy lust was just about ready to drive him up the wall…which was why he'd been wracking his brains to try and figure out what the hell was happening to him. The one thing he could come up with, was that he was falling in love with her. That was the only emotion that made sense, and it took a ridiculously long time for him to figure it out. He'd never been in love, so how the hell would he know it would be this all-consuming and crazy? Of course, he wasn't absolutely positive, but he was pretty sure that's what it was.

And now that he'd sort of pinned it down, he could look back and see the signs leading up to it.

Since she'd become his mage, she had also quickly become his best friend and the most important person to him in the whole world. It wasn't just that she held his contract and was his key to this world – it was way more than that. She made him laugh and feel happy. She was so kind, loving, warm, and gentle – but also had a fiery temper, fierce loyalty, and a ferocious attitude … and basically everything that a dragon like him could hope for in a claimant.

He'd loved her as his best friend almost since the beginning, because she was Lucy, and there was only one Lucy. In his entire long life, he had never encountered anyone like her before…someone who made him feel like he was coming home, like comfort and warmth – but that also riled him up and made him want to go on an adventure with her. She was so funny and happy and full of sunshine, and he would follow her to the ends of the earth.

So really, it was no wonder why'd he'd fallen in love with her. Who wouldn't? He honestly didn't know how long he'd actually been in love with her …. probably months now.

It was kind of ridiculous that he only realized he loved her as more than a friend after what happened on Juvia's rescue mission.

When he'd gotten a face-full of the scent of a turned-on Lucy, he'd basically had a heart attack… twice. That had made it absolutely impossible to mistake the fact that he was attracted to her, despite him being dense about that stuff. You can only be oblivious about something until it goes and slaps you in the face before yelling in your ear, "YOU LIKE HER, DUMBASS!"

So yeah, after that there was no denying the fact that he liked her like that.

Of course, he'd still had to spend the last few weeks processing it, because while the insane animal attraction was as obvious as stepping in shit, the rest of his feelings had still been a confusing pile of mash.

And then, realizing he was in love with her only made more problems and questions that he had to figure out. Knowing that he loved her only solved the question of why he was feeling this way, but it didn't really answer the question of, " _what the fuck now_?"

What was he supposed to do? Now that he knew he loved her…was there an obvious next step?

He couldn't help but want to _**be**_ with her, even though he wasn't exactly sure what all went into romance or dating…. and that was actually an option now, since he knew good and well that she'd been completely claimed by his fire if cauterizing her wound only STUNG. That should have hurt like hell.

Naturally, knowing that he could now make her his mate only made him want to be with her even more. Hell, he'd marry her – or in his case, do all the ceremonial shit required to officially make her his mate for life – in a heartbeat if she'd let him. He wanted to be by her side, through heaven or hell, for as long as he drew breath into his sorry lungs. But wanting to change their relationship was a problem too, because he didn't want it to change in any bad ways. He just wanted to be closer to her and love her, but he was worried that she didn't feel the same about him. If he pushed her for something she didn't want, it might cause her to not like him anymore as a friend, and that was not acceptable.

The only thing he could do really, was just wait and see what happened.

It grated on his nerves…he was NOT a wait and see kinda guy…but the thought of doing something wrong and losing Lucy was a million times worse than waiting.

Dragons could be patient, when they were hunting a treasure that required them to be.

…

Meanwhile, Lucy was just doing her best to forget everything that had happened and had focused all her attention on business as usual. Of course, the first thing she did when she got back from rescuing Juvia was to form a contract with her new spirits.

After the battle with Aster had concluded and they were on their way home, three of the spirits had come to her and offered her their keys.

Amaterasu, the alpha of the Lupus constellation, was the first to show, and it was clear to see her gratitude and her pleasure at offering Lucy her pack's key. Lucy was just as happy to take the beautiful red and white key as the wolf was to give it. She couldn't wait to show her new canine companion that not all celestial mages were dicks.

The second to pop up was Lepus, the rabbit spirit. Lucy was immediately smitten with the little yellow guy, and he with her. He made the cutest noises she had ever heard, a high pitched "peeka!" sometimes followed by "choo," as if he was sneezing. Given that, she couldn't resist giving him the nickname 'Pikachu' or just 'Pika' for short, and he seemed to really like it, given his excited squeaks.

The first two spirits to offer her their keys were friendly and happy. The last one was…not.

To her shock, Genbu had sulkily appeared on the train ride home. This time he was significantly better put together, and she eyeballed his different get-up with some surprise. His green hair was slicked up and forwards into something that looked a little like a rooster's comb, and he wore a knee-length maroon duster over a skin-tight black turtleneck. His black pants from before were now tucked into maroon boots that matched his coat, much to her amusement.

He interrupted her appraisal by shoving his key in her hands, saying, "Here. Take this. I'll make my contract with you right now. These are my conditions: do NOT summon me. I'll come and help ya out if I feel like it. Otherwise just consider _that_ ," he pointed at the beautiful jade key he'd handed her, "as super expensive decoration."

She had nodded, a little shocked, but figured that he was probably fed up with celestial mages and simply didn't want to be stuck with another asshole. She was touched that he at least trusted her to keep his key safe, if nothing else.

So, she had simply said with a smile, "Of course. Thank you for entrusting your key to me. I promise it's in good hands." After a brief second, she remembered something else, and quickly asked, "Oh, and I remember you saying that you didn't like Aster to call you Genbu. So, what should I call you?"

To her surprise he had blushed vividly, and then suddenly turned his back to her. "Uh…you can call me B-B-Bartolomeo." he stammered in a supremely high-pitched tone, and then poofed – leaving her wondering what the hell had just happened.

Compared to that strange interaction, Amaterasu – or Amy, as Lucy had taken to calling her – had turned out to be much more like Natsu. Her terms were pretty much like his … she just wanted to come and go as she liked. Her pack pretty much stayed in the celestial realm though – which was good, because Lucy figured having thirty wolves following her around everywhere might make missions difficult to complete.

Which explained why, right now, Lucy was eating lunch at the guildhall flanked by Happy on one side and a white fluffy dog on the other. Amy had taken to following her around in a dog-sized pure white version of herself. Now she just looked like a white german shepherd or husky. She was parked on the bench next to Lucy, panting happily and looking around with bright amber eyes at everyone, most of who stopped to pat her on the head if they passed by.

Lucy's attention was completely distracted though when she saw Gray and Juvia walking in holding hands. They detached almost as soon as they passed through the door, but they had definitely been holding hands … and this hadn't been the first time she'd caught them doing something like that.

Narrowing her eyes, Lucy muttered, "What do you guys think? Are Juvia and Gray dating now or something?"

Happy looked up from his fish and predictably cooed, "They _looove_ each other."

She rolled her eyes. "We all know that. But do you think they finally started dating?"

He shrugged. "Dunno, Gray is pretty stupid."

Lucy had to choke down a laugh at that, because her blue cat had pretty much nailed it on the head.

Amy's nose twitched as she sniffed in that direction. "Their scents are all over each other. I'd say they're a couple."

At that, Lucy's eyebrow cocked. "No kidding? Well, I might just have to have a little talk with our favorite water mage."

Getting up, she walked over to her blue-haired friend and snagged her, before dragging her back to their table. Juvia sputtered in surprise, but followed along willingly enough and then sat across from Lucy as the celestial mage plopped her there.

"Alright. Spill. You and Gray are dating now right?"

Juvia instantly turned bright red and started fiddling with her fingers. "Um…well…that is…"

The fact that she didn't immediately swoon and agree meant that she was serious about the question, and it was a dead giveaway.

"Come on Juvia. It's super obvious."

"Really? But we've been trying to keep it secret!" Juvia cried, looking upset. "I hope my darling Gray doesn't get upset…"

"I'm guessing it was Gray's idea to keep your relationship a secret?" Lucy asked, feeling irritation budding in her gut. She was going to have to talk with the ice mage.

"Well yes…he said that he didn't want to make a big fuss right away…"

Despite not looking sad, Lucy knew that her friend probably wanted to shout it from the rafters, so hiding it couldn't exactly be fun for her. She instantly wanted to go find Gray, but decided to stay with Juvia and chat for now.

However, she kept an eye on Gray, and later that day she pounced as soon as the two love birds were separate. When she spied Juvia sitting by herself for once at a table – probably waiting for Gray to return – she knew now was as good a time as any.

She sent Amy to distract Juvia – which she did quite successfully by parking her furry white butt right next to the water mage and plopping her upper half in Juvia's lap. Juvia was definitely a dog person, because she immediately buried both hands in the husky lookalike's fluffy ruff and cooed happily.

Meanwhile, Lucy hunted down Gray.

She found him at the bar and pulled up a stool next to him. As soon as Mira had gone to the other side of the bar, Lucy leaned in and said softly, "Soooo…I hear you and Juvia are Fairy Tail's new item."

He instantly stiffened and whipped around to give her a wide-eyed shocked glare. "Shhh!" he hissed and glanced around quickly to see if anyone had heard her.

Lucy could feel an unimpressed stink eye settle onto her face, and when he turned back to look at her he winced.

"Really? Are you that ashamed to be dating her?"

His worried look quickly changed to one of confusion. "What? Wait, no, never mind. Come on." He grabbed her arm and dragged her off to an empty corner.

As soon as he released her arm, she crossed both over her chest firmly and fixed him with a scowl. "Seriously Gray? Why are you so averse to having people know about you and Juvia?"

"Look, it's nothing like that okay? I'm not embarrassed about dating her or anything. I just don't like people butting into my private business, and you know how this guild reacts to stuff like this."

"You know people are going to find out. Nobody can keep a secret for very long in Fairy Tail."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know. It's only for a bit, I just wanna have some time with her to … you know … get used to being in a relationship and shit." By the end he was scratching his hair and looking really uncomfortable and irritable.

Lucy sat back on her heels and stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure out the validity of what he was saying. With a deep sigh she closed her eyes. "Okay. That's cool. But just don't wait too long okay? Because it'll make Juvia wonder if you're ashamed of her. Especially since you've always said that you'd never date her because she was 'fucking crazy.'"

She air-quoted 'fucking crazy' since she was citing him on that.

His face cringed a little, but he nodded. "Yeah. I get what you're saying."

"Alright, good."

As she turned to leave, she stopped and added, "By the way, I'm sorry for butting in. That's what you said you were trying to avoid, and here I am doing that exact thing."

"Nah, it's okay. I don't mind you doing it, you two are good friends. I just wanna avoid the big ruckus that everyone will throw when we finally tell the guild. You know they're all gonna start talking about sex in crazy inappropriate ways…and offer unasked-for advice…and ask a bunch of personal questions, like when we're getting married and when we plan to have kids…and all that crap."

Lucy laughed at his exasperated eye roll and the fact that he'd pretty much outlined exactly what would happen. "Yeah. They're all a bunch of nosy gossipers, that's for sure."

After that, she let it drop.

…

About a week later, Lucy was in the guildhall drinking a strawberry milkshake and reading Sorcerer Weekly – which had a great photoshoot of Natsu from his first interview as the newest hot member of Fairy Tail. They'd somehow managed to get him to look serious in one of the photos, and Lucy couldn't help but wonder how they got that particular smoldering expression. What had they told him to think about for his eyes to be burning like that? She would pay good money to know. In fact, she might even bother to ask sometime, but that might be a little awkward.

As she was pondering this, someone tapped her on the shoulder…which made her jump a foot in the air and swing around with a squeak. She halfway expected Natsu to be behind her and flushed at the prospect of getting caught looking at his pictures so intensely.

When it just turned out to be Juvia, she exhaled a long relieved sigh and groaned, pressing her palms to her flushed cheeks with embarrassment. "Juvia! You scared me! I thought you were Natsu!"

"You were worried he would catch you looking at his pictures?"

"Um. Yeah…"

When the water mage glanced over her shoulder, Lucy opened the magazine again to let her take a look. The blue eyes of her friend glanced over the pictures and she nodded. "He took some good pictures. Though nothing could compare to my beloved Gray's photospreads! I have all of them of course!"

"I hope they aren't tacked up to your walls. Gray would probably be turned off seeing that. And since you two are now… you know…he'll probably visit your rooms sometime."

"Oh yes. I took them down and put them in my diary."

Nodding, Lucy closed her magazine and turned to the water mage sitting in the seat next to her. "So, what's up? You look like you've got something on your mind."

As the bluenette twiddled her thumbs, Lucy took a long drag of her milkshake and waited, knowing that if Juvia was embarrassed about whatever she wanted to say, it might take her some time to spit it out.

"Well…you see, Darling Gray and Juvia take turns picking out where they go on a date. It's Juvia's turn, but she's drawing a blank…. So, Juvia was wondering if you might have any ideas?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure, no problem. Hm…let's see…I'm assuming that you two have already gone out to dinner right?" At her nod, Lucy thought a little more. "Picnic? Yes…okay…how about dancing?"

Juvia blinked. "No, we haven't done that. Dancing… that sounds like a lot of fun! I'll go tell my darling right now!" She turned to run away, but then skidded to a halt and turned back around. "Actually, would you and Natsu like to go on a double date with us? I mentioned to Gray that it might be fun to do, and he agreed."

Lucy was surprised. With the way those two butted heads – she was shocked that Gray would think hanging out with Natsu could ever be fun. "You're serious? He thought going on a double date with Natsu would be fun?"

"Well yes. Despite them fighting all the time, they really are quite good friends you know. Of course, he protested at first, but after calling Natsu a few bad names, he admitted that it might be fun."

That got a laugh out of her, because it sounded just like Gray. "Somehow I'm not surprised. Well, okay then! This will be fun."

Juvia grinned and turned to run off again in search of Gray. It was only after she had left that Lucy realized just what she had signed herself up for and froze in the process of taking another sip of milkshake. The cold substance sat in the straw and her mouth as her eyes widened, and she stared blankly ahead for a long moment. She had just unthinkingly agreed to go on a double date…with Natsu…who she had a roaring crush on.

Actually, by now she was pretty sure her crush had turned into something infinitely more dangerous. But that didn't mean that she couldn't still try to ignore the feelings. However… it might be a bit hard to ignore her feelings for him if they went on a _**date.**_

This could turn out to be incredibly awkward, and potentially emotionally problematic for her. Not to mention the double date involved DANCING of all crazy things – a very _romantic_ activity – so that was bound to make everything even worse for her. Sure, friends could dance together, but with her secret feelings for him, it was going to feel romantic whether she wanted it to or not.

On the upside – Natsu would be doubtlessly be unaffected. Lucy suspected that he didn't even know the meaning of the word, ' _date_.' So at least she didn't have to worry about him getting the wrong idea. Probably.

As she was internally freaking out, Juvia jogged back over and quickly said, "Gray says okay! And we planned for this Friday, if you're free?"

Lucy numbly nodded.

"Wonderful! I have to go now. I signed up for a short mission, and my train leaves in an hour. I'll see you on Friday!"

She ran off, leaving Lucy feeling like she had just made a horrible mistake.

No sooner had Juvia left, than Natsu popped up out of nowhere – which just compounded the problem for Lucy, and she winced as his cheerful voice assaulted her from behind.

"Hey Luce! What's up?"

Slowly turning around, she eyeballed him, and then absentmindedly chewed on her lip … wondering how she was going to tell Natsu what she had signed them up for without making a big deal out of it. Really, it shouldn't be that difficult, since Natsu didn't think that way about her – or seemingly at all.

"Um, hey there Natsu." she greeted for starters, giving him a slightly uncomfortable smile.

He cocked his head. "What's wrong?"

 _Whoops._ She really didn't want him to pick up on the fact that she was feeling awkward about this, because that could definitely tip him off to her feelings on the matter. The last thing she wanted was to let him know she had a fallen for him. That would make working with him way too awkward.

"Oh, nothing. I was just a little worried. I…uh, made plans for the both of us without thinking, and then realized that you might not want to go…"

"Is that all? Geez, you're such a worrywart sometimes! I'm sure I'll be cool with whatever you signed us up for. So what is it?"

"Um, Juvia asked if we'd like to go dancing with her and Gray this Friday…"

He narrowed his eyes. "Will I have to dance with the ice princess?"

"No! No of course not!" Lucy sputtered, unable to help but picture it in her head and then laughed hysterically at the thought.

"Oh. Okay then! Sure."

And that was the end of the conversation.

…

For the rest of the week, Lucy couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she was going on a 'date' with Natsu on Friday … though of course it wasn't a _real_ date. Still, she wanted to look nice and even ended up purchasing a cute outfit – despite part of her screaming that it was dangerous to invest too much into this.

It was sort of accidental how it happened. On her way home from the market, a small clothing store caught her attention, and she couldn't resist investigating – groceries and all. A particular lovely red-orange dress displayed in the window had snagged her eye, especially since it was Natsu's favorite color.

The dress came to midthigh and had thin little straps, so it was a bit sparse for the chilly breeze that kicked up from time to time now that it was fully autumn. But she knew she could pair it with a few things she already owned to make it warmer. So, when it fit perfectly she couldn't resist buying it, and as soon as she got home she tried it on with white arm sleeves, white thigh-highs, and a pair of tan ankle boots.

Over all, she was quite happy with the outfit when it was all said and done…. but that didn't make her feel any better about the upcoming date. She just knew it was going to be awkward as hell.

When Friday finally rolled around, she did her best to alter the way she was thinking about the whole thing and tried to look forward to it instead of worry. Natsu would definitely be able to pick up on any negative feelings she might have, and like heck was she going to let that happen.

It didn't help when Happy made his usual comment of, "You loooove him," as she was doing her makeup.

"Oh, hush Happy."

"But you're getting all prettied up for him…so that must mean you -"

She interrupted him. "I always dress up when I'm going out with my friends! Now stop it! You're being annoying!"

He snickered and hopped up to sit on her dresser next to all her makeup. She sent him an unimpressed glance as he blinked innocently up at her. "Happy…"

"What? I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't have to…"

"Now who's being paranoid?"

"Watch it, Cat. Don't make me threaten to skimp on your fish."

He just grinned. "You wouldn't do that…"

"Don't push your luck." Lucy grumbled, rolling her eyes.

He was right of course. She wouldn't starve her cat just because he was being an ass, but that didn't mean she couldn't threaten it. Not that it did much good since he knew the threat was idle.

A little pop indicated that someone had taken it upon themselves to come and visit from the celestial realm, and Lucy glanced over her shoulder to see if it was Natsu. Even though she had expressly told the dragon that she didn't want him to interrupt her while she was getting ready for tonight, she halfway expected to see him behind her. Just asking him not to was hardly enough to stop him.

However, this time it seemed he had listened, because Amy was the one sitting on her bed.

"You look very nice." the fluffy white wolf complemented.

"Thanks Amy."

"Yeah, she spruced herself up real nice for her _boooyfriend_."

Lucy grabbed her blush poof and swatted it right in Happy's face, leaving a big pink splotch on his blue fur. He yelped and then sneezed, a cloud of pink powder drifting through the air, and Amy scoffed from her place on the bed.

"You were asking for that."

He glared at her and then sneezed again.

Lucy giggled and then gently patted him on the head and scratched his ears a little in apology.

He pouted but accepted the pets. "You're mean…" he mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Well, can't say I didn't warn you."

He grumbled a little but perked back up quick enough. "So, when is Natsu coming?"

"Uh…I told him to pop in around five…and it's four thirty now. So, about thirty minutes?"

"Why are you having him come so late?" he whined.

"I know you boys like to play and stuff, but I needed some girl time, okay? Besides, I knew you were going to be obnoxious and tease me. Natsu doesn't need to be subjected to that."

"It doesn't work on him anymore anyways…" he grumbled under his breath, sounding irritable. "Whenever I say, ' _you loooove her_ ,' all he does is just grin at me."

That was news to her, but she was glad that he had learned how to brush off the annoying comment. It still got Lucy every time.

…

Naturally, Natsu showed up early. About two minutes after she had noted the time, a pop and flare of heat signaled his arrival, and Lucy rolled her eyes, somehow not surprised by his lack of patience. When she turned around though, anything she might have said got whisked away, and she was left speechless instead.

Since the club they were going to had a ' _no shirt, no shoes, no service'_ policy, she'd suggested he wear something other than his usual open vest. Somehow, she had doubted he would heed her request, but he had definitely proved her wrong.

He was still wearing his white scarf of course, but aside from that, he was wearing completely different clothes from what he normally did. Up top, his vest had been switched out for a blue-gray sleeveless coat with a collar high enough that it stuck out from under the top of his scarf. It was closed in the front down to his belt, under which it was parted to allow for ease of movement. The hem reached mid-thigh, replacing his skirt-thing. His pants were still baggy but had been switched out for a slightly less baggy black pair, and instead of his normal sandals, he wore tall black boots that his pants tucked into.

Over all, it was quite attractive on him, and seeing him in something knew made him look totally different in a weird way.

Apparently, she stared a little too long and too obviously, because he frowned and looked down at his outfit, then back up at her with a confused look. "Uh, is this okay? You said to dress up, so…"

"Oh, yeah, uh, it looks great Natsu. You look really good! You should switch out your outfit more often." she said maybe a little too enthusiastically, and his trademark grin popped back onto his face, complete with squinty eyes.

"Really? Awesome! So are you ready?"

"Yeah actually. Well, mostly, just give me one more sec here." She turned and touched up the last few bits of her makeup and then made sure her hair was still in the cute high ponytail Cancer had swept it up into earlier.

After a few last touchups she was finally ready to go do this thing, and so they set out in search of the dance hall that Juvia had told Lucy about. It took a little while to find, but eventually they were stepping through the front doors to a large club.

The music was the first thing that hit them, since it was pretty loud, but that was shortly followed by the impression of multicolored lights and lots of people. Thanks to Natsu's nose, they were able to easily find Gray and Juvia in the crowd, which otherwise would have been absolutely impossible. Not for the first time, Lucy was thankful for her partner's extra sharp sense of smell.

The other couple had already claimed a small table near the dancefloor, and as soon as they saw them Juvia waved and Gray scowled.

"Took you long enough Flame-for-Brains!" he yelled, which was the only way he could be heard over the music and other people.

"Well maybe if you'd given Luce better directions, we would've been here sooner!"

Of course Juvia was the one who had given them directions, but neither boy seemed interested in acknowledging that fact. They were much too busy starting up a rousing argument and were already forehead to forehead hurling insults at each other. Juvia and Lucy shared an exasperated and amused look, and without a word Lucy had grabbed Natsu's scarf and Juvia had snagged Gray's hand. Pulling them apart was no easy feat, but by working together the two friends managed to put some space between their partners.

"No fighting in here, got it?!" Lucy scolded Natsu, and let his scarf go as he nodded.

He coughed and rubbed his neck while giving her a dirty look, which she ignored since she knew good and well he was just fine. She'd yanked on his scarf a whole lot harder before without doing any damage to the practically indestructible dragon.

"So, do you guys wanna dance? Or did you wanna get a drink first?" Gray asked, acting as if nothing had happened.

Natsu was instantly distracted and glanced out to the dance floor, then looked back with a gleam to his eyes. "That looks like fun! Let's do that!"

He didn't give Lucy a chance to state her opinion on the matter because he'd snagged her hand and was already dragging her out onto the dance floor. She caught a glimpse of Juvia and Gray also standing and entering the dance floor, but her attention was quickly diverted to Natsu who had come to a halt in the middle of the room and was now looking around at all the various dancing. The song was upbeat and there were equal amounts of couples dancing together and individuals dancing separately. Many of the couples were dancing in slightly inappropriate ways, and a few were really pushing the envelope with some heavy grinding – all of which made Lucy highly uncomfortable.

Her people-watching was cut short by Natsu when he stated, "Hey Luce…I dunno how to dance."

Somehow that didn't come as a surprise, although it shocked her that she hadn't thought of that. "Um…well for a song like this, you just move your body to the music. Like that guy…or even Gray…wait, Gray can dance?!"

This was the first time Lucy had seen Gray dance, and he was shockingly good, leaving her with her eyes bugging out of her head as she stared in shock.

At the moment, he and Juvia were dancing separately – or more accurately, he was dancing and she was watching with hearts in her eyes. Lucy didn't exactly blame her blue-haired friend though, because even she was having trouble believing the sheer number of moves he apparently knew.

"You're not gonna beat me, Popsicle-Breath!"

Lucy snapped her head around at the exclamation and then got stuck staring at Natsu as he worked out how to dance. The first moves were clumsy and nearly took out a few of the other dancers, but after a long dangerous moment he seemed to get the hang of it. He mimicked a few of Gray's moves and a few of the other dancers' moves, and after absorbing those he started making up his own. A lot of them were wild and crazy and not exactly smooth by any stretch of the imagination – like lifting a knee and then making an Egyptian sort of motion with that hand while bobbing his head before repeating on the other side. Another had him jumping from one foot to the other while he made wild jazz hands. But perhaps the funniest one was where he did an exaggerated impression of the girls wiggling their butts.

Lucy nearly couldn't dance because she was too busy laughing, which thankfully didn't seem to offend him at all. In fact, he just grinned broadly at her and danced even sillier in an apparent attempt to try and make her collapse in stitches. Then abruptly their attention was caught by the crowd parting and surrounding someone who had decided to break dance. The hoots and hollers of the crowd had them both pausing and going over to watch the guy as he spun and twisted and flipped and did a bunch of pretty awesome floor moves. Natsu was instantly fired up, and before Lucy could stop him he had jumped in as soon as the guy left the ring.

Really, she shouldn't have been surprised that he could do all those moves, because a lot of them were similar to fighting moves and required a level of athleticism that Natsu definitely possessed. If there was one thing that the fire dragon was good at, it was fighting, and that translated perfectly into a series of moves that mimicked the previous break dancer and even pushed it further into greater feats of athleticism and agility.

Naturally, as soon as he saw what was going on, Gray challenged Natsu by following his performance with one of his own, which was equally good. This repeated a couple of times until the song finally changed to something slower and the girls were able to tear the guys away, much to the boos of the crowd who had been having a great time.

With the change of music, all the solo dancers melted away and just left couples to slow dance. Natsu once again looked around, confused, before turning to Lucy and asking, "Hey, where'd everyone go?"

"The music changed, so now it's just couples slow dancing. Did you wanna go get a drink or …?"

"Nah let's keep dancing! So how do we do this?"

He'd obviously picked up on the fact that he was supposed to hold her because he stepped forward and reached for her, but since he didn't know exactly where to put his hands, they ended up hovering awkwardly. His hands ghosted over her, reaching for one spot, then changing and going somewhere else – as if he just couldn't figure out where to grab. After a second of watching him wind-milling his hands around her, she sighed and grabbed his wrists. Guiding him, she put one on her waist and moved her hand to his shoulder, while keeping their other hands clasped.

"Okay, now you step forwards when I step backwards."

She tried to help him into a clumsy rendition of the waltz, though counting was pretty much out of the question. Though she tried telling him about the steps and how it went to the rhythm of 1,2,3 - 1,2,3 -1,2,3 – he just didn't get it, but it still worked out well enough. In the end, they mostly took tiny steps back and forth in a small circle.

When the next song came on it was just a little bit faster, and with a grin Natsu sped up, nearly bowling Lucy over with his enthusiasm. Scrambling to keep up and not trip over herself or him, she ended up laughing right along with him after her protests died away. Somehow his hands both migrated to her lower back and hers ended up clutching onto his shoulders to keep herself afloat and off her butt.

"Ah! Natsu! Come on! You're going to fast!" she shrieked while laughing, stumbling a little and feeling his hands tighten their grip to steady her.

"Where's the fun in that?" he countered, laughing too.

Then his hands latched onto her waist and hoisted her up to spin in a circle. Screaming, she grabbed his shoulders even tighter and would have probably wrapped her legs around him too if she didn't stop herself at the last moment – remembering that she was wearing a skirt and that was highly inappropriate. The first thought that shot through her mind was that he would drop her, but that idea died almost as soon as it was born, because she could feel his steady hold on her and knew he would never drop her anyways.

Looking down into his laughing face, she couldn't help but smile back as he spun her in circles. Naturally, the song changed again, and he gently set her back on her feet…but didn't release her. Still chuckling, he started dancing slower again to the new song. Lucy attempted to catch her breath as they did little more than rock back and forth to the slow beat. While she did that, their eyes met, and they shared a smile. Slowly that smile changed though, the broad grin on Natsu's face gentling into something else…a very small curve of his lips that she'd never seen before. His eyes grew softer and somehow more intense at the same time.

Clearing her throat, Lucy had to break the eye contact and looked off to the side while she felt her cheeks flush a little. After a long, slightly awkward moment – for Lucy at least – Natsu surprised her by suddenly pulling her a little closer. Her hands automatically moved from his shoulders to loop around his neck instead as he practically hugged her, and she sucked in a sharp breath of surprise at the sudden proximity.

"Um…"

Turning her head gingerly – with the goal of getting a look at Natsu's face to ask him what the heck he was doing – her cheek bumped into his, and she froze, realizing that he had also sort of ducked his head down into the crook of her neck.

Numbly she kept rocking with him as he continued to sway them to the beat, but her mind was definitely not on dancing. It was mostly consumed with the feel of his breath on her neck and wondering just what was going on.

Her shock went to a whole new level as he deeply inhaled and then mumbled, "Why do you always have to smell so good Luce?"

For a long moment she was speechless, and then eventually managed to stammer, "I-I'm sorry. I must have put on too much perfume. Uh…you know? I think I'm getting a little thirsty…" Very carefully she disentangled herself from him and then led the way off the dancefloor with somewhat shaky steps.

"Huh? Oh, okay!" he answered with a somewhat surprised tone and then shrugged as he followed her off the dance floor – not seeming to be upset at all by the sudden change in location and activity.

Gray and Juvia were already at the table with drinks, and Lucy left Natsu with them as she excused herself to go to the restroom. After splashing some cold water on her flushed face, she headed towards the bar to get a drink of her own. Glancing back towards her friends, she saw with relief that Gray had thoroughly distracted Natsu and it seemed they were in a heated discussion about something – probably an argument of some sort. That left her free to cool her head with a strawberry margarita at the bar, which she quickly followed with a pink shot of some sort that had pop rocks in it.

By the time she was midway through her second margarita – watermelon flavored this time – she definitely felt tension easing from her shoulders as things got fuzzy.

She still jumped though when a hand landed on her shoulder, and she jerked to look up at Juvia, who had appeared behind her.

"Oh…it's you Juvia…"

For a minute the blue-haired girl just stared at her, and then finally asked softly, "What's wrong Lucy? You seem out of sorts."

Slumping a little, Lucy mumbled, "I think I've fallen for Natsu... _Hard._ "

"Oh…I see." Juvia blinked for a moment and then pulled up a bar stool. "Have you told him?"

"No…I'm pretty sure he's asexual and doesn't understand those sorts of feelings. I mean, he knows familial love, just not the romantic kind."

"I would still tell him if I were you. I felt much better after my feelings for Gray were out in the open."

"Well yeah, but it worked out for you two because you're both human. Natsu's not…he's a dragon. Plus, he's one of my spirits. I don't think a relationship with a spirit that I'm contracted to is a really good idea."

"Why not?"

"I mean…even if we did end up in a relationship, suppose it went badly? We'd still have to work together even after that. And imagine being contracted to your ex…that wouldn't be overly pleasant for either of us. Plus, I'm not even sure if a romantic relationship between a celestial spirit and their mage is allowed … never mind marriage – if they even have such a thing as marriage."

"All of that stuff is in the future though…it doesn't have any effect on you now. There's no telling what will happen, so why not just focus on the present?"

That was actually really wise, but Lucy was still bothered. "All that stuff aside, he's still my best friend and partner. If I tell him how I feel, and he doesn't feel the same way, it'll make things _**really**_ awkward."

"Natsu doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would get uncomfortable with something like that. If he didn't feel the same way, he would probably just shrug off your confession and everything would go back to the way it was."

"But _**I**_ would still feel awkward about it!" Lucy protested, earning herself an eyeroll from her friend.

"Well, do what you think is best Lucy. But I really think you would feel better if you knew for sure where you stood with him."

She just groaned in response and clunked her head onto the bar – where she left it for a long moment before realizing that it was sticky and putting her face there wasn't the best idea. Her eyes closed in defeat and she just stayed there for a bit longer, thinking that things couldn't really get worse. With another groan, she sat up, finished off her drink in a few big gulps that gave her brain freeze, and then staggered to the bathroom to wash her face.

By the time she had managed to wash off all the stickiness, she had also taken off all her makeup and her dress was a little wet. Plus, the room felt sort of floaty and blurry as the alcohol really hit her. She wasn't wasted by any stretch of the imagination – however she was definitely teetering on the edge between tipsy and drunk, and didn't really feel like going that extra millimeter. All in all, she was pretty much ready to go home, but felt bad about calling it an early night.

Dragging herself back out to the rest of the gang, she parked her butt in the open chair at their table and resisted the urge to rest her head on the table. That hadn't worked out so hot last time, and she wasn't drunk enough to make the same mistake within such a short time-frame. The alcohol was making her a little sleepy now, so she had trouble following the current conversation, but did her best. Soon though she found herself listing to the side and ended up unconsciously leaning into Natsu.

"Hey, you doin' okay there, Luce?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, yeah. M' fine. Just a little sleepy." she responded with a yawn and tried to pull herself back upright.

"Maybe it's time to get you home."

The others seemed to agree with this assessment, and soon she found herself getting dragged out of the club by Natsu. She followed him blindly almost, not really paying attention to her surroundings. After tripping over nothing for the fifth time, he stopped abruptly, and she proceeded to walk right into him since she hadn't expected the sudden halt.

"Wha-? Why're we stopping?"

Unexpectedly he heaved a sigh and bent down in front of her, presenting her his back. "Get on. We're never gonna get anywhere with you staggering around like that."

She pouted a little but clumsily clambered into a piggyback position, and he looped his arms under her legs. Before they set off, she made sure to reach back and tug her skirt down over her behind, then looped both arms around his neck and rested her cheek on his back. He was so incredibly warm, and she just couldn't help but sink into that heat. She probably would have fallen asleep if it hadn't come with the risk of falling.

She must have dozed a little though, because suddenly they were in her apartment and she was being unceremoniously dumped onto her bed. At the jolt and bounce that nearly sent her tumbling to the floor, she jerked awake again and flailed around a little in disorientation.

"Where…what's going on?"

"We're home…?" Natsu answered with a confused and amused tone that made his response sound like a question too.

"Oh. Right." Her brain came back online finally, though it sputtered a little and still felt fuzzy and confused.

"Woooow … you drank too much, didn't you Lucy?" Happy laughed from his bed, sounding a little sleepy like they had just woke him up.

She decided to ignore her cat for the time being, and instead did her best to stagger into the bathroom – before realizing that she needed pajamas. Turning around, she stumbled back to her dresser and plopped down in front of it, deciding to sit while she dug through a drawer that was above her head.

After a moment, a warm hand inserted itself into the drawer and Natsu asked, "What're you looking for?"

"Sleep shirt and shorts…" she mumbled, feeling embarrassed for being so helpless.

A bundle of soft fabric was shoved into her hand, and she grabbed it right as she was pulled to her feet and helped to the bathroom. At that point she shoved Natsu out, and Happy took over helping – laughing at her the whole time of course.

After brushing her teeth and relieving herself, she staggered back out and made it to bed with few difficulties. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she conked out.

…

Sometime later, she woke up confused again. The first thing that caught her attention was the heavy warm band of weight laying over her midsection and the wall of firm heat behind her. It took her longer than it should have to realize that it was Natsu cuddled up to her, and in her drunken half-asleep state things got perplexing. All her feelings on the matter came out in one confusing mishmash of emotions and thoughts that made no sense to her currently. It hurt – in a way that she was pretty sure she had felt before but had suppressed. She was torn right down the middle – half of her wanted to snuggle into him, while the other half was screaming that it was a really bad idea. The confusion grated across her nerves and nearly sent her into a panic attack as her heart rate spiked rapidly.

In a daze, she freaked out and started struggling, doing her best to toss Natsu off her and out of bed, going with her first knee-jerk reaction. It was a move she was familiar with making, since she had to kick him out of her bed almost daily. Although … lately she'd been growing a bit lax with kicking him out since she had been guiltily enjoying his presence in her bed more than she should. That probably made her a terrible best friend though.

However, right now she was majorly freaked out and launched him out of bed with more energy than she had put towards it in a long time.

"What the…?!" he yelped as he crashed to the floor. "Hey! What was that for?!"

He popped to his feet, and she rose up onto her knees to face off with him. "For sneaking into my bed! You can't just do that!"

"I've been doing it since you first summoned me!"

"Well it has to stop! You can't do it anymore!"

He paused and cocked his head. "Why are you so upset?"

"I'm always upset when you sneak into my bed!"

"Not lately."

"Well…maybe I got used to it. But that's over! You can't sleep with me anymore!"

As for Natsu, he jerked back, shocked by the strange tone of her voice. He might not be great at figuring out what people were feeling sometimes, but he got the distinct impression of hurt and sadness from the way her voice cracked. It was so different from her normal irritated yells that he didn't quite know what to do about it.

"Uh…why?" he asked hesitantly, feeling like he was treading some pretty dangerous water here.

"Because…because…just _**because**_ all right?!"

Obviously she was still a little drunk – he could even smell the alcohol in her system – so it wasn't like he was expecting her normal level of speech … but this was pushing it.

"Okay, you're gonna have to give me a little more than that, Luce."

Some sort of little choked growl came out of her, and it sounded both irritated and pained. "It's just too awkward now!"

"Awkward? What do ya mean?"

"It hurts, okay?!"

"What the…? First you say it's awkward, then you say it hurts! None of this is making sense Lucy, and you aren't explaining any of it!"

"It's cause she _loooves_ you." Happy chimed in sleepily.

That apparently didn't strike Lucy in the right spot, because she abruptly got much louder and screamed, "Shut up Happy!"

Natsu heard a small, "…whoops…" from the blue cat as he did exactly what she asked and clammed up.

He'd never seen her lose it like that with Happy before. Then again … she _was_ drunk, and that apparently made her unreasonable and emotional, so he supposed it made sense. It still shocked the hell out of him though.

"Uh…Luce, don't ya think that's a little harsh? I mean it was just a joke…"

"Not to me it isn't! I'm sick of it!" she sobbed, sounding nearly hysterical, and he could feel his eyebrows creeping higher and higher on his forehead.

"Note to self: don't make jokes around drunk Lucy…" he muttered and heard Happy snort softly from his bed.

"Oh sure, laugh at me! Go ahead!"

"Well, uh, you're not exactly acting rational, Luce…so…you know…"

"So you think this is funny?! I'm losing my mind over here, and it's all just a big joke to you guys?!"

"Look, why don't you just calm down, and we'll figure out whatever the problem is, okay?"

"Calm down? Calm down?! When I wake up to find you sneaking into my bed in the middle of the night and then laugh at me when I say that it's uncomfortable and embarrassing and hurts like hell!? Sure! I'll calm down…why not?!"

"Geez! Alright, alright! I get it! I'll leave!" Natsu finally spat, getting more and more confused and irritated by the minute. He had no idea what brought on this hissy fit, but he didn't want any part of it.

As soon as he left with a spark and drift of smoke, Lucy collapsed into herself and started sobbing into her hands. Balling up, she grabbed fistfuls of her comforter and buried her face in the soft material to muffle her bawling.

She hadn't meant to shout at him … not like that.

"Oh god…what's wrong with me…?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Well, a little tension there at the end, but I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless. Anyways, I wanted to give you all hints as to who the turtle character is based on (which will give you some insight about why he blushes and acts weird.) He's based off a character from another SUPER popular anime, if you haven't seen it, you will have heard about it. He's a MINOR character, and I kept his appearance pretty much the same. Also, what he asked Lucy to call him is a big hint. His power (the shield) is also a big hint. If you think you know who he is, be sure to put it in your review, and I'll let you know if you're right. ;D I'll be posting the correct answer next weekend as well. Of course, even if you aren't familiar with him, his actions will still be explained, so never fear.

Now, let's have a little Sneak Peek shall we?

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Of course Natsu, being an overeager dragon with the attention span of a gnat, just charged right in – or tried to anyways. He got held up by the bouncer at the door, and Lucy had to intervene before he picked a fight with the guy. When he'd tried to charge through the door, the big muscly security guard had physically pushed him back, and Natsu took it as a challenge – despite having **just** promised that he would behave himself. _

_"Um, we're from Fairy Tail. We received a request for two people to fill in for a couple of servers?" Lucy cut in, snagging Natsu's scarf and pulling him away from the guy._

 _"Oh, yes of course. Go right in." the bouncer responded, giving Natsu a pretty nasty stink eye while he gritted the polite words out through his teeth._

 _As soon as they were through the door, Natsu once again had a broad grin on his face as if he hadn't just gone toe-to-toe with the security. Lucy just rolled her eyes at his mercurial moods, but her attention was quickly diverted by the scenery inside of the club. Sure enough, it was an adult entertainment venue, and she stared in dismay at the stage where a line of girls pranced around in glittering skimpy outfits and feathers. With a sinking stomach, Lucy was suddenly absolutely positive that this was orchestrated by Gray as payback for setting him and Juvia up so long ago._


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note:**

Helllooooo everyone. It's Sunday! And you know what that means! A new chapter! Yay!

I know the last one ended in a bit of tension, so hopefully this makes everyone feel a bit better about it all. ;D

Oh, and two of you correctly guessed who Bartolomeo is based off of! Bartolomeo from One Piece. If you aren't familiar with him, feel free to google him for any hints about how and why he acts the way he does around Lucy. ;D

As always, HUGE, HAPPY, ECSTATIC thanks to all my wonderful fantastic reviewers out there. Big hugs and kisses to all my repeat reviewers: 19vanelkc, Shadowslayer15, TheJSmooth, Daisy73, WisdomDragon27, valerioux, Wolves silver wind, donthedarkdragon26, kilatails, fox0920, ravenqueen162, firefly9917, Leomae2.0, FantasyDreamer06, Lady La-sara, KitsuneLover05, moeruhoshi, Elphaba818, thechani, MiseryWolf97, and ThatOneAnimeGirl08. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: HotvampGurl23, Serika2001, RawToast87, and xxIt'sAllAboutThemxx.

Alrighty, now, on with the chapter! And as always, be sure to check out the sneak peek at the end. ;D

* * *

The next day, Lucy woke up with a pounding headache and a mouth that felt like she'd chewed on cotton. Her eyes were crusted over with sleep, and it took much longer than it should have to pry them open – after much rubbing. Once they were open though, she wished they weren't, because the light sent a shaft of pain through her skull. Groaning softly, she rolled gingerly out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom, where she fixed the cotton-mouth problem and also relieved her painful bladder. Apparently she'd drunk more than she had thought last night – or maybe she was just a lightweight.

"Good morning…" she grumbled to Happy as she plodded into the kitchen in search of sustenance and hopefully a remedy for her headache.

"Um. Good morning."

At his odd tone she groaned, knowing without asking that she must have done something stupid last night.

"I'm sorry for whatever I did last night…"

"It's okay. You just screamed at Natsu and me. No big deal."

He sounded more amused than upset, so at least it seemed she hadn't said anything too mean to him, but she still winced. "Really, I'm sorry. I honestly didn't think I drank that much last night."

"Yep. You did. You couldn't even go to the bathroom without help."

She froze. "Please tell me you were the one to help me in there."

He snickered, leaving her hanging for a long moment, but finally said, "Yep. It was me. Although Natsu helped you get dressed."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Well, he helped you find your clothes. I helped you put them on."

She blew out a relieved sigh. "Thank god. Don't scare me like that!"

All she got in response was more kitty laughter, and she just groaned and gave up. She simply didn't have enough energy to deal with him right now, and if what he said was true, she probably deserved to be teased a little.

As she sat down to breakfast and a tall glass of water with some pain pills, Natsu popped into being. Before he could say anything, Lucy preemptively apologized.

"Hey, uh, look…I don't really remember what happened last night, but Happy says I yelled at you guys, so I'm sorry."

He blinked and stared at her for a long time and then grinned. "Sure. But seriously, you were saying all kinds of weird stuff."

She froze, hoping like heck that she hadn't said anything about her feelings for him. "Um…like what exactly?"

"Well, you kicked me out of bed, and then said I couldn't sleep with you anymore because it was too awkward and hurt…. You weren't making a whole lot of sense." he hummed and parked himself across from her at the table.

His grin was still in place, but his eyes were a little sharper than normal as he waited for her response.

She gulped and averted her eyes, unable to hold his stare with the flood of embarrassment rushing through her system. It could have been worse, but that was still dangerously close to admitting that she had fallen for him.

"Huh…that is weird." she eventually mumbled, deciding to feign ignorance. "I mean, kicking you out of bed is normal, but the other stuff must have come from a dream I was having or something. Who knows?"

He just laughed and called her a weirdo, but thankfully seemed to buy her excuse.

The rest of that day was spent recovering, but the following day they headed to the guildhall. They were running amazingly low on food money – once again – so as soon as they entered the guildhall Lucy headed straight for the job postings to look them over. However, she only managed to read a couple of job postings before she was distracted by the heavy weight of an arm landing across her shoulders and the intense body heat that suffused her right side as Natsu leaned into her and peered at the request board too.

"Anything good?" he asked, sounding perfectly normal…. while _she_ suddenly felt like she'd swallowed her tongue.

Her heart started up fast, and she felt her body flush – which was not good. After trying so hard for the past few months to ignore her building feelings for the fire dragon, it seemed like they had finally gotten too big to control – which was precisely what she'd wanted to avoid. That dance date had turned out to be a worse idea than she'd ever imagined, because ever since then she hadn't been able to get Natsu out of her mind. It had only been a day, but it felt like some sort of dam had broken, and now all those feelings she'd been trying to suppress were rushing her all at once.

Having him wrapped around her was making it impossible to concentrate on the request board as everything inside her lit up like a bunch of stupid firecrackers, and she jerked. Elbowing him off her, she backed away a bit, completely distracted from what she'd been doing.

He blinked and stared at her, obviously confused. "Everything okay Luce?"

"I uh…I'm really hot!" was the lame excuse she came up with, but it might be believable since she was wearing a sweater. Hopefully it would also explain the flush she still felt burning her face.

"Go outside then. That'll cool you off." he replied with a grin, thankfully oblivious.

"Y-yeah, that's a good idea. I think I'll go do that."

She made a beeline for the exit and gratefully stepped out into the chilly late-autumn/early-winter air. "I'm such an idiot…" she told the frost and then sighed a big puff of white.

"Why do you say that?" a new voice asked, and she jumped.

"Amy! When did you show up?"

"Just now, when you were staring off into space and moping. What's got you so upset?" the white wolf asked.

Lucy sighed again and then shivered as a cold breeze whisked by. "Just…I wish I could control my emotions a little better."

"Towards Natsu you mean?"

She flinched, and her eyes jerked back to Amy's warm golden ones. "What the…how did you…?"

"It's obvious."

"Well that's just great." Lucy groaned, scrubbing her hands over her face.

If Amy – who'd only known her for a few weeks – had been able to figure it out, then she must really be losing it.

"I've tried so hard to stop it. For months now I've ignored the feelings, hoping they'd just go away. But they just keep getting stronger, and now it's impossible to ignore them. I think…it's…damn it. I think I'm in love with the idiot. God help me."

Amy snorted a laugh. After a long pause, she asked, "So what do you plan to do, now that you've admitted you love him?"

"I don't know! I don't know what to do…I just…I don't want to ruin our friendship, and I don't want to get into something if we can't have a future together. Do you know if spirits and their mages are allowed to be together?"

Amy shrugged. "I don't know."

Lucy sighed, then groaned and shook herself. "Well, there's no use stewing over it. I should just get on with things and do my best to deal with it." Nodding to herself, she headed back into the guildhall with the intention of picking out a job. Amy followed close on her heels.

Before she even got to the board though, the master waylaid her.

"Lucy! I've been looking for you."

"Oh hello Master, what's up?"

"I have a job for you."

Lucy blinked, taken aback. It was rare that the master assigned them jobs personally. "Okay…"

He grinned and handed her the request paper. "It should be a cinch for you and Natsu."

She glanced down at the paper and skimmed it. It was a request for a couple of mages to stand in for a waiter and waitress at some restaurant. She'd done jobs like this before, so she wasn't concerned about it, but it was an odd job to be specifically assigned to. Normally 'assignments' were highly important or dangerous missions.

"This seems like a fairly common request…is there any reason why you want Natsu and me specifically to do this?"

He twiddled his thumbs and remained silent for a moment, before perking up and suddenly saying, "They specifically requested a blond mage to fill in the waitress position if one was available."

She blinked. That seemed a little fishy to her, but she shrugged and accepted it at face value. "Alright then. When should we leave?"

"As soon as possible."

She nodded and turned to go find Natsu and tell him.

…

A few hours and one train ride later, Lucy and Natsu were hunting down the address on their request. Happy wasn't with them, because he had somehow ended up on a mission with Carla and Wendy – much to his delight.

As they made their way to the location, Lucy contemplated the upcoming job. Waitressing wasn't a problem for her. However, she _**was**_ concerned about how Natsu would do at it, what with his destructive tendencies and overabundance of energy. Hopefully he wouldn't be a bull in a china shop and cause them to have to pay for damages to the restaurant.

Sensing her concern, Pikachu softly cooed, "…pika?" questioningly at her, and she bent to pick him up. Feeling lonely on the train, she'd decided to summon him, and he'd been only too happy to join her and keep her company.

Soothing herself by stroking his long ears, she grumbled, "I'm just worried Natsu's gonna destroy something or pick a fight with a patron."

"Hey!" he barked from a little ways in front of her, and sent a pout over his shoulder.

"You've done it plenty before! And thanks to your bottomless stomach, we're running low on food money!"

He winced, the threat of running out of food money sobering him up. "I'll be on my best behavior."

"Good…" she sighed, somewhat relieved.

However, her outlook on this job changed for the worse again when they arrived at the address and got a look at the place they would be working at for the next couple of days. The windows were darkly tinted, a neon sign over the door flashed between a tie and a bra, and a bouncer stood at the door. Lucy stalled out in front, staring at it in mounting dread, and failed to convince herself that she wasn't looking at a strip club. The sinking sensation that they'd been set up settled in her stomach.

Of course Natsu, being an overeager dragon with the attention span of a gnat, just charged right in – or tried to anyways. He got held up by the bouncer at the door, and Lucy had to intervene before he picked a fight with the guy. When he'd tried to charge through the door, the big muscly security guard had physically pushed him back, and Natsu took it as a challenge – despite having _**just**_ promised that he would behave himself.

"Um, we're from Fairy Tail. We received a request for two people to fill in for a couple of servers?" Lucy cut in, snagging Natsu's scarf and pulling him away from the guy.

"Oh, yes of course. Go right in." the bouncer responded, giving Natsu a pretty nasty stink eye while he gritted the polite words out through his teeth.

As soon as they were through the door, Natsu once again had a broad grin on his face as if he hadn't just gone toe-to-toe with the security. Lucy just rolled her eyes at his mercurial moods, but her attention was quickly diverted by the scenery inside of the club. Sure enough, it was an adult entertainment venue, and she stared in dismay at the stage where a line of girls pranced around in glittering skimpy outfits and feathers. With a sinking stomach, Lucy was suddenly absolutely positive that this was orchestrated by Gray as payback.

A server met them at the door, and Lucy's gaze instantly snapped to him and gawked, shocked yet again by the buff man in a Chippendale outfit.

"Table for two?" he asked while grinning a winning smile.

"Um, no. Actually we're the wizards from Fairy Tail that took the request for servers? I'm not really sure we're in the right place though, because the job posting asked specifically for wizards, and I don't see how that would be a requirement here…"

"Oh of course! Yes, you're in the right place. Let me take you to the owner, and he'll explain why he went to a wizarding guild for this."

They were led to the bar, where a dark-skinned man in a fancy suite was doing some sort of performance with mixing drinks. It was obvious he was a wizard, because he had the liquids mixing in midair, much to the crowd's delight. He tossed fruit and other ingredients into the swirling mixture, and then poured it into a fancy glass – which he handed to a patron who clapped enthusiastically.

Before he could take another order, the server leading them interrupted. "Hey Boss, these two are the fill-ins."

His amber eyes flicked towards them, and then he flashed pearly white teeth in a charming smile. "Welcome!" He turned to the crowd, and excused himself. "Pardon me for a moment, I have some business to attend to. Javier, would you please locate Frederick and ask him to take over at the bar?"

Their server nodded and disappeared into the crowd as the man in the suite made his way out from behind the bar and motioned for them to follow him. As Natsu and the owner headed off, Lucy turned to pick up Pikachu – who had jumped out of her arms and onto the bar. Then she quickly hustled to catch up with her temporary boss and her dragon partner.

He led them to an office in the back, and then sat them down in a pair of chairs in front of his desk as he parked his rear on the shiny wooden top.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Silvester. And you are…?"

"Lucy, and this is my partner Natsu."

"It's wonderful to meet you Lucy and Natsu. And who's your little ketchup-loving friend?"

Blinking, Lucy realized he was talking about Pikachu. Glancing down, she saw that her spirit had snagged a bottle of ketchup off the bar, and he was now happily dabbing his paw on the opened top and licking off the little drops. She was caught between being embarrassed that her spirit had essentially stolen her employer's property, and amusement at how cute and silly Pikachu looked.

"Um…this is Lepus. I'm sorry about the ketchup, I'll pay for-"

He waved her off. "Oh, no need. I'm just so glad you could come. We've been in a real pickle ever since two of our best servers came down with the dragon pox."

Lucy's professional side kicked in. "Our pleasure. May I ask a few questions about the job?"

"Let me guess. You're wondering why I posted that request in a wizard guild right?" At her nod, he grinned. "I'm not surprised. My establishment is rather unique in that way. As I'm sure you noticed, I run an adult restaurant with entertainers and servers who are dressed in a particular way. What makes my place stand out, is that all my employees are wizards and mages. We hold special shows using magic, and even serve our food and drinks with it, as you saw me doing at the bar."

That explained question number one. The next question had an obvious answer, and she didn't even bother to ask it. Yes, they would undoubtedly be required to wear those skimpy outfits…a prospect which she wasn't looking forward to. However, she had already accepted this job request, and it would reflect very badly on their guild if she backed out now.

So, she simply said, "I see. That makes a lot more sense now. So what exactly will we be required to do?"

"Well, first of all, what kind of magic can you do?"

"I'm a celestial wizard."

Silvester's eyebrows raised. "A celestial mage? I've never heard of that before. What exactly is it that you do?"

"Well, I summon celestial spirits."

"I see…" He paused pensively for a moment. "I'll have to think about whether we can make an act out of that. What sort of spirits can you summon? And which ones would be willing to perform?"

"Um…well Gemini can make a copy of me, so it would look like there are two of me. I can also summon a pack of wolves. Oh, and Leo would probably be down for performing."

"Undoubtedly…" Natsu snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Really, I could summon any of them on stage and ask them to show up in full armor. That would probably be impressive."

Silvester's eyes were gleaming. "Oh, I can already think of a number of performances for you. Perhaps tonight after closing, you could summon them all for me so I can get an idea of what we're working with?"

"Sure. But I can only summon them one by one, and I'll need to ask each one whether they're comfortable performing on stage in this setting."

"That's perfectly understandable. I certainly wouldn't want to make any of your spirits do anything they were uncomfortable with."

She nodded, happy that he was understanding and seemed to respect her spirits.

"Also, Natsu here is actually one of my spirits, so he can disappear and then reappear wherever I am. If you think that would make a good performance."

"Wonderful! Yes, we could definitely work with that." Turning to Natsu, he looked him up and down. "So you're a celestial spirit?"

"Yep. I'm a fire dragon."

"Really? So, what can a dragon do?" he asked, looking excited.

Natsu shrugged. "I can make and control fire. I can also change my form."

"How so?"

"Wings, tail, horns, scales…you know, the usual."

"Wonderful! Can I see some of these transformations by any chance?"

Again, Natsu shrugged and then shifted.

There was a quick flash of intense heat, his horns spiraled back, scales crawled across his arms and chest, his tail popped out as it lengthened and thickened, and spikes ran up his spine. His wings snapped open with a blast of wind that had any loose paper flying and nearly knocked Lucy over – chair and all -since she was sitting right next to him. His eyes glowed gold and fangs peeked between his lips when he grinned at Lucy flailing in her chair.

Thankfully he didn't release too much power, so the room didn't explode, but a mess was definitely created in his wake…as usual.

Silvester didn't even seem to notice though. He was too busy beaming at Natsu with delight. "Amazing! Absolutely amazing! We'll have to come up with a special costume for you…"

…

After their interview had concluded, they were hustled off to the changing rooms to start work immediately. Of course there were separate changing rooms for the men and women, so they split up to put on their respective costumes. Lucy also sent Pikachu back to the celestial realm – his ketchup prize still in his grip.

Without her two accompanying spirits, she soon found herself stranded and alone in a large dressing room that was overflowing with costumes of every kind.

"Your name is Lucy right?"

She spun around to see a pretty redhead walk into the room behind her. "Yep. That's me!"

"Great! My name is Ariel. Silvester asked me to help you find a costume and show you the ropes."

"Oh thank god. I didn't even know where to start."

Ariel gave her a kind smile. "Yeah, I know right? It overwhelmed me too at first."

Snagging her hand, Ariel led her into the room and browsed the racks of sparkly bikinis and accessories. After some measuring, she handed Lucy a brassiere that was encrusted with turquoise and gold sequins and had strings of glittering beads dripping from the bottom. She also handed over matching bikini panties to complete the outfit, and Lucy grabbed them and ducked behind a curtain to quickly change. When she emerged, Areal handed her a thick collar necklace also encrusted with sequins and fringed with beads. Then she got a blue, gold, and white feathered headdress attached securely to her head and feathered, sparkly bracelet cuffs and ankle cuffs.

And then she was being hustled onto stage, where Ariel introduced her to the crowd, saying, "May I introduce a very special guest! She's just with us for a few days…. The beautiful Miss Lucy from Fairy Tail!"

The crowd cheered, applauded, whistled, and hooted, and Lucy smiled and waved shyly.

"She'll be a backup dancer for now while she learns the ropes but expect to see a lot more from her over the next few days!"

There were more hoots and hollers from the crowd, and then a disturbance out in the table area caused some of the attention on her to waver. At first, Lucy couldn't see what the heck was going on, but then she saw Natsu joining the rest of the servers and instantly knew what the commotion had been about. All the

servers wore very tight and very short boxers paired with a color coordinated bowtie – and nothing else. A few had on narrow stylish suspenders.

Natsu was basically wearing the same thing, with a few variations. He wore black boxers, but a hole had been cut for his tail to hang out freely in the back, and his bowtie was just made of his fire. Lucy was also surprised to see his horns at their full length, instead of the cute little nubs he usually kept them at.

From the tables, another server took a speaking lacrima and introduced Natsu. "Thank you Ariel for introducing our new lady performer! And may I also introduce our newest server! Natsu from Fairy Tail! He's a full-blooded fire dragon ladies and gentlemen!"

The crowd erupted into loud applause and cheers.

While everyone was busy with Natsu, Lucy was added into the line of dancers. Thankfully, she was just put in as a backup dancer to start with, and they weren't doing anything too complex, so it was easy enough to pick up the rhythm. Mostly it was just a bunch of strutting around and shaking her hips and stuff.

The lead dancers had much more complex parts, and sometimes a single dancer would take the stage while the rest of the girls all stood back. These solo performances were usually accompanied with magic, and it seemed that the colors of their costumes tended to hint at what magic each dancer possessed.

After an hour of dancing, strutting, and hip shaking, they were given a thirty-minute break for snacks, beverages, bathroom, and whatever else they might need to do.

Curious, Lucy asked Ariel how often they got these breaks, and her new mentor replied, "Oh, we get a break about every hour and a half."

That was certainly better than a lot of the waitressing jobs she'd taken, so Lucy was quite impressed. Of course, this job was quite a bit more strenuous than just waitressing – since it involved dancing – but they all got standing breaks as backup dancers, so it wasn't too bad.

During their half-hour breaks, the curtains were drawn across the stage, which gave Ariel the perfect opportunity to show Lucy the steps for being a lead dancer. She was very thorough, so when Lucy was rotated to be a lead dancer for the first time later that day, she felt pretty confident in herself as she strutted, danced, pranced, sashayed, twirled, and wiggled along with the others. It was actually kind of fun to be honest, though she couldn't help but feel self-conscious about it. The biggest downside to being a lead dancer though, was that she had to really focus on her dancing, and couldn't keep track of Natsu.

Throughout the day, whenever she was a backup dancer, she made sure to look out into the crowd and see how Natsu was getting along with everyone. Thankfully, he seemed to be a big hit, and apparently he wasn't feeling overly destructive today because nobody caught on fire - and even more impressive - none of the tables did either.

However, as the day wore on, Lucy couldn't help but start to get tired of watching girls fawn all over Natsu – and even quite a few guys as well. She saw plenty give him pieces of paper that probably had their address or contact info, and there was lots of touching going on that wasn't strictly necessary. Mostly it was below PG – just ladies touching his arm or something – but a few got a little bolder.

Of course there was no way for her to know how he responded to these advances, aside from the fact that he obviously wasn't turning them away. They didn't seem to upset him at all, aside from one incident where someone grabbed at his tail. That hadn't gone well at all. He'd been turning away from a table that had just ordered, when a sexy older lady – who was showing off at least seventy percent of her amble boobage – said something and then reached out to catch the end of his tail in a light grip. It didn't look like she had tugged at all, it appeared to be more of a questing caress than anything. But still, Natsu whipped around so fast that she jerked her hand back as if his tail had given her a friction burn – which it probably had.

He snarled something at her – probably something along the lines of, "don't touch my tail," and then stalked off, his tail held stiffly with irritation.

…

Meanwhile, out in the audience, Natsu wasn't having a fantastic time.

The work wasn't exactly hard, but it was boring, and he had a lot of trouble remembering all the orders and keeping them straight. Thankfully most of the people he dealt with didn't seem to get too mad with him when he messed up their orders, although a few of the men who had come with their girlfriends got slightly pissed.

He had an even harder time concentrating on what he was supposed to do with Lucy up on the stage dancing with all the other women. Not only did she distract him with her dancing, but he was also more and more pissed at all the guys slobbering over her. Frankly, feeling possessive at all was distracting, since he wasn't used to the feeling. Unlike a lot of dragons, he wasn't the greedy kind, so he'd never been possessive. However, those instincts were definitely making an appearance now, and they were all aimed right at Lucy.

It was like she was his treasure, and he wanted to hoard her all to himself.

Still, he did his best to keep his temper in check, because he knew she would get pissed if he picked a fight with one of their customers. So, by the end of the day, he was pretty tense from having to keep himself so tightly controlled.

With the way he was feeling, he was happy to get to their hotel room and find that it had only one bed – because it gave him the perfect excuse to sleep with Lucy. After the day he'd had, he definitely felt the need to spend some quality time with her… and cuddling up to her all night would be just the sort of thing to help sooth him. Sleeping with her always coated her in his scent, and it helped him feel like she was his.

Which was why he was not happy when she said, "I guess you'll have to go back to the celestial realm for the night, since there's only one bed."

"Why? I'll just sleep with you."

She rounded on him, her eyes flashing, and he could practically taste the argument that was about to take place. "No! When have I ever given you permission to sleep with me?"

"You let me stay the night sometimes…"

"I let you stay but I tell you to sleep on the couch! Not that you ever do…. But I have _**never**_ given you permission to sleep in my bed!"

"And why not?! What's so wrong about sleeping in the same bed?!"

She sputtered. "Men and women generally do NOT sleep together unless they're romantically involved! I've told you that a million times!

"I still don't get it! What's so romantic about sleeping?!"

"Damn it Natsu! Can't you just drop it? I'm tired!"

This continued on for a little while, but eventually he gave in and left – despite every instinct inside him screaming that it was wrong.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Relieved, she tugged out the bill and put it on their table. "Take your time. Thank you for coming."_

 _Finally, it seemed to be over, and she sighed in relief as she turned away to scamper off, but all her hopes came crashing down when one of them caught her wrist again._

 _"Easy there, Sweetheart. What's the rush?"_

 _Another chimed in with, "Yeah, I believe you told us we could take our time."_

 _A third voice joined in. "And don't thank us yet. None of us have finished."_

 _She stiffened, especially at that last comment, and jerked on her arm. "I'm sorry, I have another table I need to attend to. Excuse me."_

 _To her surprise, the man holding her wrist just tightened his grip instead of letting her go, and he tugged her back towards him. "Surely you can spare some time for us. We haven't given you your tip yet."_


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note:**

Hello everybody! It's Wednesday! And time for a new update. :D

It's another shorter one, but we've got a longer chapter coming up soon.

As always, I wanna give a shout out to all of my FANTASTIC reviewers, who are all wonderful, and amazing, and awesome! Thank you all SO MUCH! Big hugs and kisses to all my repeat reviewers: Elphaba818, WisdomDragon27, TheJSmooth, mumof4, valerioux, FantasyDreamer06, Lady La-sara, Donthedarkdragon26, Daisy73, ravenqueen162, Leomae2.0, HotvampGurl23, thechani, KitsuneLover05, Firefly9917, kilatails, xxIt'sAllAboutThemxx, Shadowslayer15, Bakers28, MiseryWolf97, ThatOneAnimeGirl08, Wolves silver wind, and fox0920! Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Meow Orbit and Alice!

Now, on with the show! I'm sure you're all dying to know what happens next. ;D

Be sure to stay till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter!

* * *

The next day, everyone's roles were switched. All the women were waitresses, while the men were performers on stage.

For their waitressing outfits, Lucy wasn't at all surprised to find out that they would be wearing skimpy maid costumes. The bottom was a black ruffly miniskirt with a white petticoat underneath, and a frilly white apron was stitched to the front. The top was just a black corset with white piping, and the edges were trimmed in white lace and black ribbon. Puffy sleevelets made of black silk and white lace went around her biceps, a lace choker with black ribbon adorned her neck, and one of those ruffly maid hat things sat on her head. Sheer white thigh-highs and black high heels completed the look.

Since she'd done waitressing before, it wasn't hard to get into the rhythm of serving customers as they started to arrive. However, the guys on stage were a bit of a distraction … mainly Natsu. Today the theme was apparently old-time rustic warrior or some such thing, because they were all wearing leather, bits of armor, and some wore fur.

Some of the dancers wore leather shorts, while others wore full length _**tight**_ leather pants. Some wore fur lined boots, some wore leather boots, and a few had on shin armor or leather strips tied around their calves. They were all shirtless, but a few had on very short vest-things which accentuated their shoulders but did little in terms of actually covering them up. The vests were made of either fur or leather, and a few had metal on the shoulders. Some of the dancers just wore leather harness things, sometimes with a piece of armor over one shoulder or both. They all wore something on their forearms, either leather strips, metal armor, or thick leather cuffs.

As for Natsu, he wore black leather pants with a hole cut in them for his tail, and up top he had on a leather harness, which held a fancy armor piece to his left shoulder. That arm also had a shiny metal forearm guard. Once again, his horns were out. Lucy couldn't help but think he definitely rocked the look.

And his outfit was only part of the problem, because there was also the dancing to consider. It was both sexy and amusing.

The server who had been assigned to show him the ropes had also apparently showed him how to dance, and he was doing better than her. It took less training time for him to be put in with the lead dancers for his first rotation, and he was able to keep up pretty well. His moves definitely weren't as smooth and polished as the others, but they were still pretty close. The backup dancers did little more than thrust their hips and do a few simple moves, but the lead dancers actually did some complex dance patterns – although there was still plenty of thrusting to be had.

Seeing Natsu dance like that made her mouth go dry, but at the same time she had a hard time not laughing when he was a backup dancer. Largely, her amusement stemmed from his facial expression, which was kind of blank. She knew from experience that it was his bored face, and it was obvious that he found the simple backup dancing beyond dull. Every half hour the backup dancers and the lead dancers swapped places, and whenever he was in the lead he perked up significantly. It was obviously a challenge, and of course Natsu loved challenges of every shape and form.

He looked hot, she couldn't deny it, and it kept distracting her from her job…which wasn't good, for multiple reasons. Aside from the obvious, she also had to keep an eye out for grabby hands in the audience and had to dodge more than one set.

At this particular moment, she was being harassed by a group of young men around her age who were all well on their way to getting drunk.

"How are your drinks? Do any of you need a refill?" she asked while brandishing a pitcher of the beer they had all been drinking plenty of.

A couple of hands raised, and she carefully maneuvered her way around the table, watching their hands to make sure none of them made a pass at her. One did as she poured the beer into a glass, and she artfully sidestepped the clumsy attempt.

"No touching please." she reminded with a smile and saw the guy pout. None of these guys really meant any harm by it, but she did have to constantly remind them.

"Oh com'on pretty lady…" one tried, but she just wagged her finger at him while keeping the smile pasted on her face.

"No sir! I'm sorry. Now, would you like a refill?"

Once she had finished all the drinks at that table, she quickly returned to the kitchen to check and see if any of her customer's orders had been completed. One had, so she snatched up the tray and made her way out to that table. This was a pair of couples who were watching the performance with wide smiles. They were both gay couples, so she had no trouble from them as she gave them their food, although she did fume a little when she overheard one of them commenting on Natsu's butt.

There was a little satisfaction when his partner slapped him lightly in a teasing manner and said, "Don't push your luck, Mister!" There was a pause and then he added, "But yes, he does have a fantastic ass. And the rest of him is pretty fine too."

All she could do was roll her eyes as she walked back to the kitchen to drop off the tray. None of the other food orders were ready yet, so she headed to the bar to check on drink orders. There was a tray waiting for one of her tables, so she snagged it and trotted over to the table it belonged to. This was a table of older ladies who had all ordered things like cosmos, sex on the beach, and fruity daiquiris. Lucy had found this group of customers quite enjoyable, because not only did she not have to worry about getting groped, but they were also quite nice and liked to gossip with her.

"Hello ladies! Here are your drinks." She handed them out. Halfway through, one of them started bouncing in her seat and excitedly exclaimed, "Oh look! That new dancer is coming up for a solo! Oh! I'm so excited!"

After hurriedly handing out the last couple of drinks, Lucy whirled around to look, and sure enough Natsu was taking the stage. She stared with a dropped jaw as he grinned and started dancing. It was a mashup of various moves he had obviously been taught, and then he added in a little fire. The crowd whooped as he danced with his flames, guiding them around his body as he jumped and spun and twisted and thrusted (of course). It was downright mesmerizing and she felt herself flushing as she watched, unable to tear her eyes away from him.

After an embarrassingly long time, she finally managed to jerk her head and break her stare. Grumbling to herself to cover up her embarrassment, "Natsu you idiot, you better not burn the place down."

One of the ladies must have heard her, because she said, "Oh, you know him?"

"Um yeah, we're both fill-ins from Fairy Tail. We're just here for a couple of days."

"So he's your friend then?!"

"Um…yes…"

Suddenly she had all the ladies' attention and they eagerly began to pester her with questions. These women loved gossip.

"So are you two a thing?"

"N-no…"

"Oh my! She's blushing! Look everyone! Oh, how cute!"

There was a series of coos that made her flush even harder and she pursed her lips.

This continued on for a little while until she finally managed to politely excuse herself.

…

As for Natsu, he was having an interesting day. The dancing thing was actually kinda fun … when he actually got to dance and wasn't just standing around bouncing to the beat and pumping his hips. That got old real fast.

Dancing solo was a blast because he got to use his fire, and he noticed Lucy watching from the crowd, which made it even better. Now that he knew his feelings about her, he felt an odd urge to show off and thoroughly enjoyed the way she looked at him with a gaping mouth and wide eyes. At the very least he'd shocked her – which was hilarious – but he was pretty sure that she also looked impressed. He couldn't help but get fired him up at the thought – though he had to control it and not get too excited, otherwise his flames might get a little out of control.

However, what wasn't so fun, was having to watch as guys grabbed at her. That had been happening basically all day off and on, and he had a hard time keeping himself on stage instead of stomping down there to tell them off. Or punch them. Probably punch them. Seeing any guy harassing one of his female friends made him get super aggressive … but seeing someone harassing Lucy made him positively lethal. Thankfully none of them seemed too pushy about it, and it looked like she was able to fend them off easily enough.

It wasn't like he was exactly _worried_ about her – he knew from firsthand experience how painful a Lucy Kick was – but of course this was a job, and he knew she probably wouldn't want to beat up the customers. _He_ wasn't above it though, if the situation called for it. Lucy was his mage, and it was literally his purpose in life to protect her. Plus, she was his best friend…and so much more now. There was no way he was gonna let any of these dudes fuck with her, and he made sure to keep his eyes, nose, and ears tuned in her direction.

If someone got too grabby, they were in for a barbecue knuckle sandwich.

And Lucy wasn't oblivious to his gaze on her. She could practically feel it, even when she _**knew**_ she was out of his sight. It was almost unsettling, if she hadn't known he was just watching out for her and probably mad about the guys getting grabby with her. Not that she thought he was jealous or anything, she was sure he was just worried about his best friend…

The rest of the day passed in much the same way, but right around closing time a group of really rowdy older guys came in and parked themselves at one of her tables. She could tell from a mile away that these weren't people she wanted to associate with – especially not where she couldn't give them a Lucy Kick without getting fired. Still, there wasn't anything she could do about it, so she pasted on a fake smile and marched over, getting a few sympathetic pats on the back from her fellow waitresses.

When she got to the table, all of them looked her up and down like a piece of meat, and they all had variations of creepy smirks on their faces.

"Um, what can I get you to drink?"

A man with slicked back black hair, ripped jeans, and a button-down white shirt said, "Hello Sweetheart…we'll have two beers, one brandy, and a whisky on the rocks."

She took it down in her little notebook, then asked, "And did you want to order any food? I can get you a menu if you would like."

"No. No food for us." said the blond with a five o'clock shadow and sunglasses.

"Very good. I'll just go put in your orders then."

She was turning to walk away when one of them snagged her wrist and stalled her. "Service us _real_ good, okay Sweetheart? We'll give you a _special_ tip if you do."

Goosebumps rose up on her arms and she jerked her hand away, much to their amusement. She could hear chuckles as she walked away. Those guys were real creeps, and she hoped like heck they wouldn't be here long. She didn't know how long she could deal with them…or how long Natsu could hold out. The heat that crawled across her skin had to be his glare.

She dropped off their order at the bar and then went around to tend to her other tables, stalling as long as she could before going back to pick up the drink order for Creeps-R-Us.

"Here are your drinks. Two beers, one brandy, and a whisky on the rocks." she said as she handed them out. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"Plenty, Love. There's plenty you can do for us."

She suppressed a shiver and decided to ignore that comment. "Are there any other drinks you would like? Or have you reconsidered seeing the food menu?"

"I'll have a shot of Jack." one said, and she nodded before turning to scurry off as fast as she could.

As she dropped off the new order, she told the bartender, "That table is full of creeps. If they do anything inappropriate, can I please have them thrown out?"

The bartender gave her a sympathetic look. "Of course. If they do anything untoward, just tell me and I'll have security all over them. No worries."

She nodded, feeling a little better about it, but just for some extra security she mentioned, "And uh, if they assault me or something, they're probably gonna end up hurt."

He blinked and then grinned. "I wouldn't expect anything less from a member of Fairy Tail. If they assault you, you have every right to defend yourself. Just please don't hurt them too badly. It could cause us some problems if you do."

With a grin she nodded in agreement and grabbed the shot of Jack that was ready. With a deep bracing breath, she took it to the table under discussion and dropped it off. All she said was, "Here's your shot of Jack. I hope all the drinks are to your satisfaction?"

Barely waiting for a nod, she finished by saying, "Wonderful. I'll check on you again in a couple of minutes to make sure you're still doing good." And then she made a quick escape before they could say anything creepy to her.

She managed to get away with minimal contact with them for a while, but naturally her luck had to run out at some point. Near the end of the day, she approached their table with their bill in her apron, hoping that they were ready for it.

"Hello! Would any of you like more drinks?"

"I think we're just about done, Honey." the leader of the group said, smirking at her.

Relieved, she tugged out the bill and put it on their table. "Take your time. Thank you for coming."

Finally, it seemed to be over, and she sighed in relief as she turned away to scamper off, but all her hopes came crashing down when one of them caught her wrist again.

"Easy there, Sweetheart. What's the rush?"

Another chimed in with, "Yeah, I believe you told us we could take our time."

A third voice joined in. "And don't thank us yet. None of us have _finished_."

She stiffened, especially at that last comment, and jerked on her arm. "I'm sorry, I have another table I need to attend to. Excuse me."

To her surprise, the man holding her wrist just tightened his grip instead of letting her go, and he tugged her back towards him. "Surely you can spare some time for us. We haven't given you your tip yet."

She gasped when a sharp yank had her stumbling backwards, and then yelped when she was dragged down onto the guy's lap. Naturally her first reaction was to try and immediately stand back up again to make an escape, but his arm wrapped around her middle to lock her in place.

"Don't be like that. Here, this should make it all better." one of the other guys said, and then gave her a smarmy grin as he reached forwards and waved a thousand jewel bill under her nose. Before she could turn him down, he had shoved it into her corset between her breasts. "Consider that a down payment on your tip."

With a full-body shudder, she threw her elbow back into the human under her, and with an oof he let her go. As soon as his arms loosened around her waist, she shot up and took several large steps away before spinning around to see their shocked faces. Then, she reached into her bra to grab the bill that had been shoved there and threw it back at them.

"No thanks! I am not that kind of girl! Now get out or I'm going to call security!"

"You bitch- how dare you-!" one of them started, but the leader of the group raised a hand to stop him.

"We haven't paid yet."

"DO I look like I care?" Lucy countered. "You assaulted me!"

"We paid you, you little slut!" the blond growled, standing up and taking a step towards her.

"I'm getting security."

When she spun around to do just that, a harsh grip on her upper arm stopped her, and she had to resist the urge to spin around and kick him into the wall across the room.

"Take your hands off me." she simply said, not turning around.

"No."

Suddenly there was a wave of heat from behind her, and a new voice growled, "If I were you, I'd let her go. Unless you wanna break something."

At the sound of Natsu's voice, Lucy spun around to look, and a broad grin spread across her lips.

The guy holding her scowled at him. "And who are you to tell me what to do? You're just a dancer. Aren't you going to get in trouble for leaving the stage?"

Natsu just crossed his arms, and his eyes snapped back from where they had been looking at Lucy to stare at the idiot addressing him.

"I'm not gonna repeat myself."

"Excuse me." The leader stood up. "I think we have a misunderstanding here. You see, we have paid for this woman's attention, so -"

"Actually, you haven't." Lucy pointed at the money on the floor. "That's yours by the way. You might wanna pick it up."

The leader ground his teeth together and shot her a glare.

Natsu cut in before anyone could say anything more. "So, I guess you want me to punch you."

He addressed the blond holding Lucy, completely ignoring the leader and what he'd just said. At Natsu's threat, he cringed back and released her.

He reared back an arm and was about to punch the blond anyways, but Lucy stepped forwards and hurried to say, "Uh, let's not punch the customers. Okay Natsu?"

As soon as she stepped forwards, Natsu's punch changed into snapping his hand forwards and grabbing her. He hauled her towards him before wrapping an arm securely around her waist and glaring at the four other guys in front of him.

"Lucy is MINE. Nobody touches her but me, got it?"

Lucy gaped up at him, not at all sure what to make of him calling her 'his,' or saying that nobody got to touch her but him. What the heck did that even mean?!

"Yours? Is this little bitch your girlfriend or something?" one asked, sneering at him.

Another chimed in with, "If that's the case, how come you let her work as a slut? What kinda man are you? And you're a dancer too? How sick is that? I guess it's a match made in heaven huh? A whore and a male stripper…"

"Yeah, and what exactly are you supposed to be? What's with those crappy props?" the blond said, pointing at his horns. Apparently he hadn't seen Natsu's tail yet. "You supposed to be some sort of devil or something?" He started laughing and jeering at him, making fun of his costume.

Natsu grinned, showing some fang. "A devil huh…?"

He released Lucy and stalked towards them. Letting lose a feral growl, a blast of heat came from him, causing the four in front of them to cringe back a little in shock. Then their faces switched from shock to horror and fear as Natsu changed. His wings snapped out and scales rippled across his exposed skin. His tail lashed back and forth in rage, and Lucy was seriously concerned he might take out one of the nearby tables with either a wing or his tail. All the nearby patrons seemed to think the same thing and got up from their tables to put some distance between them and the enraged dragon.

"I'm a dragon actually, asshats. But I'd be happy to send you all to hell…" Flames licked his lips as he snarled at them.

They glanced at each other and mouthed, 'dragon…?' Then they all looked back at him with absolute terror stamped across their features. When flames suddenly burst around his clenched fists and he took a fighting stance, they turned tail and ran.

Lucy could see his muscles tense, and he took a menacing step forwards – as if he really wanted to chase after them and beat the ever-living-daylights out of them – so she hurried to grab his arm. He froze and then slowly turned to face her.

For a long moment he stared at her, his golden eyes growing darker by the second, and eventually something in him snapped. With a short growl he grabbed her and hauled her over his shoulder before turning and stomping out the door. She couldn't quite help but shout a little in shock as she got tossed over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and then grunted heavily when his shoulder slammed into her solar plexus.

It took her a good minute or so to process what just happened, but when things finally clicked, she started throwing a fit, smacking his back and yelling, "Oi! Put me down! Natsu! What the hell are you doing?!"

By that point they were at least a block away from the restaurant, and he had transformed back to his normal form. Thankfully it was also after dark, because they certainly would have gotten a lot more stares if he'd been running around with her thrown over his shoulder in broad daylight.

After a lot of loud protesting and pounding on his back, he finally stopped and she was able to slide off his shoulder.

"What the hell Natsu?! What was that? We're probably going to get fired now for walking out in costume and before our shifts were over!"

"At least I didn't break anything or kill anyone. Which is saying a lot, cause I really wanted to burn the place down…"

"Well…yeah. I'm glad you didn't do any of those things. Good job." She did have to concede that point at least, and she _was_ incredibly relieved that he had managed to control himself pretty well – all things considered. "Now how about we go back and finish our shifts?"

"No. It was almost closing time anyways."

"Wha-…Why? What's gotten into you?"

He was silent for a long time, and she could see his jaw clenching and unclenching as if he were grinding his teeth. She wasn't sure she'd seen him quite this perturbed before – furious for short periods of time, yes…but usually as soon as he kicked the bad guy's ass he was back to his cheerful self.

Finally he grumbled, "I'm too pissed to go back right now."

She absorbed his answer for a moment, then sighed and gave in. "All right. If you're really that mad, then we'll go back to the hotel for now. But we're taking these costumes back tomorrow and apologizing profusely for walking out like that. Okay?"

"Fine."

Thankfully, by the time they got back to their hotel room, he seemed to have chilled out and was mostly back to normal.

Lucy went through her normal getting-ready-for-bed routine, hoping that Natsu might decide to go back to the celestial realm for the night all on his own without any prompts from her, but by the time she was ready to crawl into bed, he was still hanging around. Although, he had changed out of his costume and back into his normal vest and trousers – which was a good sign.

"All right, well … I'll see you tomorrow okay?" she said, trying to give him a hint without being too rude about it, since he still seemed a little tense.

Silence met her, and she turned to look at him fully, wondering what was going on. He was staring at the carpet intensely for a long time, and then when he finally raised his gaze to meet hers, she found her breath suddenly getting stuck in her throat. His eyes were so…intense…and yet so incredibly vulnerable too, in a way she'd never seen before. It stunned her senseless for a long moment.

"Hey Luce…can I please sleep with you tonight?"

The question was so simple, yet it was said in a tone he hadn't ever used before. Not to mention the fact that she couldn't ever remember him actually _asking_ to sleep with her…or for anything really…and she was pretty sure she had never heard him say the word, 'please,' before.

Under these circumstances, she found it impossible to say no, especially not with the way he was staring at her – his dark eyes practically begging. So, with a sigh, she turned to the bed and grabbed an extra pillow. She plopped it firmly in the middle of the bed and then crawled in on the other side, before saying, "Fine, but this pillow stays between us and you stay on your side. Deal?"

Suddenly he was back to regular Natsu, although there was still a hint of that odd look to his eyes. With a broad grin, he bounded into bed, and nestled under the covers on his side. "Thanks Luce!"

"Sure…no problem." she grumbled as she grabbed the pillow back from the foot of the bed where he had accidentally flung it.

She stuck the pillow under the covers between them, just to make sure it didn't get knocked off again. Since they were both under the covers, it acted as more of a barrier that way too.

"Alright, well, goodnight Natsu." she mumbled as she turned off the lamp and plunged them into darkness.

"Night Luce."

And then there was silence and Lucy closed her eyes, attempting to find sleep.

The sound of Natsu's breathing kept her on edge for a long time. She had never gone to sleep with him in bed with her before – at least not when she was of sound mind – and it was amazingly awkward. Maybe it wasn't uncomfortable for him, but for her it felt like the air was heavy with tension that made it hard to breathe. That was all in her head of course, and after several hours of forcing herself to relax, eventually Lucy was able to slip into an uneasy sleep.

Thanks to the light nature of her slumber, it wasn't hard for her to wake up when she felt some movement in the bed. She was still groggy and slightly disoriented, but as soon as she felt warm arms wrap around her waist and body heat press up against her back, she became fully conscious. Her first reaction was irritation that he had ignored her request to stay on separate sides of the bed and had somehow removed the pillow from between them.

However, as she geared up to throw an elbow back into his solar plexus and shove him off the bed, he snuggled his face into her shoulder and sighed. The sound was so peaceful and happy that it caused her to still, and something inside her melted a little. Then he nuzzled into her shoulder, like a puppy, and started up the softest, cutest rhythmic snore that almost sounded like purring. It was so adorable that she just couldn't bring herself to push him away.

So instead, she found herself stuck in his embrace as he snuggled up to her and purred/snored away, apparently sound asleep. There had been a few times where she had been too tired to shove him out of bed, or had simply found his warmth too appealing, but she'd never been quite this awake while sleeping with him. The experience was certainly novel, and she found herself memorizing the feel of his body pressed up against hers…the way his arm wrapped around her and held her close, the way she could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back as he breathed, the firm warmth of his legs pressed behind hers and curling them both into a ball…it was shockingly comfortable. Even the deep thrum of his snore started lulling her until she felt herself begin to drift off again.

In the unguarded state right before sleep, she let herself wish that this could be … that she didn't have to kick him out of bed and could just sleep with him every night.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _It was a bad idea, and that was saying a lot coming from someone who regularly charged into danger blindly. But in this case, he'd been watching guys eyeballing Lucy all day, not to mention yesterday and the day before, and he was at his max._

 _Actually, he had reached his limit yesterday._

 _Last night, he would have hunted those perverts down and given them a beating if Lucy hadn't stopped him, and if they hadn't left when they did, he would have taken them out right then and there…and probably the restaurant along with them._

 _Sleeping with her had only soothed his nerves so much…and certainly not enough to deal with having to watch her get 'kidnapped.' Even if it was just a stupid performance that Silvester had concocted, he already knew he was going to blow some major fuses if the servers pretending to be 'bandits' got grabby with her. Hell, if they even laid so much as a finger on her, he was going to have trouble controlling himself…and he was already pretty sure they were going to do a lot more than that._

 _It was going to be a god-damn miracle if everyone got out alive tonight._


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note:**

Hello all. Guess what? It's Sunday! And you know what that means. :D Another new chapter! And it's an awesome one, so I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I really hope it lives up to everyone's expectations.

Also, it's another long one. ;D

As always, I wanna give a huge thankful shout out to all of my wonderful and fantastic reviewers! Big hugs and kisses to all my repeat reviewers: TheJSmooth, Lady La-sara, Elphaba818, 19vanelkc, Shadowslayer15, ThatOneAnimeGirl08, FantasyDreamer06, Donthedarkdragon26, WisdomDragon27, Firefly9917, valerioux, Lunar13, moeruhoshi, kilatails, thechani, ravenqueen162, Leomae2.0, xxIt'sAllAboutThemxx, KitsuneLover05, Wolves silver wind, and HotvampGurl23. Equally big hugs and kisses to all my newest reviewers: Catherine, CFQ or CelestialFireQueen, RabbitMelody, lkityan, Musiclover237, TheAvatarShadow, and Maczorro.

Also, I've had one or two people asking for writing advice, and I'm absolutely happy to give it! The only reason I'm mentioning it here, is that one of those people hadn't logged in when they reviewed, so I had no way of reaching them. So, I figured I'd just respond here. :D If you would still like some tips (or if anyone else would like some tips) I am always happy to help. :D Brainstorming story ideas, giving writing tips, problem solving and all of that are literally some of my favorite things to do and I absolutely love helping out my fellow writers. So feel free to PM me or send me a review I can PM back to. :D

Anyways, on with the show! And be sure to stay till the end for a sneak peek of the next chapter. ;D

* * *

The next day, they left the hotel room in a rush and hurried to the restaurant as fast as possible. Upon waking up, all her concerns about leaving in such an unconventional manner last night resurged, and she practically dragged Natsu down the sidewalk.

They were the first ones to get there, aside from the boss, who always showed up earlier than everyone else to unlock. Lucy was fully expecting to be fired – which would look very bad for Fairy Tail – so her stomach tightened with nerves as they approached the bar where Silvester was taking inventory of his liquor stock. However, instead of looking angry, he shot them a broad grin as soon as he saw them and hurried out from behind the bar.

Before he could say anything, Lucy quickly started by saying, "I am so sorry about leaving before our shift was over yesterday. A couple of pervs assaulted me, and I just had to get out of here, but we still should have told you we were leaving and changed out of our outfits. Here are the costumes we wore yesterday. I'm so sorry we took them."

He frowned slightly as he accepted the clothes. "Yes, I heard that you were harassed by some of our patrons, and for that I am very sorry…I hope it wasn't too bad."

"No, it all worked out. Natsu came to my rescue, although I could have handled it myself."

"Ah yes! I wanted to speak to you about that. Harassment aside, the whole thing was a huge hit! Everyone thought it was a show! And I don't suppose you heard the catcalls and wolf-whistles as Natsu carried you out on his shoulder? No? Well the crowd went wild. I think we could really make an excellent production out of it! IF you were willing of course. Several of the girls already agreed last night."

Lucy blinked at Silvester in shock, completely taken aback. Of all the ways she had imagined him reacting to them walking out on a shift and basically stealing two costumes, this wasn't one of them. Relief washed over her as she realized that they weren't going to be fired and Fairy Tail's reputation wouldn't take a hit. In her state of blind relief, she agreed without thinking to whatever it was that Silvester was suggesting.

"Oh yes of course! Thank you so much for not being angry with us!"

"No problem. Although please don't run away with any more of my props." Though it was a reprimand, he said it with a smile and didn't seem upset.

"Of course!"

"Excellent! I'll get to work on the details for the performance and debrief you all during the last break of the day. We'll hold it as the last performance before closing time."

"Okay."

Natsu tugged on her arm and muttered, "…I'm not so sure about this Luce…"

"What's there to worry about? We should just be glad that we're not fired."

He grumbled something unintelligible, but seemed to go along with it. He didn't look happy though.

At that point other people were starting to arrive, so they headed off to the changing rooms to get ready for customers. Today it was the girl's turn to perform, so once again Lucy was going to be wearing a fancy dancing costume.

"Hey!" Ariel called out in greeting as she entered the dressing rooms. "Nice performance last night. Your boyfriend sure is protective, huh?"

"Uh, first of all, it wasn't a performance. Those guys really were jerks."

"Oh, well, yeah. Duh. I mean we could all totally see that," said another girl she had made friends with. Her name was Ashly, and she had bright green hair and a cute skull and crossbones tattoo on one shoulder. "I was getting ready to clock them myself after seeing how they treated you. If Natsu hadn't come to your rescue, I would have."

"Hey Ash, remember we're supposed to call security, not go punching the guests." yet another of her new friends, Sky, said jokingly.

"I know I know. But seriously. Sometimes these jokers need a good talking to…and sometimes a punch to the face."

All the girls laughed and agreed as they continued getting dressed. Today, they were all dressing in some sort of burlesque type costume, with rich colored corsets, super short petticoats, and bustles made of feathers and/or layers of lace, satin, and ruffles. Some were wearing thigh-highs attached to garters, others were wearing fishnets all the way up, but all of them were wearing high heels of course.

"So, uh…" Lucy mumbled to herself as she approached the costume racks, aiming towards the one that everyone seemed to be perusing for the day.

"Just pick whatever you want. Might wanna stick to white, blue, or gold to stay with your celestial mage theme though." Ariel guided as she finagled one of her stockings into position so she could attach the little garter hook.

"Oh, right. Thanks!"

Dutifully, she perused the rack, and found a gorgeous golden corset with a pattern made of light blue swirls that she thought would be appropriate. To match, she selected a white lace petticoat, and then a bustle made of all different shades of blue and topped off with white feathers. She decided to opt for sheer white stockings, so she also had to locate a garter belt in her size and put that on before anything else.

Attaching stockings to garters was much more difficult than the other girls made it look, and after fumbling with it for what felt like the hundredth time, thankfully Ash lent her a hand.

"Yeah, these things are murder. You get used to them after a while, but they're always a pain in the butt." she commented as she knelt in front of Lucy and did up her stockings in a matter of seconds.

"You don't seem to have any problem with them."

"Well that's cause I have practice. If you stuck around for another couple of years, you'd do 'em up like a pro too!" Ash teased back, giving her a grin a she stood and dusted herself off.

"Thanks, but I'm good."

Ash laughed and waved as she went back to her area to finish dressing, and Lucy got busy finishing her own costume off, since she was behind everyone else after spending so much time on her stockings. The petticoat went on second, and barely covered her underwear. The bustle went on next and attached with a high waistband that would be hidden under the corset. Finally, it was time to get on the corset, and she paired up with another late dresser, Sky, to help tie each other's corsets. Sky was already in hers, so Lucy helped lace her up in the back and tightened it for her – which took some doing and a little help from Ariel. Then, it was Lucy's turn, and she had to turn around and lean against the wall while Sky did her laces up and then tightened them. Obviously, these things were not built with comfort in mind, and she was shocked that they allowed for the mobility that they did. It was tight around her waist, and yet she could still swing her hips, which she did just out of curiosity on how in the world she was supposed to perform with it on. The movement was definitely stiffer, but she could still do it to a certain extent.

"Here, you move more like this with one of these corsets on." Ariel commented when she saw Lucy experimentally trying to dance.

Lucy watched as she showed her how to move with the corset, which involved keeping the upper body a bit more still, while letting the hips and legs move more. There was more strutting, a lot more leg work, and even some heavy breathing to move the chest up and down. Then, Ariel showed her a routine they would be doing today that added in a pair of gorgeous fans made of super long feathers. When the fans were put together, they made a full half circle, which – when put behind the back – could act almost like a peacock tail that could be shimmied. Or, they could be used like wings.

"That's amazing!" Lucy exclaimed as she watched Ariel dance, and the redhead laughed.

"It's fun actually. Would you like to try?"

"Sure!"

Grabbing up a white pair, Lucy tried to imitate what Ariel was doing.

There wasn't enough space backstage though, so they decided to wait until they had all gotten out onto the mainstage, where they could practice before the first show of the day. As they all filed out, each dancer made sure to check the schedule of solo dances so that they would be prepared to sneak off stage at the appropriate time to get into costume. There were two solo performances an hour, and today apparently involved a costume change, since it was Friday and extra fancy. This had all been explained to her as they were dressing – along with making fun of the corsets and garters and how difficult it all was.

Once they had checked their solo times, Lucy and Ariel headed to the stage and faced one another with their fans. Ariel started, while Lucy followed along. Eventually though, they put the fans away and Ariel showed her some of the advanced moves she would need to know for joining in with the lead dancers today. As she learned the routines and moves for today, the other girls stretched, warmed up, and did their own practices in preparation.

While they were practicing, Lucy brought up a question that had concerned her ever since learning that she would be doing a solo today for the first time. "Um. So, what all is involved with a solo, and what's up with the different costume and everything? I know you said that Friday's performances are more involved, but how do I pick a costume? And do I need to come up with a special dance or something?"

"Don't worry. Silvester already came up with a selection of performance options for you to go over and costumes to match. We can look over them together on our first break of the day if you'd like."

"Yeah, I guess I'd better."

"Good. Well, the curtain is going to rise any minute now, so we need to go ahead and get in positions."

"Right."

And with that, Lucy took her position as backup dancer, and only a few short minutes later the curtains rose. The crowd was still small this early in the day, so there wasn't a huge cheer as the curtains rose, but they definitely got some whistles and claps.

After an hour and a half, they had their first break of the day, and Lucy immediately found Ariel so they could go over her options for performances. There had already been two solo performances during the first hour and Lucy had watched carefully to get an idea of what she should expect. In both cases, one of the backup dancers snuck off stage and then came back on for their solo performance – during which time all the other dancers stood back and just sort of swayed or backed up the solo performance in some manner. She also noted very quickly that the two performances were quite a bit more flashy and flamboyant than the solos she had observed the past few days.

Still, it settled her nerves somewhat to know what to expect. So, as she took a look at the list Ariel handed her, she was a little more confident about it all.

As she glanced over the list, it looked like Silvester had come up with quite a few good ideas based off her powers – though there were several that she wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. There was no way she would ever give Leo a lap dance…and certainly not in front of a crowd as a solo performance. She'd seen one of the other girls do something similar by bringing up one of their servers in the crowd, but that just wasn't her cup of tea. Even though she knew good and well that Leo would be more than down for it.

In the end, she went with the option that seemed the easiest for both her and her spirits. Basically, she'd dance, and then as a grand finale, she would summon her heavenly wolf pack. From there, they'd run off stage, between the tables, and out the door…where they would then go back to the celestial realm. It didn't ask too much from them, and basically just required her to dance solo … instead of acting out a specific scene like some of the others outlined.

Before she chose it though, she summoned Amy to make sure it was okay with her. The white wolf appeared in golden light and a wisp of white mist that drifted across stage and got a few of the other dancers' attention. When they saw a white wolf (or dog) suddenly appear, a few screamed.

"This is just one of my spirits! Don't worry!" Lucy called, and they all calmed down a bit before coming over to investigate curiously with big eyes.

Ignoring them for the most part, Lucy addressed Amy. "Um…as you can see, I'm currently working as a dancer…"

Amy looked her up and down, and then a wolfish grin spread her lips and she sneezed in amusement. "Yes…"

"Hey! Don't laugh!" she protested, but just got another sneeze in response. "Oh whatever. Anyways, the point is, I have to do a solo performance, and I was wondering if you and your pack would mind getting summoned. All you'd have to do is run down off the stage, make your way between the tables and head out the doors. I'll show you."

She led Amy over to the curtains and created a very small gap that she could peer out of, so the spirit could see the table arrangement and the way to the exit. The canine eyeballed it for a moment before backing up and nodding. "Sure. That shouldn't be a problem at all."

With a breath of relief, Lucy said, "Thank you…the other options weren't great."

At that, her wolf companion barked a laugh, winked, and poofed, saying, "Just call when you need us."

Thankfully, her performance wasn't for a while, so she didn't have to worry about it too much at the moment. Which was good because the curtain was rising, and once again all her attention focused on dancing. This round she started as a lead dancer, so it took a great deal of her focus to keep up with the much more experienced performers and not trip over herself as she went through the complicated footwork required …. in high heels no less. When the half hour mark was reached, she gratefully switched to being a backup dancer, and – after catching her breath – she took the opportunity to seek out Natsu in the crowd.

She wasn't surprised at all that he was currently trying to extricate himself from a woman who had managed to snag his wrist. His captor was talking to him intently…while pushing her boobs out and pursing her lips cutely. Lucy couldn't help but roll her eyes at the display. When this mission was concluded, she would have officially reached her limit of watching girls – and guys – come on to her partner. It was downright maddening.

Though she tried to keep her eyes to herself, she just couldn't help but find Natsu in the crowd every few minutes, and almost every time she did he was being flirted with. It was enough to make her wish she'd never realized she had fallen in love with him.

After a couple of hours of that, it was finally Lucy's turn to have her solo performance, so she snuck off the stage as a backup dancer and headed to the dressing rooms to get into her costume.

For her solo dance, she would be wearing sort of a goddess outfit. Up top she was wearing a metal golden bra-thing that swirled in a beautiful pattern – which unfortunately also had cutouts that exposed a pretty good portion of her boobs. Thankfully the pattern did converge over her nipples, so those were completely covered. However, someone had left a note and a pair of nude pasties in the bra, suggesting she wear them just in case of a nip slip – which she thought was both very helpful and also quite concerning.

The bra was held up with golden chains laced with white ribbon, and the chains crisscrossed in some amazingly complex ways across her back. That took some work to figure out, but eventually she struggled into it and got strapped in properly. Part of the confusing part was that some of the chains actually hung down in front and crisscrossed across her belly too.

The bottom part of the costume was composed of a golden thong, over which a complex golden metal belt strapped around her hips. The belt was thick and heavy and was the same swirly cutout pattern as the bustier….and did absolutely nothing to cover her butt. Instead, it just sort of framed it. Thankfully though, a sheer white loincloth type of thing dangled in both the front and the back, while glittery light blue scarves looped over her hips. On her feet she wore knee-high golden lace-up sandals that had high heels of course.

Over all of it was a one shouldered toga that she was going to be shedding pretty soon into the performance.

The dance itself and props were pretty much up to her, so – deciding to start with the feather fan dance – she snagged a white pair that were tipped in blue and covered in golden glitter. As she stepped out onto the stage, she couldn't help but feel super self-conscious, and the cheering and hooting certainly didn't make her feel any better about it. The music switched to a new track, and the other girls all stepped to the sides to give her the stage.

Starting out, it was fine. She just did the fan dance she had learned earlier – which was actually quite fun to do – but soon she knew she would have to shed the toga thing and get a little more serious. All the solo performance outfits were a little more revealing than any of their other costumes, and she wasn't sure how to feel about being on stage in the skimpy getup. It was certainly nerve-wracking if nothing else.

Before she could psych herself out too much, she decided to just get it over with. So, after dancing with the fans for a while, she managed to snag the ties of the dress without dropping her props – which she was rather proud of – and the material slid off. Keeping firm hold of the fans, she used them to cover herself at first as she stepped out of the puddle of dress and then kicked it to the side so she wouldn't trip in it. All of this got a large amount of noise from the crowd, which she mostly tried to ignore. This was uncomfortable even for her, and she was without a doubt a showgirl by nature. She loved being in the Fairy Tail parades and participating in beauty contests at the guild, but this was a whole new ball of cheese.

Then again, she _had_ gotten nervous about dancing at the last pageant – so maybe it was just performance anxiety that was part of it. As she'd noted then, there was a big difference between just being pretty on stage … and actually performing. Doing it in something so skimpy was just another level of uncomfortable.

As she danced with the fans, of course she couldn't keep herself covered for too long – not if she wanted to perform the full range of moves with them – so eventually she did have to just try to ignore her state of undress and simply danced, keeping her mind mainly on the timing of the song and how much longer her dance was going to be. As she heard the notes rising and knew the end of the song was starting to approach, she let her magic leak out, to the point where she began to emit golden light. The crowd oohed and awed, and she couldn't help but feel a bit of satisfaction at that. The wolf whistles had been a little off-putting, but the impressed sounds at the beauty of her magic were different. Those, she could fully appreciate.

As the dance wound to a close, she did her final move, turned so her back was facing the crowd, tossed aside her fans, and reached for the single key she had on her body at the moment. Holding it up high, she called, "Open! Gate of the Wolves! Lupus!"

Golden light spilled across the stage, outlining her as the gate opened in front of her.

As planned, she turned around and two of the pack emerged from behind her, one on each side. The crowd gasped and then started to applaud. Those two wolves stepped off the stage and headed to the outsides of the crowd, slowly and regally making their way between the tables on the very edges of the room. The next pair of wolves appeared as the first pair stepped off the stage, and they headed into the crowd closer in. This pattern repeated as her wolves filed in two by two, until every aisle had a wolf going down it. The clapping had petered out as the wolves walked through the crowd, and an awed hush took over instead as everyone watched them in shock and amazement as they passed by their tables. A few brave people offered some small table scraps, and the wolves would pause for a brief second before taking the offering and continuing down the aisle. Finally, the glow from behind her slowly faded, leaving Amaterasu as the last wolf. She stepped up beside Lucy and stayed with her on stage, watching regally as her pack filed out the door.

She was full-sized and in her red heavenly markings, unlike the smaller white version of herself she had been presenting to everyone lately, and even Lucy was a little surprised. She'd almost forgotten just how big and majestic Amy really was. She truly was the queen of the pack in every way.

Once all the wolves had filed out, Amaterasu threw her head back and howled, then took a running leap and launched herself off the stage, jumping over the crowd and disappearing midair in a shower of golden sparkles.

There was a long pause, and then the crowd erupted into applause and cheers. Lucy took a bow, and gratefully made her way offstage, ready to put back on her other costume. Thankfully, it was break time, so Ariel followed her back to help her relace her corset.

…

After several more hours of going back to the normal dancing, finally the day started to come to a close. She had completely forgotten about the earlier conversation with Silvester about a big final performance with all of them …. until on their last break of the day he suddenly showed up backstage and called a conference.

"Hello ladies! I trust you're all doing well?"

There was a smattering of agreement, and then he continued. "Excellent! Well, as I'm sure you all know, today we have a special performance to finish of the day! I was inspired by the antics of our temp-members Lucy and Natsu when they ran out yesterday, and I really think we can make something special! I've already talked to the guys, so they all know what's going to happen."

"Alright, so what are we going to do?" Ashley asked curiously.

"Right. Yes. Here's what's going to happen – about ten minutes before the end of your performance, the music is going to change, and that's going to be your cue. Half of the servers will have snuck away and dressed in bandit costumes. They're going to rush up onto the stage, and you ladies will act scared and run away – really ham it up … but make it a little flirty too. I'll leave that part up to you, and I'm sure you'll all act a little differently. Which is what we want!"

He cleared his throat and continued. "Alright. So then, the rest of the servers will come up to 'rescue' you ladies. The three servers who have volunteered to be the rescuers are Natsu, Josh, and Mike, and they will be in soldier costumes. Most of you will have already run backstage with the 'bandits' in pursuit. That will just leave the few of you who volunteered to be kidnapped on stage… which includes Lucy, Ariel, and Stacy."

Lucy blinked, not realizing that she had signed up for this part.

He continued before she had properly absorbed the information. "Some of the 'bandits' will stay up on stage with you, and I've told them not to get too risqué, but there will be some mild groping in an antagonizing manner. The 'soldiers' will challenge the 'bandits' to a fake fight, and then they'll carry you girls off. Hopefully it will be a big success!"

"Um…" Lucy's unsure protest fell on deaf ears as all the other girls started speaking at once, and Silvester had soon exited the stage before she could talk to him about it.

"So, does he do this a lot? Just randomly come up with performances?"

"Oh yeah. He loves theater and tries to bring it to the stage here by acting out scenes and stuff." Sky said from her spot on the ground where she was munching on a container of strawberries.

"We get random performances like this sprung on us all the time. After you get used to it, it's kind of fun really." Ariel supplied, and Ash sent her a sour look.

"Speak for yourself. I hate getting unexpected assignments thrown at me."

"You just don't like much of anything."

"I do too! I like dancing! Otherwise I wouldn't be here, would I?" she protested and threw a strawberry at the redhead.

"Watch it! We can't be getting food on the stage. It'll trip us up."

Ash just laughed.

…

Meanwhile…

Natsu had gotten his assignment too, and he was feeling even more unsure about it than this morning. It was a bad idea, and that was saying a lot coming from someone who regularly charged into danger blindly. But in this case, he'd been watching guys eyeballing Lucy all day, not to mention yesterday and the day before, and he was at his max.

Actually, he had reached his limit yesterday.

Last night, he would have hunted those perverts down and given them a beating if Lucy hadn't stopped him, and if they hadn't left when they did, he would have taken them out right then and there…and probably the restaurant along with them.

Sleeping with her had only soothed his nerves so much…and certainly not enough to deal with having to watch her get 'kidnapped.' Even if it was just an act, he already knew he was going to blow some major fuses if these guys got grabby with her. Hell, if they even laid so much as a finger on her, he was going to have trouble controlling himself…and he was already pretty sure they were going to do a lot more than that.

It was going to be a god-damn miracle if everyone got out alive tonight.

Lucy also wasn't looking forward to it. She was easily able to predict the outcome of this if the 'bandits' got too handsy with her, and she could only pray that Natsu not kill anyone or burn down the place.

The end of the day – and the weird performance – came much sooner than she would have liked.

She knew it was quickly approaching when she noticed servers sneaking off to change, and the crowd seemed confused about why there were suddenly just a few servers bringing them food. It was a large establishment, so the remaining servers really had to scramble to try and keep up with the crowd's demands – especially this close to closing when everyone seemed to want one last drink.

When the music suddenly changed though, everyone's attention shifted to the stage, because in this place it seemed to be the universal cue that something was going to go down. Once the heavy drums set in, suddenly a handful of 'bandits' – who were dressed in sleeveless skin-tight shirts, tight pants, and masks covering the upper half of their faces, all in black of course – rushed up onto the stage.

All the girls screamed and scattered – Lucy included. The other girls were definitely hamming it up like Silvester had asked, and were screaming, squealing, and making a general fuss while scampering away from the 'bandits' in an almost teasing way. There was definitely a flirtatious edge to the actions as they glanced over their shoulders and batted their eyes while acting mock-surprised or frightened. It was almost funny really.

As for Lucy, her instincts kicked in, and she did none of those things. She'd been on too many missions where she actually had to escape from dumbass enemies, so she automatically switched into evasive maneuvers. However, it was shockingly hard to dodge and run in her corset, and soon she was beyond out of breath.

The first few seconds were pure chaos with so many people running around on the stage and there was a real danger of actually falling off as more than one person ran into another person. Thankfully, girls quickly started running off the stage, and a few of the 'bandits' followed in pursuit – at a ratio of about one bandet to every two or three dancers. They disappeared into the back as planned, while the rest of them on stage had quite a bit more room to move around.

Ash got caught by one of the servers, and a loud crack rang through the space as she smacked him across the face with what seemed like a pretty decent amount of force. The audience cheered and cut up, but Lucy was close enough to hear her hiss at the guy angrily, "This is not an excuse for you to grab my ass, Scott! Let go or I'll really smack you!"

His grip loosened, and she stalked offstage at a fast clip, looking thoroughly pissed. Apparently there was some history there, and Lucy couldn't quite help but let her eyebrows raise in surprise and some amusement. She didn't have too much time to let herself think about it though, because the 'bandits' were still after her, and with less girls on stage, she was a much bigger target – especially since she apparently 'agreed' to be one of the hostages.

One of the girls had already been captured, but the other was still scampering around, teasing the guys with flips of her skirt and hair. At this point, there were only five 'bandits' left on stage. One of them was holding Sky, who had given up relatively quickly and was standing meekly in front of the guy who was holding her wrists together behind her back – which pushed her boobs out of course. His free hand had latched on to her hair, although Lucy could see that it was a very gentle hold and he had been careful not to mess it up too much.

As for the other girl, she was still running around, but the guys weren't really having to try too hard to catch her. It was all obviously a game, and both parties were trying not to smile as she almost let them catch her before dancing off a few steps, and they let her get away with a smirk as she gave them a little peek up her skirt. She had two of them going after her, while the other two were going after Lucy. Her pursuers were much less happy, because she was actually making them work. They were breathing hard and visibly sweating as they ran around the stage trying to catch her, but none of them had gotten particularly close yet.

Soon, a third joined in her pursuit as the other girl let herself get caught and was hefted over the winning 'bandit's' shoulder. He gave her a playful swat to the rear and she squealed, which had Lucy rolling her eyes and shaking her head. That girl obviously loved her job. As for Lucy though, she wasn't going to give in that easily … although she probably should. At this point, she almost felt like she was proving that Fairy Tail wizards were tough, even though this crowd probably didn't care, and it was the weirdest setting for such a challenge.

Thankfully, the crowd seemed to be eating it up. There were catcalls and cheering and yelling for her to dodge those 'bandits,' and then there were also calls to the 'bandits' to catch her already and show her what for. Eventually it was the corset that caused her to be captured, because she simply ran out of breath. Two of them tackled her, and she went down. She was dragged to her feet and one of the 'bandits' slid behind her to wrap an arm tightly around her waist – pinning her arms to her sides.

The other grabbed her chin and grumbled, "You are really tough to catch, Miss Lucy of Fairy Tail."

His face was way too close to hers, but she figured that was just part of the performance. Still, she jerked her head back and scowled. "I've had lots of practice."

The guy laughed and said good-naturedly, "Running from horny guys?"

Behind her, the server pinning her arms snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised with a bod like this." His free hand snuck down to her thigh and ran his palm up to her hip, her skirt riding up with it.

That was pushing it and she jerked in their hold. "Watch it. Don't push your luck."

"It's all just part of the performance. Don't worry, I'm not gonna do anything too bad to you." the guy behind her muttered into her ear.

Meanwhile, the fifth 'bandit' who wasn't busy hanging onto a hostage walked to the edge of the stage and said, "We have captured these lovely ladies as our hostages! Unless our demands are met, we will do unspeakable things to them!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" A voice came from off stage, and suddenly three guys charged into the fray, two other servers and Natsu.

They were wearing what looked like a skimpy knight's outfits – with black pants tucked into tall boots, a skirt-like thing made of metal strips, bare chests, straps across their shoulders and chests holding on shoulder armor, and armored forearm guards.

To Lucy, the whole thing was becoming more comical than anything else, but the crowd seemed to love it.

The 'heroes' rushed onto the stage and the leader – who had announced their presence to start with – said, "Let go of those damsels, you fiends!"

It took a great deal of willpower to prevent herself from laughing at the cheesy line. Her amusement abruptly vanished though, as the 'bandit' in front of her grabbed her leg and hoisted it around his waist before fake thrusting, and jeered, "Take them if you can!"

The other 'bandits' did similar things to rile up the 'heroes,' but of course it was all just for show. The leader of the 'heroes' was about to say something, but he was shut down by Natsu, who was already stomping forwards with a murderous expression.

"Uh …. Charge!" the other guy hurried to say, and both he and the other server dashed towards their respective damsels in distress while Natsu made a beeline for her. The others engaged in a fake battle sort of situation – one of them even grabbing Sky's arm and playing tug of war with her and the 'bandit.' It was all very showy and very fake.

Natsu on the other hand …. there was nothing fake about his reaction, and Lucy went very still as he stalked towards her and her two captors with a deadly aura surrounding him.

"Let her go."

His voice was low and held a note in it that told her he was seconds away from losing control.

"You've got to fight for her!"

She winced at the stupid mistake, and muttered, "Uh, guys… I think you better let me go."

The one behind her whispered, "This is all a performance remember? He's got to fight for you."

The sight of the guy whispering in her ear must have pushed Natsu over the edge, because a wave of heat blasted from him, making everyone stagger back. One 'hero' had already freed his girl, and the two of them scurried off the stage to get away from the sensation of being cook alive, while their 'bandit' dived off the other side. The other pair quickly finished up their 'fight' as well and made a beeline for safety as fire started to lick across Natsu's skin. As a testament to the sheer heat coming off him, it took mere seconds for the straps holding up his armor to burn away, and the metal props dropped to the ground. The only things left were his pants and boots, which she had to assume were his own clothes.

"Natsu…it's just a performance…" Lucy whispered, knowing he would be able to hear her.

A deep growl was her response, and he gritted his teeth, obviously holding himself back. All of his muscles visibly tensed as he physically held himself in place. If looks could kill though, the two guys still on stage would be dead several hundred times over by now, and she could feel their palms begin to sweat and tremors go through them.

"I said… **LET HER GO**!"

The roar nearly deafened her and sounded very much _**not**_ human. It was also accompanied by another blast of blistering heat and power as scales rippled over his form. When his wings came out, it was with a gust of wind that caused the curtains to lift up and flare out dramatically. Thankfully they didn't rip clean off the stage, because for a second there, Lucy was afraid they would be with how violently they flapped. Also, luckily the gust of wind and power was directed mostly upwards instead of out, and the stage was raised, so the tables closest to them were safe. It still hit them though, and Lucy caught a glimpse of several people grabbing for their hats.

By this point, she was pretty sure the two guys holding onto her were scared shitless and were only still there out of shock and fear that had rendered them immobile. When Natsu took one step forwards, it was with a resounding bang, and an ominous creak sounded throughout the stage beneath them. The flames around him were growing larger by the second, and there was a serious danger of the place catching on fire if something wasn't done fast. So, she shoved her elbow into the guy behind her and he fell back, letting her run to Natsu. As she did so, the two servers pretending to be 'bandits' finally found their legs again and made a mad dash off the stage like their lives depended on it…which it actually might.

As soon as she was in grabbing distance, Natsu reached out as fast as a whip and yanked her to him with a grip that almost hurt. His wings snapped closed around them, suddenly making it very dark, and her cheek pressed against his blisteringly hot chest. She felt like she was in a sauna, or an oven – but strangely the heat felt nice, like it penetrated down to her bones and made every bit of her relax. There was no way she could just let herself enjoy it though, because she had to calm down a very angry dragon.

"Natsu…calm down. It's okay. Really. It was all a performance remember? You have to chill out, we don't want to set fire to the place." Lucy said urgently.

He took a deep shuddering breath, and then she felt him nod jerkily. His wings opened, letting some cool air hit her, and she shivered a little as it brushed across her now sweaty skin. Before she knew what was going on, he'd swept her up into his arms.

Knowing he was probably going to make a mad dash out of here like last time, she hurried to say, "Wait Natsu. Before we leave, we need to change back into our clothes and stuff."

A sharp snarl resonated in his chest, but he nodded stiffly. Suddenly he was flying and they were up in the rafters. As dust attacked her, she scrunched her eyes closed and buried her face in his chest.

As soon as they landed with a jarring bang, she gingerly raised her head and looked around, mumbling, "What the heck just happened?!"

When she looked around, she saw that they were back stage in front of the dressing rooms, where all the other girls had already gone to dress back in their normal clothes since the performances were over for the day. She was plopped somewhat unceremoniously onto her feet and staggered forwards a few steps before spinning around to give Natsu a piece of her mind. He was already disappearing in a puff of smoke and fire though, and she stared at the wisp as it burned out. Huffing in irritation for the stunt he had just pulled, she turned and headed into the changing rooms to at least get out of her costume and into her street clothes, so they could leave.

Something told her that Natsu's patience had run out.

So, she hurried to change, with the help of the other girls after she had explained the situation.

"Um, I think I need to get into my clothes and out of here pronto. It really looks like that performance knocked something loose in Natsu, and he doesn't seem too stable right now. I've seen him destroy buildings before when he loses control of himself – like, literally burn them to the ground – so I need to get going."

They were only too happy to help after that.

As soon as she was ready to go, they practically shoved her out the door, and sure enough Natsu was waiting for her on the other side with crossed arms and a tapping foot. As soon as he saw her, he grabbed her hand and dragged out outside without a word.

Before they could get too far, she hurried to ask, "You turned in your costume right? You didn't leave it in the celestial realm?"

"I turned it in." he rasped back, and uncharacteristically didn't say anything else.

Once again he was in one of those weird moods, the kind she'd never seen before last night. He was still fuming, which apparently turned him into a steam engine as he plowed down the sidewalk at top speed.

Eventually Lucy yanked back on his hand and gasped, "Slow down! I'm tired after dancing all day!"

"Oh right. Sorry Luce."

He shot her one of his smiles. Thankfully he seemed a tiny bit calmer, but his smile wasn't quite as cheerful as usual, and she could tell that he was still put out by what had happened.

"Hey…you still seem kind of upset. You okay?"

"Yeah. M'fine," he grumbled. "Just got so mad seeing those guys messing with you. If I'd kicked their asses I would feel just fine, but letting them walk away – _**again**_ – left a bad taste in my mouth."

"It was just a performance though. None of it was real."

"Felt plenty real to me."

"Why? And why did you get so mad anyways? It was all _just_ an act!" she exclaimed finally, still thoroughly confused about the whole thing.

"Just because it was an act didn't mean I liked them touching you."

"Um…why?"

He shrugged, and then casually stated, "Cause you're mine Luce."

She very nearly tripped over nothing as she gaped at him in pure shock. That was the second time he'd said that, and once again she had absolutely no idea how to feel about it.

After wordlessly mouthing syllables for a while, she finally found her voice again and sputtered, "Wh-what the heck is that supposed to mean?!"

He shrugged again. "Dunno really. I just know that you're mine, and I don't want anyone else to touch you like that."

At that, she got mad. Sure, there were some warm buttery flying creatures of undetermined species fluttering around in her belly, but mostly she got mad out of her own pent-up jealousy.

"Oh! So nobody can touch me, but other women can grope you as much as they want?"

Once the words had come out of her mouth, she realized just how they sounded and instantly wished she could take them back. That was about the stupidest thing she'd ever said. His statement could easily be translated as not wanting to see a friend get sexually harassed, even in a make-believe situation. Whereas her statement instantly went into jealous girlfriend territory, which was completely uncalled for.

He sent her a weird look and she cringed a little, wishing again that she could take the stupid statement back.

"What're you talkin' about Luce? Nobody gets to touch me but you. I'm yours after all." He said it matter-of-factly – as if she should already know it – and paired with the look he was giving her, it was almost like he was saying something as obvious as, 'the sun is bright.'

There was a long moment as they walked in silence, while Lucy tried to absorb that information – which for all the world sounded like a confession to her. Instead of clarifying it though, the first thing that popped out of her unguarded mouth was, "B-but all those women…they were fawning all over you!"

"Uh…when, where, and who?"

"Back at the restaurant, Idiot! When you work as a server!"

"Okay…so what about it?"

She growled in exasperation. "All the women you served kept giving you their numbers and touching you and stuff!"

He just looked mildly confused, and Lucy slowly realized that he hadn't even noticed them. It was a preposterous notion, given just how many had come on to him – most of them not in subtle ways – but that was the only explanation she could think of to rationalize why he seemed so befuddled about her questions.

To get to the bottom of it, she stated, "All those women were flirting with you. Big time."

He blinked, and then suddenly busted out laughing. "Oh! So that's why they were all acting so weird!"

Apparently her theory was correct, and it left her flabbergasted. "You didn't even notice?!"

He just continued to laugh, and soon the conversation ended as they reached their hotel. It was only then that Lucy realized she should have asked about what he meant by saying he was hers, instead of going on about all the other women. Now, it was awkward to bring up, and she spent the entire time climbing the stairs to their hotel room trying to figure out how to do it. By the time they'd unlocked the door and were inside their shared room, she had reached a stalemate, and just couldn't figure out how to broach the subject.

So, she did the thing that she always did when feeling stressed and confused. She retreated into the bathroom and drew herself a hot bath – which she soaked in for a long time and stewed over everything that had just happened.

The one thing she knew for sure was that she needed to ask him what he meant … and get a straight answer this time. If not, it was going to bug her till the end of time, and she would always wonder if she'd missed her chance with him. At this point, if he did have feelings for her, she would pursue her own emotions and try not to worry about the consequences. Sure, it might not work out, but she was a Fairy Tail wizard, and if she had learned one thing from being a part of her guild – it was to reach for the stars. Even if it ended in death, chaos, and destruction.

With renewed confidence and determination to get answers, she pulled herself from the hot water and toweled off briskly before striding out of the bathroom in her pajamas. She pulled up short though when she saw Natsu already passed out on the bed. For a long moment there was a silence that felt like crickets should start chirping, and then it felt like her balloon had been popped as something inside her deflated. With a sigh, she let her shoulders droop, and resigned herself to maybe never knowing. Who knew what tomorrow would hold? There was every possibility that she wouldn't get a chance to ask him.

So, she dragged her feet as she plodded to the bed, turning off lights as she went. Sleep didn't come easily though as she curled up under the covers and listened to Natsu's soft snores in the pitch-black room. Only the little lights on the air conditioner and the smoke detector blinked to show that her eyes were open instead of closed. Just like last night, everything that had happened recently swirled around in her head and kept her up as thoroughly as a washing machine cranking within her skull.

It was kind of surprising how Natsu didn't wake up even once during all her tossing and turning. His breathing and snores remained even and undisturbed no matter how she squirmed, trying to get physically comfortable at least. It was amazing how mental discomfort caused the body to be unable to find a comfortable position.

Finally, she got out of bed and made a bathroom trip – using it to splash warm water onto her face in the stupid hope that maybe it would somehow reset her brain. It just seemed like the thing to do, and it did feel good as she scrubbed her wet hands over itchy eyes. With a sigh and a groan, she shut off the water and dried herself before heading back to bed. This time though she left the nightlight on in the bathroom so that at least there would be some illumination to get back to bed. She didn't want to have to worry about stumbling into the bed and falling on top of Natsu – who was sleeping closer to the bathroom.

Once safely back on her side, she rolled onto her side and faced Natsu, watched his sleeping profile in the dim light from the bathroom. After a while of silently watching him, she sighed and mumbled quietly, "I wish I knew what you meant…when you said you were mine…"

Snorting softly, she admitted in a whisper, "You were right though, you crazy idiot. I really am completely yours…but I don't think you meant it like that…."

Because she was watching, she saw his eyes pop open.

Her brain hadn't shut up for the past few hours, but at the sight of his head turning and his awake eyes looking right at her, everything upstairs closed up shop and shut right down.

"What d'you mean?" he mumbled, sounding a little sleepy but perfectly lucid.

"Um…uh…did I wake you up?"

"I guess…" He shrugged and rolled onto his side to face her. "But I don't mind."

"Oh…er…good. Sorry though."

After a long pause, he prompted, "So, what'd you mean?"

"When I said I was yours?" At his nod, she gulped and made a knee-jerk decision to try and cover it up – even though this was probably the perfect opportunity to make a confession. "I'm uh…I mean…Well, you're my best friend." That was the best excuse she could come up with for what she'd said.

He gave her a bright grin, though it was still a little sleepy on the edges, and then he said through a yawn, "You're my best friend too!"

She couldn't resist returning his infectious smile, and the adrenaline still rushing through her system finally began to ease up. With a deep sigh, she closed her eyes and decided it was time to try and actually go to sleep before she got herself in more trouble. After another couple minutes of silence though, the quiet was broken by Natsu.

"Hey, Luce? You're more than my best friend though. You know that right?"

She instantly tensed up again and opened her eyes… to see him looking at her with an open, honest, almost innocent expression. His eyes glittered, and he almost looked a little scared…like he was afraid that he was doing something he shouldn't.

"Uh, well, I am your mage, but…"

"No, that's not…I mean – yeah you are – but that's not what I meant."

"Then, what did you mean?" Her heart was pounding a mile a minute, and it felt like the room was spinning a little even though she was lying down.

"I mean… I think I love you."

That caught her totally by surprise, and she stared at him and felt her jaw drop. "You…you _think_ you love me? What…uh…what makes you think that?" It was such an awkward way for him to say it, she was almost offended. He didn't _know_? Then again, she wasn't one hundred percent sure herself…so maybe she shouldn't be too hard on him.

He chuckled awkwardly and rolled onto his back, one hand reaching up to scratch at his hair in a fidgety sort of way. "Well, I mean I've never felt like this, so I can't be sure. But, I know I can't stop thinking about you, and I want to be around you all the time -"

"You've always wanted to be around me." she interrupted.

"Well yeah, but not like this. It's like… it almost _hurts_ to be separated. And when I look at you I feel all warm inside, and I just want to get closer – like I wanna grab you and hug you close and never let go. It's really weird…. I've never felt anything this strong before."

With that, he snuggled close, wrapped one arm around her and then buried his head under her chin, tucking his face into her neck. She was too shocked to respond and just let it happen, her eyes wide and her body limp. She had never expected him to come out and say those things, especially in such a conversational – if slightly concerned – tone. When air puffed over her neck and he nuzzled his nose to her skin, she tensed up and sucked in a sharp breath, instantly coming back to reality.

"You smell so good Luce, it drives me nuts…" he mumbled lazily into her throat, almost absentmindedly.

"U-um…thanks?" she squeaked, not sure how to respond to that statement. He'd mentioned the same thing before when they went dancing together, and it was just surprising now as it was then.

He sighed happily and then nuzzled closer, his whole body practically melting against her…like he'd been bottling this up for some time and was finally able to relax now. He was so relaxed in fact, that it almost seemed like he was gearing up to go back to sleep of all things, after shocking the hell out of her.

It was a long moment before she found her voice. "That sounds like love to me…"

"Yeah, that's what I thought…" he mumbled, sounding partially asleep already.

After a brief pause, he continued in an even sleepier tone, "I've been wanting to tell ya…but I was worried you'd get freaked out or somethin'…"

There was yet another long pause…one full of Lucy attempting to control her rapidly fluttering heart. She honestly wasn't sure if this was a dream, it seemed so utterly surreal. But if it was real…then there wasn't any reason for her to keep her feelings a secret, especially if Natsu was worried about her potentially freaking out.

So, she took a deep breath and quietly said, "I…I think I love you too…"

She felt him smile. "Really?! That's awesome Luce!"

He pulled her even closer, as tight as he could, and nuzzled his face against her a little more. Both his arms wound tight around her and even his legs worked into the mix, tangling with hers so thoroughly that it was almost uncomfortable. By the time he was done wrapping himself around her, she wasn't entirely sure where exactly she ended and he began.

And then he fell asleep, leaving Lucy wide awake and in a state of shock.

Had that really just happened? As if it was nothing? Was he sleep-talking? Her mind spun in circles, trying to make sense of the fact that they had both just confessed, and now Natsu was practically on top of her and sound asleep.

It took her a very long time to join him in dream-land.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek:**

 _"Hello Natsu. Lucy was just telling me about the job you two went on. It sounds like quite the adventure." Mira greeted._

 _He turned to the barmaid and snorted. "It wasn't an adventure. It was a pain in the butt."_

 _"Oh, well…in that case, you two should go and do something relaxing today. Take a little break. Do you have any plans?"_

 _"Yes actually!" he perked up, and Lucy cringed, already predicting what was about to happen. "Lucy and I are going on a date! Right Luce? We're going on a date today?"_

 _"Oh, uh, yeah." she muttered, a little self-conscious about having their relationship outted so quickly._


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note:**

Aaaaaand…another LONG chapter! Yay!

I hope it lives up to everyone's expectations. ;D

Also, I have a question. For future reference, is there anyone out there who wants a warning when there's a lemon coming up? Be sure to let me know. Otherwise I won't put in any warnings. ;D

As always, HUGE, SPARKLY, HAPPY, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Big hugs and kisses to all my repeat reviewers: WisdomDragon27, TheJSmooth, Elphaba818, Lady La-sara, 19vanelkc, Firefly9917, HotvampGurl23, TheOldIronKing, valerioux, Musiclover237, Donthedarkdragon26, Maczorro, TheAvatarShadow, thechani, Shadowslayer15, Daisy73, FantasyDreamer06, lkityan, ravenqueen162, Leomae2.0, KitsuneLover05, Ksta, moeruhoshi, Wolves silver wind, and mumof4. Equally big hugs and kisses to all my newest reviewers: silentlinkmit339, PandaWarMaster, and Lucinda. You guys are all amazing and wonderful!

So now, on with the show! And stay tuned till the end for the sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

The next day, she woke to find Natsu curled around her, and the strange sensation of a tail coiled around her leg. While she had woken up with him cuddling up to her many times before…this was the first time that she'd ever been gripped in what felt like a python's hug. It was such a curious sensation that it took a very long time for her sleepy mind to make sense of it, or even try to figure out what exactly it was. In fact, she had to actually lift the covers and look at the red limb twined in between and around her legs for her to finally figure it out.

That woke her up real fast, and she immediately geared up to kick Natsu out of bed – although kicking was literally impossible for her at the moment with her legs restrained as they were. However, before she did, last night crept to the forefront of her brain and she froze, remembering their strange confessions.

Had that really happened? Had Natsu really said that he loved her, and had she really responded in kind? In the bright light of morning, it was hard to believe.

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to contemplate it too long, because she had slept through her alarm. When she happened to glance at the clock, every other thought was wiped from her mind.

"SHIT! NATSU! We're gonna be late!" she screeched and launched herself from the bed – dragging Natsu with her. They both ended up on the ground, tangled in limbs and covers.

"What the…what's going on?!" he yelped, and then apparently concluded that they were under attack, because he burst into flames.

"GAH! Put that out right now before you set the hotel on fire!" Lucy screamed, yanking the covers away from them and patting out the flames. It was pretty singed, and she winced, staring at the black scorch marks…wondering if that was going to come out of their payment. Probably.

After that debacle, they somehow got ready and made it to work on time.

Thankfully this was their last day at the burlesque restaurant, because Lucy was starting to get tired of it.

Although … she certainly wasn't getting tired of watching Natsu dancing up on stage in western gear – complete with a cowboy hat, boots, and assless chaps. Completely unbiased, Lucy determined that Natsu's was most definitely the best butt up there, not that she spent too much time looking at the others. They were nice and all, but they just didn't measure up to his … tail and all. At least this costume didn't have to get cut up to make room for his fifth limb.

She was also a bit surprised and couldn't help but laugh when he used his fire like a whip and popped it over the crowd's heads during his solo. She was the only person who didn't flinch and grinned at him when he caught her eye and winked – a broad toothy smirk of his own crawling across his lips.

Thankfully nothing untoward happened on her end dealing with rowdy customers, so their last day passed quickly and without incident. At the end of it, Silvester paid them and did his very best to convince them to take a permanent job with him … which they politely declined. They left with an open invitation to come back anytime if they were short on cash and just needed a temp job to pay a bill…which Lucy was actually really grateful for. It was nice to have a backup if she needed to pay rent and there weren't any short jobs on the board. If nothing else, this job had paid well and was sort of fun.

The entire train ride home – which Lucy did alone of course, since Natsu + trains = vomit – she finally relaxed and put her feet up, thinking back on the past few days. It had been a crazy job…and she was determined to kick Gray's butt when she got back. Or more accurately, she fully intended to sick Natsu on him. This had been a dirty way to get back at them. Sure, it had been sort of fun, but it had also involved her getting groped (TWICE), and Natsu nearly burning the place down with fury (ALSO twice).

Although…it hadn't been all bad. Immediately Lucy's mind was consumed by thinking about what had happened between them last night.

She'd wanted to bring it up earlier, but just hadn't had a chance to. Frankly, it still felt like a dream her brain had cooked up after spending hours stewing over him. She desperately wanted to ask him if it had really happened, and what it meant for them going forward. Were they a couple now? Could she call him her boyfriend? Should she worry about their future and how dating a celestial fire dragon may, or may not work out? Honestly…they were basically different species…not that she really cared anymore. Still, it was probably something she should ask about, just so she would have an idea of what to expect.

At least 80 percent of the train ride was spent with her daydreaming and deep in thought as she considered this newest development in her and Natsu's relationship. Eventually though, she summoned Pikachu again to keep her company, and he was only too happy to spend the last thirty minutes snuggling with her. When the train finally screeched to a halt in Magnolia, she sent him back to the celestial realm with a little packet of ketchup as thanks for his company. After discovering he liked the red sauce so much, she'd stocked up on small packets of it to give him whenever she summoned him for a social visit.

She'd arrived at the train station sooner than she would have thought – being so consumed in her thoughts as she had been, the time had flown by. It was night by the time she got home, so she made a beeline for her apartment. She could sign in at the guildhall tomorrow… her first priority right now was to get things straight with Natsu, and she knew he would show up soon. This was one conversation that she would rather have in private.

Almost as soon as she got back to her apartment, Natsu reappeared as she had predicted.

Before she could chicken out, she blurted, "Did last night really happen? I mean…did I dream us saying that we loved each other?"

He cocked his head and blinked at her, giving her a really weird look, before saying, "Um…yeah? I told ya I loved you, and you said it back…" There was a long pause as he continued to give her a perplexed stare.

Then there was an awkward pause – for her at least – as she tried to figure out what to say next, and then flushed as she realized that she hadn't even said hello to him before busting out with her inquisition.

Eventually, she relocated her tongue and figured out how to properly use it. "Okay…good. So….what now?"

His head cranked another degree to the side, and she could practically see question marks popping up in the air above his head. "What d'you mean?"

She gestured back and forth between them to help clarify. "I mean, now what for us? Where do we go from here?"

There was just silence on his end as he continued to give her a blank expression that said he had no idea what the heck she was talking about.

Hot air puffed out of her mouth in what should have been a sigh but ended up being infinitely more aggressive as her exasperation spiked at his obliviousness. "We confessed our feelings! What does that mean for us? Are we still friends? Partners? Are we in a relationship now? Is that even allowed between a mage and a celestial spirit?! Do we just continue on as we've been doing, or does something change?"

He stared at her with wide eyes. "You really overthink things Luce."

That ticked her off a little. "I am not! Usually when people confess romantic feelings for each other, it means they start dating and stuff! But our situation is not normal, so I don't know where to go from here!"

"Well…I guess we're 'dating and stuff' then."

"But…is that even possible with us? I mean, you're a celestial spirit!"

"So?"

"Isn't there some rule against being romantically involved with your mage or something?"

"Nooo…." he said slowly, and gave her another funny look – as if he was wondering if she was stupid or something.

"Oh."

There was another pause as she absorbed that information. There was still the issue of the future and where this could possibly go, but at the moment she chose to not think about that.

Her thought process was interrupted by Natsu when he grinned brightly and asked, "So, what does this dating stuff do?"

"Huh?"

"You said you wanted to date and stuff, so … how do we do that?"

She blinked, suddenly under the impression that he had no clue when it came to romance. "Um…you do know what I mean by dating right?"

"I know it's something that couples do, but I don't really know what a 'date' is exactly." he clarified, and grinned at her unrepentantly.

"Oh. Uh…basically, if we go anywhere together to have fun…and be with each other, then it's a date."

His pink eyebrows scrunched together a little in confusion. "Then doesn't that mean we've already been dating since we met? Cause whenever we go anywhere together, we have fun, right Luce?"

That got a grin out of her. "Yeah. We do. But it's not really a date unless you intend for it to be a date. Like you said, it's something couples do. If two friends go out to eat, it's not a date. Plus, there's more romantic things to do, like holding hands and … kissing and stuff." She flushed a little at the thought of kissing Natsu.

He blinked, seemed to think about it for a minute. After a moment, he plopped down onto her bed with a broad grin. "Sounds like fun! So, do you wanna go on a date tonight?"

She gaped at him and then shook her head. "Um, no. It's too late, and I'm tired. We just got back from a mission."

He pouted and glanced at the clock, which read about 9:00 PM. "Okay, fine. But tomorrow we're going on a date!"

It was incredibly cute how excited he was about this, and she couldn't quite help but smile and chuckle softly at his antics. "Alright. But first we have to report in to the master and let him know we completed the mission successfully."

"Sure!" he agreed with another of his easy, toothy grins, and she was helpless but to smile back.

"Alright, well I'm taking a bath." she chuckled, and headed off into the bath.

After a nice thirty-minute soak and her normal nightly routine, she made her way back into the bedroom and then stalled at the sight that met her. Natsu was sprawled across her mattress, sound asleep, with a goofy grin on his lips and his eyes closed. Thankfully he'd taken his shoes off.

With a soft smile tugging on her lips, she walked over to her bed and lightly prodded the sleeping dragon, saying, "Natsu…did you wanna take a bath too?"

Then a random thought occurred to her, and she frowned down at him curiously. "Actually, do celestial spirits even take baths?"

He woke with a start, and his eyes popped open to look up at her. "Sure we do. Usually I bath back home in my lava tub, but I can take a shower or something here if I don't wanna go back."

Her mind took a slight detour at the words 'lava tub,' and she blinked, trying to process it. "Um…by lava tub, do you mean…?"

"A bathtub full of lava. It's great! You should try it sometime. Burns all the dirt and stuff right off."

"…I'm pretty sure that would kill me."

He pouted. "Oh. Right. Well, you're missing out."

"I'll, uh, take your word for it." She snorted, and then asked, "So…did you want to take a shower? I know for a fact you didn't take any on our mission, and we just spent four days in a bar. You had to have gotten alcohol and stuff spilled all over you."

"Yeah I definitely did. But I took one while you were on the train, so it's all good."

"Oh, alright then."

She grabbed her brush and then joined him on the bed, still feeling a little odd about it as she did so. Aside from the last couple of nights – and when she was sick – she hadn't ever fallen asleep with him in her bed before. He'd always snuck in after she had fallen asleep, so this new arrangement was still a bit new and weird to her.

After a few minutes, another random thought occurred to her. "Hey, don't you have pajamas or something?"

"No. Why?" he asked curiously as he tucked his hands under his head and watched her get the last few tangles out of her wet hair.

A moment later, she tossed her hairbrush onto the nightstand and shoved him over with an elbow. He grunted but moved over closer to the wall and window without protesting.

"Then what do you normally sleep in?" she asked.

He just stared at her and then gave her a broad grin with closed eyes. "Nothing."

That shouldn't have surprised her, but it did, and she gaped down at him. "You sleep naked?!"

"Not when I'm here."

"Obviously." She snorted and wiggled under the covers with him. "Well … as long as they're fresh clothes that's fine."

"You've never complained about what I wore to bed before."

"That's because I never gave you permission! You just snuck in without me knowing, and I kicked you out when I woke up."

"You didn't always kick me out…"

"Sometimes I was too tired. Or you were too warm. Or…I just didn't want to."

They shared a small grin. Then she snuggled down into the covers and rolled onto her side, facing away from him, and turned out the lamp so it was dark. "Goodnight, Natsu."

"Night Luce." he rumbled.

There was a long, ever so slightly awkward pause, and then he suddenly snuggled right up behind her and buried his face into the nape of her neck.

Quietly, he mumbled, "Love you," into her hair, and a smile yanked sweetly on the corners of her mouth.

"Love you too…"

His arms tightened around her, and he gave her a squeeze. Warm breath painted her neck, and she shivered as he snuffled her with his nose and then pressed his lips to her skin. It wasn't really a kiss …. it was more of a nuzzle with his mouth.

Their legs tangled together, and soon she felt something snake around her top leg and coil snugly. That was definitely his tail, and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about it.

The heat of his body soon lulled her to sleep.

…

The next day, she unsurprisingly woke to find Natsu still wrapped around her. His tail was thoroughly tangled around her legs, somehow having worked around both during the night. Warmth covered her from head to toe, and when she sleepily stretched, she met with resistance as Natsu gripped tighter. His head rested on her shoulder – nose buried in her neck – and an arm draped across her stomach, while his leg hiked over her thigh.

Her first reaction to his pulling her closer was to kick him off her – simply out of habit – but she reined herself in at the last moment. He grunted at the little twitch that ran through her, and then snuggled further into her side with a satisfied sigh.

"Um…Natsu, it's time to get up…"

"…mmmm…five more minutes…" he mumbled.

She rolled her eyes and lightly poked his cheek. "No, now. Don't make me kick you out of bed…cause I will."

After a bit more prompting, she eventually got him up and moving, and soon they were setting off to the guildhall.

As soon as they arrived, she glanced around, and when she didn't see Master Makarov anywhere she went to Mira to report.

"Hey Mira."

"Oh! Lucy! Welcome back. Did your mission go well?"

"Yeah, it was fine. Also…how's Happy, Carla, and Wendy? Have they gotten back yet?"

"No, not yet." the transformation mage replied with a kind smile, knowing that this was the first time Lucy had been separated from Happy like this.

They were interrupted – as usual – by a massive fight breaking out behind Lucy, as Natsu confronted Gray about setting them up.

"You deserved it Flame Butt!"

"Bring it Ice Princess! I'll burn ya to a crisp! You get one punch for every perv that eyeballed Lucy!"

"If he does that, we're gonna be here all day…" Lucy mumbled, shaking her head.

Mira giggled sympathetically. "Oh my…was it really that bad?"

"The dancing was fun, but yeah, the costumes were a bit risqué."

"Dear me."

Despite what he'd said, the fight actually didn't last long. Natsu apparently had other things on his mind, and soon enough he was getting distracted and came over to join Lucy at the bar. Gray followed behind at a slower pace, massaging his jaw a little.

"How's it going Luce?" Natsu chirped and draped his arm across her shoulders, nearly knocking her out of her seat.

"Oh, uh, good." she sputtered, managing to reply as she steadied herself.

"Hello Natsu. Lucy was just telling me about the job you two went on. It sounds like quite the adventure." Mira greeted.

He turned to the barmaid and snorted. "It wasn't an adventure. It was a pain in the butt."

"Oh, well…in that case, you two should go and do something relaxing today. Take a little break. Do you have any plans?"

"Yes actually!" he perked up, and Lucy cringed, already predicting what was about to happen. "Lucy and I are going on a date! Right Luce? We're going on a date today?"

Naturally, as he was speaking, Gray came up and joined them at the bar, just making the situation more awkward.

"Oh, uh, yeah." she muttered, a little self-conscious about having their relationship outted so quickly.

Gray grinned and slapped Natsu on the shoulder. "Good job! It's about time Pyro!"

"Heh, funny coming from you, Droopy Eyes. How long did it take for you to get with Juvia?"

Gray flushed and glared, quickly interrupting with, "Shut it Dumbass!"

Naturally, this rekindled their fight, and they tumbled off together as Juvia came up and joined Lucy at the bar. They stood on the sidelines and watched their boyfriends beating the shit out of each other.

With a sigh, Lucy said, "What are we going to do with them?"

"Boys will be boys!" Juvia sung back, then laughed. "Oh, my darling Gray is so heroic…! Go my darling!" she cheered loudly for him.

Lucy rolled her eyes, but then just smiled and went with the flow. "Alright fine. You got this Natsu!"

"My Love will definitely win."

"You wanna bet? Natsu's gonna kick his ass."

"Never!" Juvia said, and then turned back to Gray and called, "If you win I'll do anything you want!"

Two could play at that game, and she had a funny feeling that Natsu would be more motivated by that than Gray. "Alright! Natsu! If you win, I'll do the same!"

In response, Natsu bellowed, "I'm fired up now! Prepare to die Popsicle Dick!"

They tussled, and Natsu got pretty close to destroying the guildhall. Since Gray was nice and toasty by the end of it, Natsu was definitely the victor in Lucy's book, though of course the two of them argued over who won and refused to agree. Gray was also convinced that he had won. Meanwhile, it looked like Juvia had forgotten all about their bet and ran to Gray so she could fuss over him, insisting that they go take care of his burns.

Natsu came over to Lucy with a big grin. "I won! So now you gotta do anything I ask you to, right?"

Not thinking he was going to suggest anything uncomfortable or anything to be nervous about, she grinned back and agreed. "Sure."

"Great! I'll think about what I'm gonna ask you to do while we're on our date. So you ready to go?"

"Yep."

"Alright! I've got a fire in my belly now!"

He grabbed her hand and took off with her running out of the guildhall. She was dragged along behind him and laughed breathlessly as they took off like their lives depended on it. "Where are we going?!"

After a couple of blocks, he skidded to a halt. "Dunno. Where do you wanna go?"

She leaned over and grabbed her knees while she panted to catch her breath from the mad dash. "Uh…lunch maybe?"

"Sounds good to me! I smell some great food this way!"

Once again, she was being dragged along after him. "Woah! Slow down Natsu!"

He laughed but did slow down a little as they once again raced down the street, until they screeched to a halt in front of the restaurant that his nose had led him to. "This place smells good!"

"Oh…good…" Lucy gasped, and then breathlessly laughed a little as she wiped sweat off her brow.

They went inside and were seated, and naturally Natsu ordered everything on the menu.

"So what else do we do on a date? Where else do you wanna go?"

"Um…well we could go for a walk in the park, or…there's that new indoor swim park I've been wanting to go to. Or…there's an amusement park in a city nearby. Or we could go dancing again. Or…I dunno."

"Swimming sounds like fun!"

"We'll have to stop back by my apartment, so I can get my swimsuit." she hurried to add, not wanting to be dragged off again without it.

"That's fine."

Once they had decided on a destination, they finished eating relatively quickly, and then rushed back to her apartment so she could grab her swimsuit and pack it in a bag with water bottles and other necessities.

About an hour later, they arrived at the swim park, and Lucy was beyond ready to take a dip in some cool water. Despite it being cold outside, the quick pace Natsu insisted on setting for them had made her work up a sweat. First though, they had to make a pitstop at the changing rooms so Lucy could switch into her bikini – the white one with a pink hibiscus over one breast and pink strings. It was her go-to swimsuit, because it was so cute and fit so perfectly.

After she popped back out of the changing rooms, Natsu's eyes glanced her over, and then he grinned broadly. "Looks good Luce! I'll go change now. Be right back."

He poofed in a little flame, and she sat on the nearby bench to wait for him to come back from the celestial realm. There were a few little screams when he disappeared, but Lucy easily ignored them – she was used to those sorts of shocked reactions from people by now. There were even more as Natsu reappeared in swim trunks, and then the whispers started. His red tail was on full display sticking out of the back of his black swim trunks – which of course had a bright-red flame design crawling up the side of one leg. Funnily enough, he still wore his scarf, though it was now around his head like a bandana…and for the first time she saw that he had a dangerous-looking jagged scar along the right side of his throat.

"You ready to go swimming?" he asked with one of his toothy grins that showed off his fangs.

She completely disregarded all the stares and whispers as she stood and grinned back at him. "Yeah! Let's go!"

They set off hand in hand, and for a little while they ambled along aimlessly, just looking at various rides and pools to play in.

"Hey! Let's check out the wave pool!"

He was pointing at one that had huge waves every now and then, and Lucy looked at it somewhat askance. "It looks a little dangerous…"

"Oh, come on, don't be a chicken." He grabbed her hand tighter and tugged her behind him into the large pool.

At the edge, the water lapped at their ankles in a very ocean-like way, and then as they got deeper the draw and pull caused her to sway as she walked. It was actually pretty fun, and she snagged a large innertube as it floated by and quickly slipped up into it. It was really big though, and as she tried to lean on one side, it arched up behind her and then flipped over, leaving her bottoms-up.

"Umph!"

She kicked her legs in the air and tried to flip herself and the tube right side up again, but it wasn't quite working out for her. Then suddenly she felt the tube moving, and she was surfacing again and spat out a mouthful of water.

Natsu's hand was on the tube, and he was laughing his head off. With a hot glare, she swatted some water in his direction and managed to spray him right in the face, causing him to sputter. Then he laughed and sprayed her with water right back. Naturally, at that point an epic water fight broke out as they splashed each other, laughing and coughing in equal measures as they inhaled the water when it hit their faces. It didn't last too long though, and after a little while, their battle devolved into giggles and chuckles.

Once there was no longer any danger of getting a face-full of splashed water, Lucy grabbed another passing tube and leaped into it, only for it to start tilting just like the first.

"Yikes! Don't you dare, you stupid piece of inflated rubber!" she firmly instructed the inflatable device.

Natsu busted out laughing again and slapped a hand down on his side of the tube to keep it down. "What's going on with this thing?"

"I think it's just too big, so when I lean on one side it flips over me."

He eyeballed it. "Do you think it's big enough for two?"

"Probably…but…"

Before she could finish, he was diving down and she felt him slide up in the water beside her. Soon he popped up inside the tube too.

"Uh…isn't this a mode of transportation?"

He looked at it contemplatively, but then said, "Nah. And if I start getting sick I can always just duck out of it or hold onto you instead."

"O-okay."

Things were a little snug in the innertube, but it worked okay. As they floated out deeper, the waves got harder, and sent them up and down in their little flotation device. It was actually soothing … at least to Lucy. For Natsu though, he quickly had to switch from holding onto the inner tube to holding onto her. They ended up with her resting her chest and arms on one side of the tube, while Natsu basically spooned her and had his arms wrapped around her middle. Strangely, when he was holding onto her instead of the tube, he was just fine and didn't get motion sick.

"Why does it make a difference?" she finally asked, curious about the reasoning behind it.

He shrugged. "You're not transportation."

"…oh."

Her brain shorted out a little at the oddness of that statement. The only thing she could figure, was that it was at least partially mental.

Whatever the case, it let her feel his bare chest pressed into her almost bare back, so it was worth suspending her logic for that. Something long and warm slipped around her leg and then twined around and around all the way down to her foot. The slight jostling between them caused by the movement of the water grew much less as he tethered himself to her more securely with his tail.

For a long time, they just floated there like that, resting against each other and enjoying the feel of the water and the warmth of their bodies.

After a while, Natsu mumbled, "Is this what ya meant by the romantic stuff that happens on dates?"

She chuckled as his words got muffled through his closed teeth and lips since he didn't bother to pick his chin up off her shoulder to speak.

"Yeah. This is the kinda stuff I meant."

"It's nice." he sighed, nuzzling into her neck. She'd noticed that he seemed to really like doing that.

Since this was a great opportunity to do so, she asked, "Why do you always do that?"

"What?"

"Bury your face in my neck and shoulder and hair."

His shrug was translated to her by the feel of it against her. "Smells good I guess? Feels good too."

"What is it with you and smell?"

"Dragons have a great sense of smell. You should know that by now."

"Well yeah, I know that!" she said exasperatedly. "What I meant was, why do you keep bringing up _my_ smell?"

"Because you smell good?" he repeated questioningly.

"Oh for the love of…never mind…"

"What's wrong with me saying you smell good?"

"Nothing Natsu. It's flattering…but I guess it's also a little embarrassing."

He laughed. "You overthink everything Luce! You should just get used to it, cause I'm probably gonna say it a lot."

"Don't you have a filter between your brain and your mouth? Or does everything on your mind come straight out?"

"I have some filters…but not many." he admitted with another laugh and then nuzzled her again. "Especially not with you. I generally say whatever I wanna when it's just us."

"Ya…I noticed."

After some more floating, he eventually got antsy. "So you wanna do something else now?"

"Sure."

And so, they dogpaddled their way back to the shore and then let the innertube loose back into the wild.

"What's next?"

"Let's go check out that big slide!" Natsu asked enthusiastically, and they took off towards the big twisty monster that featured as the main attraction. Thankfully there wasn't a huge line on the stairs leading up to its mouth, so they got in after only a few minutes of waiting.

It was a two-person ride, so Natsu got on right behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Then they were off. Water went flying, Lucy screamed, Natsu laughed, and they zipped down at an ungodly speed before splashing down into the large pool at the end. That was the only time they rode it though, because the last few feet made Natsu motion sick, and he nearly threw up in her hair.

After that, they stayed away from any of the slides or rides and stuck to pools. There was a river though that was sort of a slide, but not really. It had rapids and stuff, but the bottom was smooth, so you didn't need a floaty of any kind – you could just ride it on your butt. It was fun, but Lucy had the worst wedgie of her whole life afterwards. Natsu made sure to point it out and laugh, which she smacked him for.

Then they perused the food stalls, and Natsu ate way too much, but Lucy couldn't blame him really. The food at this water park was actually shockingly good, and she found herself eating more than was probably good for her figure. They had to wait a bit after that before entering back into the pools of course, so they spent the time walking around hand in hand and eyeballing what they wanted to do next as soon as their bellies settled.

Over all, it was an enjoyable mix of fun, excitement, and relaxation that Lucy could really find herself getting addicted to.

…

When they got home later that night, they were exhausted but happy. As soon as they got back to Lucy's apartment, they collapsed together on the couch.

"We definitely need showers before bed. I stink of chlorine." Lucy complained, sniffing her hair.

"Sure. Go on ahead."

"You need one too! You smell like pool just as much as I do, you know!"

"Wanna take one together then?" he asked innocently, and she just stared at him with wide eyes for a long moment.

"Um…isn't it a little soon for that?" she asked weakly.

"Soon? What d'you mean?"

"We haven't even kissed yet!"

His head cocked to the side as he stared at her with a thoroughly confused look on his face. "What does kissing have to do with taking a shower?"

Sighing, Lucy realized that she was going to have to spell out the stages of a relationship's progress to him. "Alright. Look. Here's how the physical part of a romance generally progresses. You go on a date or two, and then have your first kiss. Then you go on more dates and kiss some more and eventually start touching each other. Usually touching above the waist is considered the first stage, and then everything below the waist is a more advanced stage. Eventually clothes start coming off. Once nudity is involved – whether it's partial nudity or full frontal – usually more…involved activities start to happen."

When he didn't seem to pick up what she meant by 'involved activities,' she sighed again and clarified. "I mean sex Natsu. Various stages of sex and sexual activities generally happen once clothes start coming off. It can happen with clothes on too, but…it generally starts with the removal of clothing."

His eyes widened, and his lips formed an 'o.'

"Right. So showering requires nudity, which usually involves…stuff that we haven't even gotten close to doing yet."

He shook his head. "Humans are so complicated."

"Yeah…well. Sorry, but you're in a relationship with one now. So, you're just gonna have to deal." she said with a slight snort of amusement.

After that little lesson on dating a human, Lucy disappeared into the bathroom, and Natsu was left on his own, wondering how the hell he was supposed to remember everything she had just told him. It seemed kind of important to remember, but she'd just spouted out so much stuff that he knew he would never keep it straight.

With a groan, he looked around for any ideas, and eventually his eyes landed on a lone piece of paper on her kitchen counter. Curious, he went over to get a better look.

"Huh…bananas, apples, eggs, milk, Happy's fish…this must be her grocery list."

Suddenly a lightbulb went on above his head and he grinned, taking the piece of paper and flipping it over. With a pen he found lying around, he quickly wrote down a list of his own.

…

A little while later, Lucy was drying her hair with her blow dryer as Natsu was taking a shower. Right about when she was finished with it, the click of the door signaled that Natsu was done. When he came out in nothing but a towel though, she very nearly dropped her dryer and fumbled with it before shutting it off and safely putting it on her dresser.

"Uh…why are you just wearing a towel?"

He glanced down and raised an eyebrow. "Cause it was there?"

"Well, could you put on some clothes now?"

He shrugged, and poofed in a little flame that almost set her towel on fire.

Shaking her head, she headed into the bathroom to brush her teeth, and while she was in there she happened to note the neatly folded scarf he had surprisingly left on the bathroom counter. As soon as she'd finished getting ready for bed, she very carefully picked up the white rectangle and relocated it to the nightstand, figuring that he would want it near him as he slept.

A second later he popped back in, wearing soft-looking black pajama pants that hung low on his hips.

"Uh…I thought you didn't wear pajamas…" she asked, coughing to clear her throat.

"After you brought it up, I asked Virgo for a pair. Are these okay?"

"Yeah. They look just fine."

"Cool." He nodded, and then obviously noted the scarf she had moved because his eyes widened somewhat.

"Oh, um…I hope you don't mind. I figured you'd rather have it here and not in the bathroom."

A soft smile startled her, and his head cocked in a way that seemed almost tender as his gaze gentled. "Yeah…thanks Luce."

"You're welcome." she managed to get past the lump in her throat, and he shot her a much brighter grin.

Then, he turned around to head into the kitchen and undoubtedly raid their fridge. The thought caused her to pause and she wondered when she'd started to think of things around the apartment as 'theirs.' However, she was distracted from the thought when she noticed that his tail was poking through a snug hole in the pajama bottoms. As he stuck his head in the fridge, his tail began to wag a little in excitement, and she hid a snicker behind her hand.

After he'd grabbed a snack, he grabbed her and hauled her down to the couch with him as he munched. She snagged a book on the way and read a little while he stuffed his face. By the time he was done, she was thoroughly engrossed in her story, so she didn't notice how his attention shifted to her or how his eyes started staring at her contemplatively.

She definitely noticed though when a finger hooked over the spine of her book and tugged on it.

Lowering it so she could see over the top, she leveled a look at him. "Yes?"

"I have something to tell you."

"Okay…what is it?"

"I wanna kiss you."

Once again, she was left dumbfounded by his blunt phrasing and sense of timing. It was so…odd sometimes. "I…uh…okay?"

He leaned in a little and tugged the book out of her hands. Before he could lose her place, she pulled it back out of his hands and stuck in a book mark, then set it safely on the side table. After that, she turned her full attention back to him, and her heart starting jackhammering inside her chest as if that was its new purpose in life.

He licked his lips and scooted closer to her on the couch. Her breath caught in her throat as the pulse there skyrocketed and seemed to strangle her.

He didn't come closer than that though, and after glancing off to the side a second, he took a deep breath and said, "Uh…before I do that though…I have to explain something about dragons so it won't freak you out."

That somehow didn't bode well, and a new kind of tension stuck in her. "Alright…"

"When we kiss, or do other stuff with our mouths, we tend to share our element. And of course in my case, that'd be fire."

"Share your fire? That, uh, sounds a little dangerous."

He pursed his lips. "Well…yeah. Technically. I mean, it'll kill anyone who's not a claimed dragon's mate."

At that, she felt faint. "K-kill? Okay, wait. Hold on just a minute. First of all, what did you mean by, 'you _tend_ to share your element.' Is it something you just can't help? Like, it just leaks out?"

He nodded. "Basically. It happens when we get too into it."

"Well. That puts a whole new meaning to 'fired up'…" she muttered to herself.

He must have heard, because after a long moment he busted out laughing. "That's a good one Luce!"

"Yeah, well. Thanks. But don't get too excited, I've got a whole bunch more questions that need answering. First of all, just let me get this straight. You will randomly leak fire into the mouth of the person you're kissing if you get too excited. That about cover it?"

He nodded a little sheepishly.

"And this fire will kill the person you are kissing?"

Again, he nodded.

"Unless they are a …?"

"Claimed dragon's mate."

"And what exactly is a 'dragon's mate?' And how do they get 'claimed?' Is it the person you choose to be your mate?"

"Uh, no. Not exactly. I have no power over that. I could choose anyone to be my girlfriend if I wanted to, but that wouldn't make them a dragon's mate. They have to be a 'dragon claimant' first – which is just something you either are or aren't."

"Okay…and what's a 'dragon claimant?'" she asked, feeling like she was going in circles.

"It's someone who has the ability to become a dragon's mate."

"And how do they become one?"

"They get claimed by a dragon's element. It's like slayer magic, they take on an aspect of – or more like an immunity to – a specific dragon's magic after spending a lot of time with them. Then, they're a dragon's mate, but can only be _that_ dragon's mate."

She felt a little weak and sick to her stomach. "Okay…so no kissing then. Thanks for warning me."

"Well, actually, you're my dragon's mate."

That got her attention real fast. "What?! What makes you think that?!"

"You aren't burned by my fire."

She blinked at him. If he was right, it would explain why his fire hadn't ever hurt her, despite coming into direct contact with it. She had always just assumed that she'd dodged it somehow, or that he had used a weaker flame around her.

"I…don't know about that. Don't you just use a weaker fire around me?"

He shook his head. "Nope. But if you don't believe me, I can prove it to you."

"How exactly?"

He looked around and then grabbed a piece of paper. Once it was crinkled up and held in the palm of his hand, he reached out to her and grabbed her hand, the paper between their palms. Before she could protest, his hand had burst into bright fire, hot enough that it instantly burned the paper to mere ashes – which drifted down and scattered across their laps. She gasped and jerked back, expecting to get burned, but his hand clamped down on hers and prevented her from pulling back.

Her eyes closed, and she cringed back in expectance of pain, but all she felt was heat. There was no pain alongside it. Slowly she opened her eyes and stared, jaw dropping, at his hand holding hers. Her hand was on fire. Literally bathed in it. But it was just fine. Her skin wasn't burning at all.

"See?"

When she slowly nodded, he let her hand drop, and she stared at it in shock. It was slightly red from the heat, the way she would turn pink after a hot bath, but it wasn't injured at all. Then, he reached forwards and grabbed a lock of her hair.

"It won't even burn your hair. See?"

When he set his fingers on fire, her hair glowed from the light, but it didn't smoke, didn't light on fire … nothing.

"Believe me now? Only a dragon's mate would be that stubborn about getting burned. So sharing my fire with you won't hurt you at all. You might just get really hot. But I wanted to warn you so you'd expect it. Okay?"

"I…I'm just…give me a second here to absorb this."

After a pause, Natsu scooted a little closer to her and asked, "Are you scared?"

"I…I'm not scared. I just…I mean you just told me that your kiss is basically lethal! Of course that's going to unnerve me a little…"

He pursed his lips and seemed to think about it for a moment. "What if I promised to stop before I accidentally shared any fire? It might make the kiss kinda short, but if it would make you feel better I wouldn't mind."

"Maybe…just to start with…" she agreed, a little knot of tension easing up inside her.

He grinned. "Okay! Then…can I kiss you now?" His eyes flicked down to her mouth and then back up to meet her gaze.

She licked her lips and nodded, feeling her heart start to flutter wildly in her chest as excitement once again took over as the predominant emotion inside her.

Of course, naturally things didn't exactly go smoothly … because Natsu was a little overeager. He grinned and pressed close before leaning in, but his face approached hers much too fast. She didn't even have a chance to jerk back to avoid the collision, and when their noses crashed together she yelped.

She flinched back and protested. "Ow! Watch it Natsu! Not so fast!"

"Whoops, sorry Luce…" he chuckled awkwardly, blushing a little.

"It's okay just…go a lot slower and tilt your head a little so our noses don't collide."

"Sounds like you know your stuff! Have you done this before?" he asked with just a tone of curiosity, not jealousy or suspicion.

"Um…I've done it a couple times before, yeah, but not a lot." she mumbled, still a little awkward about the conversation.

He nodded and then paused. When he started to pout and frown a little, she could tell he'd put two and two together and realized that that meant she had kissed other guys, so she quickly distracted him.

"How about you? Have you ever kissed anyone before?"

Thankfully it worked, and his frown switched to a grin. "Nope, never been interested before."

As those words filtered through her brain, she felt herself flush a little with happiness as a bubble of warmth inflated inside her chest. She wanted to ask why her specifically, because she couldn't imagine what was so special about her to suddenly make him interested in those things, but she didn't get a chance to.

He was leaning in again, and softly asked, "So…can I try again now?"

She nodded and hurried to reach up and bracket his face with her hands so she could help guide him…just for a little extra security.

This time he went slow enough that he didn't smash into her face, so his lips actually connected. They didn't really land on her mouth though, he ended up more on her cheek than her mouth, but he quickly relocated to the side and found her lips. It was far from the most romantic first kiss in the world, but it was Natsu's lips on hers and that was enough to make her flushed and have her heart pounding.

His lips were insanely warm, slightly chapped, and pursed too tightly for a proper kiss. He also didn't move his lips at all, and it was pretty obvious he had no idea how to actually kiss someone. With his lips tightly puckered – almost like he'd just eaten something super sour – she couldn't really do much, so after a long slightly awkward moment, she pulled back. As soon as she did, he started to say something, probably along the lines of 'what's wrong?' but she didn't give him a chance to actually speak.

Catching him off guard, she kissed him again and felt him gasp against her mouth in surprise. For a brief moment she felt his mouth against hers the way it was supposed to be, but then he puckered up again, and she couldn't help but sigh a little in amused exasperation.

This time when she pulled back, it was only a hairsbreadth, and her lips brushed against his as she whispered, "Stop puckering. Just relax your mouth and try to do what I do."

As she whispered the instructions, she could feel herself blush bright red, a little flustered about having to actually spell it out for him, but it was also kind of funny and cute in a way. For some reason, she found it adorable that he was so innocent about this kind of stuff.

"Oh…okay." he whispered back.

This time when she reconnected their lips, his were relaxed. A little jolt went through her at the sensation of his superheated mouth molding against hers, and she didn't hesitate to move her lips against his, starting gently and slowly so he could easily follow the motions. For a long moment, he didn't respond and just let her kiss his lax mouth, but soon he started hesitantly imitating her, using soft pulling and pushing motions of lips against lips. When she felt him start to kiss her back, another zing went through her, and it almost felt like she was zapped in the stomach with a little bit of lightning. It felt good, and she slanted her lips against his more firmly to get better contact.

She both heard and felt him suck his breath in through his nose as she deepened the kiss, letting her lips part against his a little more and fitting his bottom lip between hers. His hands came up and gripped onto her biceps, holding her to him tightly as he met her extra pressure with his own, eagerly following her lead as she increased the range of motion in her lips.

By now it was quickly heading into the realm of open-mouthed kissing, and it was growing wetter by the second as the moist inner parts of their lips began to come into contact. The warmth of his mouth started to increase against hers, as if his body temperature was skyrocketing, and his breath also heated up in their joined mouths, making the kiss feel like a sauna. It was surprisingly pleasurable, and she just wanted to get closer and never stop kissing him. She'd entirely forgotten about the threat of his fire… all that mattered was his lips against hers.

Her hands were still on his face, but one soon slipped behind his neck to tangle in the short pink hairs at his nape, while the other remained to cup his cheek.

It wasn't long before she wanted to try deepening the kiss even more, and she snuck her tongue out to lick along his bottom lip, testing the waters a little. He jerked and froze a little, seeming confused. When she went back to kissing him though, he unfroze and started kissing her back again. Then he surprised her a little when she felt the tip of his tongue experimentally flick against her lower lip, the same way hers had done to him. She couldn't help but smile a little into the kiss at that.

The smile slipped away quickly though, because she couldn't resist taking advantage of the opening he'd just given her, and she quickly slid her tongue along his and into his mouth, which startled a yelp from him. He stilled again, and she felt his eyelashes tick against her cheek as his eyes opened in surprise. Unable to control herself, she indulged in kissing him as deeply as she knew how to – without being gross and sticking her tongue down his throat of course. She'd been on the receiving end of nasty tonsil hockey once, and she didn't want to force Natsu through that experience.

After a few seconds of stillness on his part as he absorbed the inclusion of tongues in their kiss, he eagerly responded. The first few touches of his tongue against hers were hesitant, but quickly grew forceful as he got the idea of it. Soon he had wrestled hers back into her own mouth and had taken possession, exploring as thoroughly as he would on any mission and taking no prisoners. It was a little overly forceful actually, and the kiss seemed to be quickly spiraling out of control as he eagerly pressed his lips against hers and their teeth started to click together periodically.

After piercing her lip with a sharp fang, she pulled back a second for a breather, and to lick her now slightly bloody lip. He growled and followed, but she held him back with her fingers in his hair. "…gentle…" she mumbled softly, before brushing her lips against his, and he murmured something unintelligible against her mouth. His lips were gentler though when she dove back into the kiss, but his passion didn't seem to have abated at all. The kiss was just as fierce, but thankfully less tinged with near-violence.

It only lasted a few more moments though before it was his turn to pull away, and Lucy was left wondering what had happened. He sat back, and she let her hands slide off his head and into her lap.

"Is…something wrong?" she inquired, attempting to catch her breath and failing pretty spectacularly. For all the quirks and awkward moments of that kiss, it had undoubtedly been the best of her life – despite nearly breaking her nose and bloodying her lip.

"No…but I promised to stop remember?" he huffed back, looking and sounded just as out of breath as her – which made her puff up a little with pride.

"Stop?"

"Yeah, before I shared any fire with ya."

"Oh. OH!" she suddenly flushed as she realized what that meant. Apparently Natsu had REALLY gotten into their kiss…or else it didn't take much to fire him up. He was a guy after all, but she had been under the impression that celestial spirits could chose when that sort of thing happened.

"I uh…I thought you could decide not to…you know…"

"Huh? Decide not to what?"

"Remember, back at the hot springs? You and Leo were talking about the differences between human men and celestial spirits and how you could…well…choose not to get aroused?"

"Oh! That!" He started laughing, even though he was still flushed and a little winded. "Normally, yeah. But it's harder to control when you're involved. I guess I just decide to get all _'fired up'_ without realizing it." He smirked a little when he said, 'fired up,' and she rolled her eyes but smirked back. She could already tell that it was probably going to become a codeword for them, although she doubted it would ever be less corny.

Returning to the previous topic of conversation, she verified, "So, you stopped because you weren't going to be able to control your fire anymore?"

"Yep. I promised didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did…" she murmured and bit her lip, glancing at his mouth.

She really wanted to keep kissing, but the thought of having fire breathed down her throat was still a little concerning to her. Still, she also kind of wanted to just get it out of the way so she would stop worrying about it. So, with a deep breath, she leaned forwards and hooked her hand behind his neck again before pulling him close.

Their lips met, but he pulled back only seconds later, murmuring, "…Luce?"

"I don't care. Breathe all the fire you want." she said with confidence that was only partly faked. He could probably hear the slight tremor in her tone, but didn't comment on it.

He sealed his lips back over hers with a slight groan, and she felt an answering jerk in her gut at the sound. One of his arms wrapped around her shoulders, and his hand burrowed into her hair, while the other latched onto her thigh. A slithering sensation told her that his tail had coiled around the calf and foot that were dangling off the couch, and she almost giggled when the very tip wrapped around her big toe. The giggle turned into a gasp though when Natsu initiated open-mouthed kissing and immediately slipped his tongue between her lips when they parted.

Apparently he liked tongue kissing…good to know. She certainly enjoyed it as his tongue twined around hers – even when his teeth knocked into hers again. That was definitely something they were going to have to work on though.

He tugged her closer, and every bit of him started to heat up like before. His lips, tongue, breath, and hands all started to get beyond feverish against her skin, but it felt amazing, and she couldn't help but sink into the heat. However, this time he only got warmer and warmer, particularly his mouth.

But that was nothing compared to when fire started to spill from his lips.

Their mouths were both pretty open to accommodate the deep kisses, so his flames licked right from his mouth into hers, and suddenly the inside of her mouth was burning. Like the other times she had come into contact with his flames, it was insanely hot, but didn't hurt even a tiny bit. It WAS, however, quite shocking, like she had just taken a drink of boiling water – minus the pain – and it shocked a full-throated gasp out of her. The boiling water metaphor turned out to be relatively accurate too in a rather startling way, as the fire acted almost like liquid…coating her tongue and then pouring down her throat, making her feel as if she almost needed to swallow. It was sort of a ticklish sensation really, in an incredibly strange way, as the flames licked her throat on the way down. It also felt like it set fire to her insides….her neck, chest, and finally stomach lit up like a fireplace.

Sweat popped out all over her skin at the sensation of such intense heat blooming in her gut, and she felt herself flush hot. Partly though, that was due to something else. As shock started to give way, discomfort quickly followed as she struggled to adapt to the strange sensation, but then it almost immediately started to switch over to pleasure. There was something intensely sensual about it, not only because it was a part of Natsu entering her body – which was more a mental turn on than anything else once it occurred to her – but it was physically arousing. Something about the heat was intensely pleasurable, in a way she had never experienced before.

It was so intense that it startled a sharp groan from her, and Natsu instantly stiffened and pulled back.

"You okay Luce? Was that too much? Did it hurt?" he gasped, his voice incredibly rough and breathless.

It took a moment for her to peel her eyes open, and when she did, it was to the sight of Natsu's face all flushed and his eyes dark and heavy lidded. All that did was excite her more, but she tried to focus on his words too. "Uh…no. It was fine." she managed, and then after licking her still tingling and burning lips she admitted, "Actually it felt really good."

The worry on his face instantly melted away, to be replaced with heated curiosity. "It felt good?"

"Yeah…"

"Can you describe it?"

She flushed a little, and for the very first time wondered if Natsu was a chatty type during intimate situations. Somehow, that wouldn't surprise her in the least, considering how mouthy Natsu was in general. But she wasn't quite sure how to feel about the thought of a dirty talking Natsu…whether it was funny, awkward, or hot.

She hoped he didn't expect her to mouth-off too much though, because that might get a little embarrassing. But she figured she could answer this one question without it getting too awkward.

"Um…it was…it's really hard to describe. It was like swallowing something boiling hot, but without any of the pain. It burned in a good way."

"Sounds like the way it feels to eat fire."

"Does eating fire arouse you?" she asked bluntly, flushing as she did so, but too curious to resist.

He blinked with wide surprised eyes at her question, and any embarrassment she might have felt was worth it to see his shocked expression. "Um. No."

"Then it's not exactly the same," she admitted.

He blinked some more and then grinned. His eyes darkened and his grin was a little sharper and more sexual than any other she'd ever seen from him – while also somehow being a little mischievous – and the expression made her gulp and lick suddenly dry lips. Since when had Natsu possessed the ability to make her tingle with just a look? Apparently admitting that his fire turned her on had sparked something a little feral in him.

"I'm glad my fire makes you feel so good. I knew you were getting turned on, but I just thought it was the kiss…"

She flushed and abruptly decided that, yes, Natsu was probably the chatty type…and it wasn't nearly as awkward or funny as she'd thought it would be. In fact, it downright flustered her. "U-um…well, the kiss did it too…" she admitted haltingly.

She really wanted to kiss him again, but with the way she was currently feeling, she decided it might be best to call it a night here. She wasn't ready to do more than kiss, and the looks he was giving her said that he might be. Aside from that, she wasn't sure she wouldn't accidentally go further than she was actually comfortable with if she got too wrapped up in another of his burning kisses, and she'd rather not wake up tomorrow with any regrets. That would suck.

When she glanced at the clock, her eyes bugged out. It was a lot later than she'd thought.

"Woah…is it really already eleven o'clock? We should get to bed Natsu."

He pouted. "Do we have to?"

"We really should. And besides that, I uh…I'm feeling a little hot under the collar right now, and I'm not ready to go any further than we already have…so it's probably for the best."

His pout didn't go away, but he did nod in agreement.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Several more days passed in this manner, up until a new and infinitely more serious topic overtook everything – completely blindsiding the entire guild._

 _Almost a week after returning from the burlesque mission, Lucy was at the request board once again looking for a mission. Natsu had eaten them almost out of house and home yet again, and they needed a little extra to cover the food budget. Right as she was leaning in to take a closer look at an intriguing mission involving a lake monster, she was thoroughly distracted by the guildhall doors being slammed open. That, in and of itself wasn't entirely unusual, but the sound did attract Lucy's attention and she glanced over, only to become immediately concerned at the sight of Erza running into the guildhall. She was out of breath and had a wild look in her eyes that prompted everyone to instantly pay attention and move back several paces._

 _"Jellal's been caught! The Council is giving him a court case, and we've been summoned as potential witnesses!"_


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note:**

Hello all! It's Sunday! A new chapter awaits!

As always, HUUUUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed! You are all amazing and wonderful! Big hugs and kisses to all my repeat reviewers: TheJSmooth, Lucinda, thechani, KitsuneLover05, ThatOneAnimeGirl08, 19vanelkc, TheOldIronKing, Leomae2.0, kilatails, valerioux, WisdomDragon27, Lunar13, The Rain Will Fade, fox0920, TheAvatarShadow, moeruhoshi, Firefly9917, Missy 63, xxIt'sAllAboutThemxx, Alice, Elphaba818, RabbitMelody, ravenqueen162, Wolves silver wind, Daisy73, silentlinkmit339, Ksta, and HotvampGurl23. And equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Celestia's Blade of Poison, and electrogirl88.

Also, the general consensus on lemon warnings was no. So I will not be posting any warnings about upcoming lemons. ;D Therefore, I'll do a ONE TIME WARNING here and say that there are going to be quite a few lemony scenes (at least one for every major story arc), and they're generally going to increase in intensity as time goes on. I'm sure it goes without saying, that things will get EXPLICIT - so if that's not your thing, skip over those parts. Also, let's just say that Natsu likes to _**experiment**_ (especially in the later lemons) so if you run into something that you aren't comfortable with...again, just skip over it. ;D Alrighty, I think that's covered all the bases, so now you know what to expect and won't be unpleasantly surprised later on.

So on with the show! And be sure to check out the sneak peek at the end of the chapter. :D

* * *

For the next few days, Lucy and Natsu couldn't go to the guildhall without everyone making a big fuss. None of it seemed to bother Natsu at all, although he was more than happy to challenge anyone to a fight if they teased him too hard. Mostly this involved Gray taunting him about being slow, or unable to get a girl, or how he doubted he would be any good (in bed)…. Basically, the normal joking a guy would do to his friend, but increased to intentionally piss Natsu off. The funniest part about it was that Gray quickly realized Natsu was pretty ignorant about sex, so he delighted in using every euphemism he could think off … which seriously irritated Natsu since he didn't know what the hell Gray was talking about.

However, now that Gray and Juvia had also exposed that they were together to the whole guild, Natsu had plenty of ammunition to taunt Gray right back. Apparently the ice mage and water mage had been discovered together during the four days that Natsu and Lucy had been off dancing at the burlesque club. Lucy supposed that Gray must have basically given up on keeping their relationship a secret, if he and Juvia had been kissing in an alley next to the guildhall.

Whatever the case, having two new official couples in the guild made everyone go nutso, and they got mercilessly pestered.

Probably the most embarrassing situation was when Happy got home from his mission with Carla and Wendy, found out about Natsu and Lucy, and then proceeded to ask her – loudly – "So what's gonna happen to me?! Do I have to sleep out in the street when you two wanna get it on?"

It was actually a good question – not that they had gotten that far along in their relationship yet to have to worry about it – but mostly she was too embarrassed to put any real thought behind an answer.

"Happy! I'm not going to throw you out to sleep on the street just because I have a boyfriend!"

He puffed up his cheeks, trying to hide his amusement. Everyone else within hearing range weren't as subtle though, and plenty of laughter and chuckles erupted all around her.

"So then, what _**are**_ you gonna do about the little guy when you two lovebirds wanna sex it up?" Cana asked.

With a groan, Lucy planted her face into the tabletop to hide a vivid blush. Mumbling into the wood, she grumbled, "We've only just started dating!"

"So? It's gonna happen eventually. You better start thinking about it asap."

With a long-suffering sigh for dramatic effect, Happy offered, "I suppose I can have a sleepover with other guildmembers if I get thrown out. Hey Wendy!" He flew off in pursuit of the blue-haired mage and her white cat.

"Looks like this might be a win-win situation you guys have got." Cana commented, and Lucy responded with an amused snort.

Perhaps even more awkward was when Leo found out about it while he was out and about on one of his dating ventures in Earthland. He immediately picked a fight with Natsu over it, and they went at it – very nearly destroying the guildhall much to Lucy's embarrassment.

Afterwards, all Leo would say was, "You better not burn her to a crisp Natsu…"

"Don't worry, I won't. I _**can't,**_ actually." Natsu responded with a grin, and Leo's eyes widened for a moment behind his sunglasses.

"So she's really a…?"

"Yep."

After that, Leo seemed to deflate and finally accepted the new arrangement, although it still didn't stop him from making passes at her.

…

Several more days passed in this manner, up until a new and infinitely more serious topic overtook everything – completely blindsiding the entire guild.

Almost a week after returning from the burlesque mission, Lucy was at the request board once again looking for a mission. Natsu had eaten them almost out of house and home yet again, and they needed a little extra to cover the food budget. Right as she was leaning in to take a closer look at an intriguing mission involving a lake monster, she was thoroughly distracted by the guildhall doors being slammed open. That, in and of itself wasn't entirely unusual, but the sound did attract Lucy's attention and she glanced over, only to become immediately concerned at the sight of Erza running into the guildhall. She was out of breath and had a wild look in her eyes that prompted everyone to instantly pay attention and move back several paces.

"Jellal's been caught! The Council is giving him a court case, and we've been summoned as potential witnesses!"

"We who? Who all's being summoned?" Gray asked and risked inching closer to get a look at the paper she was waving around. "Looks like everyone from the Oracion Seis mission…Lucy, Natsu, me, Erza, and Wendy…" he read aloud.

Lucy immediately ran over, accompanied by Natsu, Happy, and Amy (who had summoned herself as soon as she felt Lucy's sudden distress.)

"That's really not good. If they found out that we were harboring him, we might end up with our own court cases." Lucy murmured, biting her lip.

"Yeah, it looks like they want us to come in for questioning." Gray intoned as he continued to read the notice over Erza's shoulder.

Wendy and Carla soon joined them too, and Happy immediately cuddled up to Carla … or attempted to anyways. She didn't outright push him away, but she wasn't exactly accommodating. For once, he wasn't entirely paying attention to her either – it seemed more instinctual than anything – but he was mostly focused on Erza.

Juvia quickly walked over to lean into Gray and offer her emotional support as well. "Juvia can't imagine what she would do if Darling Gray was to spend time in jail…" she quietly murmured in her typical second-person form of speech when she felt extremely uneasy about something.

Lucy didn't blame her. Aside from the danger of them all being accused of aiding the escape of a fugitive, Erza looked like she was about to have a serious meltdown and could possibly take them all with her. Thankfully she pulled herself together within the hour and accepted the comfort they all tried to give her … especially in the form of all the strawberry cake she could want from Mira. But unfortunately, she pulled herself together by seemingly locking up all her emotions – which was a great way to make a bomb as far as Lucy was concerned.

For the next couple of days, as the court date and their own questioning approached swiftly, everyone grew more and more tense. Largely that was concern for Erza, who remained stoic the entire time – aside from her brief freak-out upon first finding out. But everyone could feel the negative emotions radiating from her, and none of them wanted to be caught in the crossfire. She'd already almost killed Natsu and Gray when they accidentally crashed into her cake – which she wasn't touching anyways, but apparently the principle of it still remained. The closer they got to the trial date, the less Erza ate at all – which was yet another cause for concern. When Erza refused to even eat her strawberry cake …. Bad things were upon them.

Before the trial, they were all called in for their own questioning, and so they made their way to Fiore's capitol – Crocus. On the way there, they determined what they should say, and decided that honesty would probably be the best policy – hoping that maybe if they explained what had happened, and how Jellal had helped them take down Nirvana, he might get a lighter sentence. It was a bit of a risk, because it would require admitting that they worked with him, but hopefully they wouldn't be charged with anything.

Upon their arrival, they were immediately separated and placed into their own questioning rooms. And then for the next solid day, they were asked every conceivable question having to do with the Nirvana Incident, and any other time they had been in contact with Jellal. They had also decided to share the story of how he had helped them to take down that dark guild that had kidnapped Juvia, in the hopes that it would help Jellal.

In the end, after an exceptionally grueling day, they were all released, and thankfully not charged with abetting a criminal. Whether or not they were able to help Jellal was yet to be seen.

Almost everyone from the guild had come, not only to back them up, but also to go to the trial which would be held only a few days after their questioning. So, when the big day soon arrived, they all filed into the courthouse to watch the proceedings and nearly took up an entire fourth of the available seating. Of course, all the summoned witnesses sat in a series of benches set close to the proceedings, so they could be called up as needed. In front of all the benches, a sturdy curved banister stood between the audience and the circular floorspace where all the proceedings would take place.

That day, everyone was tense as the court assembled. The audience arrived first, all the witnesses filing to the front and everyone else going to the back. That took some time, since Fairy Tail was only a small part of the entire audience that had assembled to see this particular spectacle. There were reporters of every ilk and the masses who had just come to watch for entertainment purposes.

Eventually though, everyone who would fit inside the courtroom had taken a seat or packed into the available standing space, and then there was a somewhat strained pause before all the officials made their stately appearance. A bell was rung for order, and then the Magic Council members marched in from a large pair of doors located on the right side of the room. They filed up a set of stairs hidden behind a false wall, and then reemerged in a tall balcony sort of thing that looked down upon the circular room. They lined up in two rows. Each sat in a tall-backed impressive looking chair – all of which were parked behind a tabletop than ran the length of each row.

Once the councilmembers were all seated, the defense entered out of a much smaller door opposite the one the Council had come in from. She shuffled forwards, holding an impressive stack of paperwork to her chest, and took her place on a short dais left of the judges. Master Makarov had funded her, so Jellal would be assured of a good attorney to try and get him a lenient sentence. She was supposedly one of the best.

Then all that was left to be filled was an empty raised podium with a seat and a railing around the edges that stood centralized in front of the audience. That would be where witnesses were called to testify. Between the witness stand and the council box – in the very center of the circular floor – sat a single metal chair bolted to the floor. It was obviously a piece of furniture that could be moved in or out, depending on what sort of case was being dealt with. From it dangled chains and manacles, both on the arms and legs.

Once everyone was positions and had been seated, there was another breathless pause, and then finally a pair of guards opened the second door on the left – a heavy metal one – with an ominous creak. Out came Jellal, flanked between four guards and wearing a blue jumpsuit and some sort of clogs. His hands were cuffed behind his back and a chain between his feet kept his strides short.

He seemed very unkept, but still walked in with his head held high and an amazingly relaxed posture. There was no worry in his eyes – at least not until they flashed towards Erza, and then Lucy caught a light tensing of his facial muscles. He quickly averted his eyes to the front, which he had to do anyways since he was being shoved down into the chair. His wrists were released from the cuffs only to be chained to the chair instead, and the same pattern was repeated on his ankles. Then, the second pair of guards went back through the metal door, leaving one pair behind to continue flanking Jellal.

As soon as Jellal was seated and secured, court was called into session as the head council member hammered his gavel to get everyone's attention. It proceeded quite formally after that, with a lot of legal talk that didn't seem entirely necessary in Lucy's opinion. First, Jellal was identified, and then asked if he was in fact the person they said he was – to which he answered yes of course. Then a long list of crimes that he was being accused of were read out, which in and of itself took an impressively long time. When that finally concluded, he was asked how he pleaded, to which he answered, "guilty."

That seemed to take the Council aback, but they resumed after a brief shocked pause. "In that case, today's court session will be to determine your punishment. Defendant? Please step forward and present your case."

The lady they had hired stepped off her dais and started speaking clearly and succinctly about how Jellal had indeed done some horrible things, but only under the influence of a malevolent curse. She went on about how he hadn't been mentally stable and the like. Even more clever perhaps, she played the empathy card and brought up how he had grown up as a captive before being cursed. Eventually Erza was brought up as a witness to corroborate all this, and Lucy felt sorry for her friend as she was asked all sorts of painful questions that brought up terrible memories. Erza seemed to handle it relatively well, but Lucy could tell it was wearing on her.

With Erza's help, the defendant put forth a very compelling case.

Then, the issue of what he had been doing lately came up, and the question of what part he played in the Nirvana incident was posed to the court by one of the councilors. At that point, Erza was called up to the witness stand once again, but so were plenty of other people to prove that he had helped in Nirvana's destruction. It was with some surprise that Lucy learned he and Erza had been ambushed and captured by the Oracion Seis after Jellal had successfully unsealed Nirvana and set a self-destruct circle on it. And when they hadn't been able to undo Jellal's spell, they had forced him to do it himself – through some very unpleasant means.

So, in effect, he had unwittingly been the one responsible for unsealing and loosing Nirvana upon the world… for the short span it survived. That didn't look too good on his record unfortunately, even with his efforts to destroy it after the fact.

Of course, that was the least of his charges.

Eventually, the session adjourned so that the councilmembers could talk amongst themselves and come to a decision over his punishment.

It was a short break, just long enough to go to the bathroom, get a snack, and for Erza to chew her fingernails down to the quick absentmindedly. It was the only time Lucy had ever seen her fidget at all, and she didn't even seem to realize she was doing it. Thankfully no-one called attention to it, and the whole Fairy Tail guild made sure that nobody from the general audience could approach to hassle her. A few unlucky idiots tried, including several reporters, but they all left a little worse for wear after dealing with some very peeved mages in overprotection mode.

When they resumed session, there was another exhibition of pomp and circumstance as everyone filed back to their appropriate spots, and then the Council read out Jellal's sentence – after once again making sure that it was indeed him sitting in front of them.

"Jellal Fernandez…after taking into consideration everything posed to the court today, we have decided to spare you the death penalty. However, you are sentenced to 30 years to life in the highest security prison. Court adjourned."

Lucy could feel Erza relax at the first ruling, and then seize up at the second. She instantly wrapped an arm around her redheaded friend's shoulders to offer support as Jellal was jerked to his feet and led out of the room. He glanced once over his shoulder and dark blue eyes found Erza's in the crowd, before he was pulled through the doors to his new life in jail.

Risking a peek at Erza, Lucy saw an apathetic expression on her face, and to everyone else she must look unaffected, but Lucy could feel the tremors wracking her friend's frame from head to toe and knew she was a second away from full meltdown mode. So, Lucy made eye contact with Natsu and they flanked her, with Gray in front, and hustled her out of the room – shoving everyone else out of the way. Other guildmembers joined them as they went and helped to get Erza out of the courtroom post haste.

A few more idiots tried to harass her on their way out, calling out rude names and other abusive language for openly supporting such an 'evil criminal' as Jellal. The same was also said for everyone who had defended him – which included most of Fairy Tail – but it had been obvious that Erza was much closer to him. That had become incredibly apparent thanks to all the intense and somewhat intimate questioning she had been forced to endure. And it was equally apparent that he had feelings for her, after his own set of questioning. So, she was picked on the most.

However, anyone stupid enough to try to insult Erza – or anyone else in Fairy Tail for that matter – were quickly silenced. They were able to plow through most of the crowd without much trouble and soon emerged from the courthouse entirely.

Once they were outside in fresh air, Erza pushed them off – gently but firmly.

"I'm so sorry Erza, is there anything we can do?" Lucy quickly offered.

"No. I just…need some space."

They all nodded, and when everyone boarded the train to go back to Magnolia, she got her own compartment to herself. It was a long trip, and by the time they got home it was late evening, past dinnertime.

Once off the train, Natsu tried to cheer up Lucy by taking her to her favorite place for dinner, which did a little to take her mind off of things as she munched on pasta and meatballs. Happy helped as well by cracking jokes and cutting up with Natsu to make her laugh, and – sensing her distress – several spirits visited of their own volition to try and make her feel better too. Leo nearly crashed their 'dinner date' by showing up and shamelessly flirting with her – which naturally almost started a fight with Natsu – but his intentions were good at least. Amy showed up after dinner to walk alongside them and continually nuzzled her face into Lucy's thigh to force pets. Even Virgo popped in for a brief moment – though it was almost more of a business call than anything. She offered Lucy a replacement whip for the one she lost at the hands of that celestial bitch Aster. It was a very nice present though – a retractable whip made of pure celestial magic called the flueve d'etoiles – and Lucy got the distinct impression that Virgo's timing wasn't purely by chance.

Still, as they walked back to the guild, Lucy's thoughts never strayed too far from Erza, and she couldn't help but wonder where the reequip mage was, and if she was okay. In fact, that's why they were heading to the guild and not back to Lucy's apartment. She really wanted to check and see if Erza was at the guildhall – as unlikely as that was – and see if she could do anything to help.

When they passed by the coastline, her gaze happened to glance towards the guildhall, and she spied a spot of red lower down on the cliff. Instantly Lucy knew it was Erza and hurried to head in that direction – while waving off Natsu. With Happy's help, she was able to fly down over the cliff's edge towards Erza. As she did, she noticed a narrow trail along the cliff's face that lead back to the path they all used to get to the beach from the guildhall and figured that must have been the way the redhead reached her isolated perch.

Soon, the two of them reached Erza, who was sitting within the mouth of a very shallow cave that was hidden from every angle except the one from the coast a good distance away – where Lucy had seen her from. She was balled up, with her knees to her chest and her face buried in her crossed arms. How long she'd been there, Lucy didn't know…probably since getting off the train, if she had to wager a guess.

Instantly, Lucy and Happy joined her in the little nook and sat next to her. As they did so, Erza flinched and glanced up. When they made eye contact, Lucy just smiled gently and wrapped an arm around her shoulders again to offer silent comfort. For a long time they sat like that, and then slowly Erza began to shake as sobs broke her tough exterior. Soon, she was openly crying into Lucy's shoulder, and all she could do was hold her friend as she sobbed.

Happy curled up in Erza's lap, and let her hug him for comfort as well, despite nearly being choked to death and drowned with tears.

…

Later that night, Lucy and Happy headed straight home. When Natsu and Amy joined them on the way, neither asked her or her blue-furred companion where they'd been or what they'd been doing. The tear stain on her shirt and Happy's drenched fur probably said it all. Quite honestly, she was emotionally wiped after helping Erza get through her tears, and all she wanted was to go home, eat a whole pint of ice cream, take a hot bath, and pass out in bed. She suspected Happy wanted the same – only with fish and not ice cream.

So she proceeded to do just that as soon as she got into her apartment. She headed straight for the freezer and pulled out the tub of chocolate ice cream and a spoon – and a fish for Happy – before parking herself on the couch and digging in. Amy curled up on the soft rug at her feet, offering silent support, and for once Lucy didn't scold Happy for bringing his fish into the living room and eating it at the coffee table.

As for Natsu, unsurprisingly he plopped down next to her with a spoon of his own, and she angled the carton of ice cream so he could get to it too. His warmth heated his spoon and cut through the mild freezer burn that crusted the top of the ice cream since it had been in the freezer for a while. She followed his spoon strokes with her own so she could take advantage of the softer ice cream, and with his help they plowed through the whole carton within a matter of minutes. Also advantageous, since he'd downed at least half of it, she didn't feel sick to her stomach the way she normally would after an ice cream binge.

Taking the empty carton, she plopped their used spoons into it and placed it on the sofa table next to Happy, before grabbing the blanket off the back of the sofa. Wrapping it around her, she leaned against Natsu's shoulder and sighed.

"You okay Luce?"

"Yeah…just tired."

When something tugged on her blanket, she opened her eyes and watched somewhat confused as Natsu pulled the blanket off her shoulder. She was getting ready to ask him what he was doing, until he wrapped the blanket around himself too and snuggled up with her under it. His arm wrapped around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder, sighing again somewhat mournfully.

"She loves him…doesn't she?" Happy chimed sadly from his place on the arm of the couch, where he'd just perched after finishing his fish.

Lucy knew he was talking about Erza and Jellal, and for once the comment wasn't said in a teasing tone.

"Yeah Happy, she does."

"Why don't we just break him out?"

She shook her head at Natsu's comment. "No. We can't do that."

"Why not? We've busted friends out before when they're being held captive."

"Yeah, but Jellal's not a captive of some dark guild we can attack. We're talking about the legal system here. If we busted him out, we'd become criminals. If Fairy Tail didn't kick us out, they would be disbanded by the Magic Council, and if they still stuck together, they would become a dark guild."

"That's dumb." Natsu sulked, and Lucy only chuckled at him, reaching over to pat his cheek.

After another morose pause, Happy sniffled and whimpered, "…Lucy…"

She looked over to see him looking miserable, and she reached out. Without a word, he scampered into her lap under the blanket with them. For a long moment they all just sat there and decompressed from the day, but eventually Lucy felt herself beginning to drift and knew that if she wanted a bath it had to happen now before she fell asleep. So, she gently picked up Happy – who had conked out – and carried him over to his bed where she tucked him in.

Then she turned to Natsu and quietly said, "I'm gonna go take a bath."

He nodded and followed her with his eyes as she plodded tiredly to the bathroom. As hot water began to fill the tub, she sighed, inhaling the steam and letting it sooth her lungs. She hadn't been able to keep herself from crying a little along with Erza at seeing her pain, but she'd managed to keep it to a minimum. However, that meant that now her eyes, nose, and lungs were all stinging and aching from trying so hard not to cry.

Sinking into the hot bath, she let the heat relax all her bones and muscles, and the humidity in the room helped to sooth her sinuses and everything connected to them. To assist with that, she also dripped a little lavender into the bathwater, which filled the room with a lovely relaxing scent. Thankfully, there was plenty of steam to conduct the smell and fill her nose, since she had used extra hot water for her bath. She'd always loved hot baths of course, but lately heat seemed even more soothing and relaxing than before, so she had been drawing them hotter and hotter.

She suspected that it had something to do with being a fire dragon's mate. Whatever the case though, she practically melted into the hot lavender water and stared up at the ceiling, wondering just how Erza was going to cope with her lover being locked away for so long. For Lucy, she didn't know what she would do if Natsu got locked away like that…. she'd probably have a complete emotional meltdown.

The thought made her gut clench up with pain, and she winced, placing her hand over her chest as if to steady her heart. She couldn't imagine being separated from Natsu so permanently.

Eventually, she had to leave the comfort of her bath, because being left alone with these thoughts wasn't doing anything good for her mental or emotional state. It was only after she had toweled off that she realized she had forgotten to bring in a change of clothes, thanks to being so exhausted.

With a groan of frustration, she wrapped the towel tighter around her and walked out into the other room like that. When Natsu's eyes ran over her and he raised an eyebrow, she explained, "I forgot my clothes."

Walking over to the dresser, she picked out a pair of underwear and slipped them on carefully under the towel, then did the same with her sleep shorts. For her sleep shirt, she put it on over the towel and let the terrycloth drop off her as she shoved it down with the shirt.

"Very well done." Amy commented sleepily from her spot on the floor, and Lucy turned to give her a tired smile.

"Thanks…" she muttered back, her voice sounding even more asleep than Amy's.

As soon as she was fully clothed, she walked over to Natsu and curled up against him again. He immediately opened his arms to accept her and then wrapped them around her tight as she nuzzled into his chest and draped her legs over his.

"Hey Natsu?"

"Hm?"

"Promise me that you won't do anything to get locked up okay? I don't know what I would do if I was in Erza's position right now."

"Like I would ever let myself get locked away from you." He snorted. "Anyone would be stupid to try."

She chuckled a bit at the thought and relaxed some, sinking into his warmth and letting it soothe her. "Yeah…"

Soon she fell asleep like that.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Traditionally, the last day of the Autumn Festival was the announcement for the S-Class Trials, so everyone was eager to prove that they deserved to be in the running. Because of this, Natsu and Lucy didn't get much time to go on many dates, but her fiery partner seemed plenty happy with going on dangerous missions and kicking ass. Although, he wasn't as fond of the festival preparations._

 _On the plus side, the upcoming festival seemed to help keep Erza busy, and she threw herself into it headfirst… which was both good and bad. It was good to see her doing something to deal with her pain, but it also meant that she was bossing everyone else around with an iron fist_


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note:**

Hello! It's Wednesday! Time for a new chapter. ;D

Sorry about the last one being so sad...hopefully this one will make up for it.

And as always, huge, neon, sparkly thanks to all my wonderful reviewers out there! You guys are all absolutely amazing! Big hugs and kisses to all my repeat reviewers: ravenqueen162, Elphaba818, Shadowslayer15, 19vanelkc, KitsuneLover05, Missy 63, TheJSmooth, Firefly9917, Alice, Lucinda, HotvampGurl23, Donthedarkdragon26, moeruhoshi, Crystal Kitty842, valerioux, silentlinkmit339, RabbitMelody, thechani, WisdomDragon27, MiseryWolf97, dihan, Leomae2.0, kilatails, RavenShadow, and Wolves silver wind. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewer: loopymama.

Alrighty! On with the show! And be sure to stay till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

For the next week or so after the court case, an aura of sadness and tension hung over the guild, but it slowly lifted, and things started going back to normal. Of course, Erza was still more stoic than before and less likely to laugh or have fun with them, but she seemed to be dealing relatively well – all things considered. Or at the very least… she was faking it relatively well.

Perhaps aiding in that venture was the fact that the Autumn Festival was fast approaching, and soon everyone was busy with preparations.

For several weeks, everyone stuck around the guildhall to lend a helping hand in putting the festival together. While assisting with the preparations, anyone who wasn't already an S-Class mage went out of their way to show off their magic and teamwork – and whenever there was a break, they took the most imposing jobs they could find – all to try and impress Makarov. Traditionally, the last day of the Autumn Festival was the announcement for the S-Class Trials, so everyone was eager to prove that they deserved to be in the running. Because of this, Natsu and Lucy didn't get much time to go on many dates, but her fiery partner seemed plenty happy with going on dangerous missions and kicking ass. Although, he wasn't as fond of the festival preparations.

On the plus side, the upcoming festival seemed to help keep Erza busy, and she threw herself into it headfirst… which was both good and bad. It was good to see her doing something to deal with her pain, but it also meant that she was bossing everyone else around with an iron fist. As an S-Class mage already, she had no need to take any jobs in an attempt to impress anyone, so she spent all her time getting ready for the festival. And that meant she was always there…ready to snag anyone she saw passing by.

The only thing that mattered though, was that Erza had gone back to normal, mostly, and was once again smiling…sort of. So, despite being positively exhausted, they were all pleased.

After prepping for several weeks, the day of the festival finally arrived, and they all thoroughly enjoyed the time to relax and recover from being slave driven by a single-minded Erza and their own attempts to curry favor.

As with all their celebrations, there was plenty of food, drink, music, and activities to occupy themselves with.

The first day was themed after Thanksgiving and was simply to relax and recover, and everyone took full advantage, stuffing themselves – particularly Natsu of course – and drinking till many were loopy. There was a cornucopia of foodstuffs available, and the largest activity of the day was eating, including a few eating contests just for fun. Of course Natsu won the first, and was banned from all the others, but by winning one he got free food for the rest of the festival.

That night, Lucy, Amy, and Happy had to practically roll him home.

The second day though, was much less relaxing. It was full of challenges and "games" … many of which were poorly disguised tests for the S-Class Trials. All the teams were pitted against each other in competitions – some of them to show strength or endurance, others focused more on strategy, and a few highlighted teamwork. Occasionally the teams were even randomly assigned, which would serve to show how well a mage worked with other mages that they weren't used to teaming up with.

Levy and Gajeel were teamed up against Jet and Droy for one rather spectacular challenge involving something like an Easter egg hunt. Jet and Droy both went after Gajeel, but completely left Levy alone – which turned out to be a big mistake. While Gajeel kept those two busy, Levy ran around and collected all the prizes.

Another slightly odd pairing was Wendy and Mira against Cana and Freed, in a battle for who could catch the most chickens…which of course meant that – in true Fairy Tail style – about a hundred chickens had been released. Since there was a timer on that one, it allowed for several rounds until all the chickens were caught, and the subsequent match-ups were Gray and Juvia against Bickslow and Evergreen, Elfman and Mira against Laxus and Reedus, and Bisca and Alzack against Warren and Sam. By the time that challenge had been completed, they had a large amount of very traumatized chickens to deal with.

The following event was a relay race. The teams consisted of Natsu, Lucy, and Happy – Cana, Wendy, and Carla – the Thunder Legion minus Laxus – Shadow Gear – Elfman, Mira, and Laxus – Erza, Gray, and Juvia – Reedus, Sam, and Warren – and Alzack, Bisca, and Gajeel.

They were spaced out throughout Magnolia since the race would take place through the whole city. The roads they would be using had been blocked off, and people were lining the route to watch and cheer them on as a form of entertainment for the entire town. The race started at the guildhall, looped around Magnolia twice, and then ended back at the guildhall. The first lineup was Lucy, Cana, Evergreen, Droy, Elfman, Erza, Reedus, and Gajeel.

When the horn sounded, the mages all set off in a burst of magic. Evergreen flew, Erza used a very strange bunny costume that apparently increased her speed, Reedus drew a fast cart, and Elfman used the beast takeover of a very speedy spotted feline. Lucy, Cana, Gajeel, and Droy were the only ones who seemed to be running under their own steam, and Gajeel soon pulled ahead of the other three.

Grasping at straws, Lucy pulled the key for Horologium, and breathlessly gasped, "Open! Gate of the clock! Horologium!"

Cana was near enough to hear the summons and shot her a glare. "Hey! That's not fair!"

"Sorry Cana!" Lucy shouted back, but when Horologium appeared with a tick tock sound and a gong, she still asked him, "Can you please slow down time?"

"You have one minute on the clock." he responded, nodding.

Everything around her screeched to a halt, and she hurried to pick up the pace and catch up with everyone while her advantage was still in effect. She ran until her sides burned and managed to pass up Gajeel, Reedus, and Elfman, but the spell ended before she could catch Erza or Evergreen. Still, Gajeel's shocked expression and shout of surprise was worth it.

Before she reached the relay point though, she started running out of spiz, and both Reedus and Gajeel caught up to her. Right as the iron dragon slayer passed her by, Amy popped into being.

"Need a ride?"

"Huh?" Lucy asked, and glanced at the white fluffy dog-wolf running alongside her. "A ride?"

"Yes. A ride." Amy barked, sounding amused, and with a flash of light she shifted into her much larger full-wolf form.

As always, Lucy was a little surprised by just how big she was – almost the size of a small horse really – and suddenly she realized what the oversized canine meant.

"You mean ride you?!"

"Of course."

The white wolf didn't wait for her to mount up, she just ducked her nose under Lucy and slid her onto her back. The celestial wizard squeaked in surprise and grabbed on tight, very nearly falling right back off.

"Are you sure this is okay? Me riding you like this?"

The white wolf swung her head around and snorted in her face. "If it wasn't, I wouldn't be letting you."

"Yeah, true…" Lucy grinned, and then gave her friend a slight scowl. "But you didn't have to sneeze in my face."

A wolfy grin spread her lips, and she let her tongue loll out the side. "Hang on tight!"

And they were off. Amy quickly passed up Reedus and Gajeel again, and soon they reached the relay point – where Lucy tossed the baton to Natsu with a grin.

"Alright Luce! I'm all fired up now!"

He spread his wings and quickly overtook Bickslow and Gray. Bickslow was flying along with his babies, and Gray had made an ice street to skate on, but neither were a match for Natsu and his wings. However, Mira managed to stay a hair in front of Natsu…for a little while at least. She had recently rediscovered her she-devil takeover magic, and she was now putting it to good use by sprouting a super-fast pair of wings.

Droy traded off with Levy, Cana traded off with Wendy, and Gajeel traded off with Alzack shortly after Natsu set off, but they had no chance of catching up to him. The only one who gave him a problem was Sam, who – as soon as Reedus handed over the baton – started shifting in and out of a sand storm to whirl down main street at insane speeds. He managed to catch up to Mira and Natsu near the end of their stretch.

The three of them traded off with Happy, Laxus, and Warren about the same time, but the end of the race was really only between Laxus and Happy. At least at first. Jet was in the running as soon as Levy finally passed off her baton. He shot past everyone to join Happy and Laxus in the front of the pack. Laxus of course could basically travel at the speed of light in short bursts of lightning, and Happy was going consistently at full speed which was about supersonic. The three of them blasted through the finish line, Laxus first, Happy second, and Jet third.

After that much exertion, there was a long break of drinking, eating, and resting.

Then more challenges and games were set up. A rather impressive twister game was arranged first, which Lucy suspected was just for the enjoyment of Master Makarov as he watched them all…. especially the girls. At one point, Lucy ended up twisted around Cana, with poor Wendy stuck underneath them. Nearby, Gajeel and Levy had ended up in an equally compromising position. Naturally, Jet and Droy took it upon themselves to slowly make their way over to the iron dragon slayer and solid script mage, and then it was rather difficult for Lucy to keep her balance as she watched all four of them get tangled up together. She was relatively shocked that nobody died. Equally impressive was the fact that Freed managed to survive being tangled up with Laxus – she was positive he would pass out more than once.

After that, they had a guild-wide game of Pictionary – in which Lucy discovered that Natsu simply couldn't draw to save his life … but could somehow translate even the simplest scribbles. Thanks to that special little talent, they actually managed to win – even though Lucy couldn't guess a single one of his pictures correctly.

…. And then they finished off with strip poker.

Unsurprisingly Natsu lost first, because the idea of a poker face was utterly lost on him – though of course he couldn't care less about his state of undress, so it wasn't really fair. The only thing that bugged him was taking off his scarf, but he perked up as soon as Lucy offered to keep it in her purse.

Naturally, even after he lost, he hung around with Lucy as she continued to play… which meant she had to deal with a stark-naked boyfriend. Since they hadn't been naked together yet – romantically speaking – she did her damnedest to avoid looking at him too hard, because she wanted to save the view for when they were alone, preferably in a bedroom, and not around her fellow guildmates.

Of course he noticed, and teased her mercilessly for it, snarkily whispering in her ear, "What's wrong Luce…you _shy_?" during her next hand, which was not appreciated. She was doing her best to not lose any clothing, and was doing a damn good job of it too. She didn't need him distracting her, _thank you very much._

" _No_." she hissed back. "I'm _not_. Now let me focus."

"Are you sure? Cause you're a real interesting shade of pink, and you haven't looked straight at me since I ditched my pants."

She pursed her lips, focused on her hand, and then once her play was over she sent him a sharp look. "I'd rather not look too closely…I want to save that for when we're alone. I don't want my first memory of you naked to be in conjunction with that, that, or that."

Her head nodded at a naked Evergreen taking refuge behind a snickering Bickslow, Elfman trying to pretend that being naked was manly but blushing so hard that it was easy to see he was embarrassed, and Cana waving her bikini top around like some sort of lasso.

Natsu's eyes glittered and he chuckled with mirth at those – and many, many more – scenes of hilarity currently ensuing.

A short while later, Lucy was cussing Natsu out vibrantly as she lost her right boot, thanks to all his distracting, but of course he just flashed his fangs at her an unrepentant grin.

The next round was just as distracting, as she once again noted the scar on his neck – and in between turns, she risked asking him about it.

He sobered, and eventually replied, "I got it trying to rescue the mage I was contracted to before you…many years ago. It was shortly before I got sealed away."

Lucy could smell an intense story a mile away, and this one reeked. So she dropped it there – because this was definitely not the time or place to talk about it. Even so, it cost her another boot.

By the end of the game, she was down to her shirt – sans bra, which she had snuck out through her sleeve to many shouts of "cheater!" – and just her undies. Thankfully she hadn't worn a thong.

The following day was just as crazy as the last, even more-so actually, since it also included a costume contest in preparation of Halloween. There were more games too, and everyone had to be in costume for every game. There was an equal mixture of funny costumes, scary costumes, sexy costumes, and cute costumes.

Makarov came as a wizened sage/pimp, complete with a long pipe, a red velvet pinstriped robe, a red velvet wizard hat, and a super long fake beard. Laxus was a gangster with a sharp suite and a fedora. Mira simply dressed up as a traditional sexy devil using red patent leather, horns, and a pitchfork. And Natsu came as a zombie dragon, using his partial transformation and a lot of makeup to imitate dead patches and bones.

Lucy helped both him and Happy with their costumes of course. Happy and she had come as a pair, with him dressed up as a fish – which he absolutely loved – and her dressed as a mermaid. She had been enamored with the idea of imitating Aquarius, because – despite their differences – the cranky spirit _was_ her dearest and oldest friend. For that, she had constructed a mermaid tail out of a very stretchy skirt that was quite tight down to her knees. From there it puddled out, hopefully imitating a mermaid's fin. The skirt was made of bright iridescent blue sequined material, and the fancy bikini that she wore upstairs was golden, bejeweled, and fashioned more like a bra than a swimsuit. To finish off the look, she had asked Cancer to make her hair long, like Aquarius's.

It was a shame that she hadn't known they would have to compete in the games while wearing their costume…. if she had, she probably would've made something that allowed for a little more leg mobility. At least she wasn't the only one to make that mistake.

On the other hand, some people had come in costumes that actually ended up assisting them in unexpected ways. For the egg toss, Levy didn't have use of her hands, because they were covered by broad fluffy fake wings. She had worn a really cute chicken costume, complete with wings for sleeves, feathery bra, puffy white feathery bloomers, and yellow tights. But even though she didn't have her hands, the costume actually worked in her favor, because the eggs had a very soft and broad landing site. Meanwhile, Gajeel's full suite of armor – complete with helmet – greatly impeded his movement and didn't provide much of a cushion.

There were also various games of tug of war between different teams, and it was difficult for anyone with costuming on their hands to grab the rope. Several costumes didn't survive the experience …. especially since there was plenty of mud to make the ground slick, and many a shoe was ruined or lost because of it. Both Alzack and Bisca had come as cowboys, so the mud didn't really affect their costumes too much, but Lucy ended up looking like she'd been beached after a nasty storm at sea. Likewise, Cana had come as a Greek goddess, probably of wine, but after everything was said and done she looked more like a goddess of debauchery.

The water balloon fight helped some people to rinse off the muck, but it was just more bad luck for most costumes. Freed's posh vampire costume had apparently been rune spelled to dispel dirt of any kind, but it had no protection against water, so he ended up looking like Drowned-Dracula by the end of it. Even worse though, Reedus's parrot costume had been largely painted on, and it began to run, making him look like a very strange blob of bright colors.

It was just lucky that there were two costume contests…the one at the start of the day, and the one at the end. The second costume contest was more a matter of whose costume had survived the best. A mixture of eggs, water, mud, and tears had destroyed more than one completely. Poor Evergreen – who had dressed like a fairy queen – was absolutely in tatters since she mostly wore gauze and chiffon. Meanwhile, Elfman's MANLY werewolf costume just looked better after being beaten up.

Of course Happy hadn't been able to do very well at all, since his paws were inside itty-bitty fins, so he was covered from head to toe in muck. Carla's princess costume was equally mucky, but Happy assured her that she was still just as pretty as ever to him – and Lucy noted with keen interest that the white cat actually seemed flattered.

Funnily enough, Gray's ironic Chippendale outfit had survived pretty well, since there was so little of it. All he had to do to clean up was just freeze all the dirt and chip it off himself. Meanwhile, Juvia's 'housewife' costume – which weirdly consisted of a bathing suit, ruffly apron, chef's hat, pearl necklace, and high heels – had actually survived pretty decently as well, though she looked like she'd been in a chick-fight with someone.

To decide the winners of both costume contests, before and after pictures were taken of everyone and were then submitted to Sorcerer Weekly. The winners would be picked through a poll in the magic magazine.

As for Lucy though, by the end of the day she didn't even care who won. She just wanted to get home and take a hot shower to scrub off all the crud crusted to her skin and hair, and then she fully planned to indulge in a long soak in the tub. Happy was definitely on board with the idea as well, so they both made a beeline for the bathroom as soon as they walked through the door of their apartment. Even Natsu poofed to go back home and take a 'lava bath.'

While they were in the shower, Lucy scrubbed herself until she was pink…which was necessary since the stuff had gotten well and truly stuck to her. But that was nothing compared to her newly lengthened hair. It took what seemed like hours to fully clean that, and it was so much heavier than she was used to that it gave her a bit of a neckache when it was wet.

As she washed, Happy did the same with his own fur, but it still took Lucy's assistance to get it all.

Once they were squeaky clean, they both gratefully sunk into her deep tub. Lucy wrapped a towel around her wet hair – and also to use as a cushion as she leaned her head back against the edge of the tub.

"Man…having long hair is a lot more trouble than I expected. I don't know how Wendy and Erza manage it." she mumbled to Happy, who was resting on her tummy.

"Are you gonna have Cancer cut it again?" he asked, tipping his head back to look at her.

"I dunno…" She honestly hadn't even considered the possibility of keeping it.

"Well I think you should keep it. It's pretty."

She blinked down at her blue companion in surprise. "You think so?"

"Yeah."

"Huh…well, I suppose I could keep it for a while and see how it goes. I can always cut it if it turns out to be too big of a hassle."

After an extended soak, Lucy was almost dozing off when some obnoxious knocking brought her fully back to awareness. "What the…?" she sputtered as she jerked awake with a violent motion that nearly splashed water out of the tub.

Happy made a similarly disgruntled sound, and his tail puffed up with shock and irritation. They both turned to glare at the door.

"Oi! How long are ya planning on stewing?"

"We're _soaking_! Not _stewing_! We aren't a pot of soup!" Lucy snapped at her closed bathroom door and the impatient dragon behind it.

A puff of air drew her attention back to Happy, and she immediately noticed that his irritation had been replaced with puffed-up cheeks and barely controlled laughter. "We're making stewed prunes!"

"I'm sorry…what?" she asked, feeling utterly confused.

"You're all pruney!"

She stared at him for a long moment and then groaned as the corny joke finally hit her. "Oh, geez…. Alright Happy, it's obviously past bedtime for you if you're spouting stuff like _that_."

They both chuckled as they toweled off and got ready for bed. When they finally exited into the bedroom, Lucy tucked Happy into his cat bed first, and then headed to her dresser to make an attempt at drying her hair. Despite being wrapped up in a towel for at least thirty minutes – or however long they'd been soaking for – it was still pretty wet.

Natsu was on the bed, apparently pouting, which he had a tendency of doing whenever he was left alone for too long. Boredom was not something that her hyperactive boyfriend handled very well. And on top of that, ever since she'd laid down the rules for their relationship, he hadn't been particularly enthused about her taking long baths…since he couldn't join her yet. It was kind of cute really.

He stayed on the bed for a little while at first as she attempted to blow dry her hair with a lacrima, but it wasn't too long before warmth washed over her back. "Want some help with that?"

"Yes please…" she sighed in gratitude as she put down her brush and lacrima. "I had no idea that it would take so long to dry."

He hummed in agreement as he set to work, running his fingers through her hair and using his fire to dry it in a jiffy. It felt amazing and she leaned back into the soothing caresses, letting her eyes close in bliss. Lately, he'd been doing this for her on a pretty regular basis – probably because he didn't have the patience to sit and watch her fuss with her hair when he could do it so much faster – and she had quickly learned to love it. So it was a win-win situation.

"Ya know…I like your hair like this Luce. It's pretty." he offhandedly commented as he ran the extra-long strands through his fingers. Then he added, "And there's so much more of it to play with."

She was caught off-guard by the compliment, and then snorted with amusement at his following comment. Natsu was very tactile, so she shouldn't have been surprised that he liked playing with her hair, but it was still pretty adorable. She could see the light happy flush on her cheeks in the mirror, and turned to give him a grin over her shoulder.

"Well, then I guess I have to keep it. If both you and Happy like it so much, I don't have much of a choice."

He met her grin with one of his own.

…

For the next couple of days, there were some more games and challenges, and a lot more food and drink, but eventually the festival had to end. Which meant that the S-Class Trials were finally going to be announced, and on the very last day everyone assembled in the guildhall to eagerly await Master Makarov's announcement.

Natsu seemed almost more excited than her as they waited to see if either of them were on the list, and Lucy could practically feel vibrations of heat shivering off him as he bounced on the balls of his feet. She was actually a little worried that he might accidentally start a fire. It wouldn't be the first time he had played arson simply due to overeagerness.

Finally, the curtain rose and exposed Makarov, Erza, Gildarts, Mirajane, and Laxus all up on the guild stage. A cheer erupted from everyone, and loud calls of, "Just tell us already!" and "Yeah, don't leave us hanging!" rose up from the crowd of eager Fairy Tail wizards.

"Everyone shut up and let the old man speak!" Gildarts grumbled loudly, looking amused.

"Hey, who's that?"

"Oh, that's Gildarts, Fairy Tail's strongest wizard…. Don't you remember his big entrance yesterday? Oh, never mind." Lucy whispered back to Natsu and then shushed him as Master Makarov began to speak.

"In accordance with Fairy Tail's time-honored tradition, I will now announce this year's entrance for the S-Class wizard promotion trial!"

More cheers erupted, and Erza firmly requested, "Everyone please calm down."

Once everyone settled down again, Master Makarov continued. "The trial this year will take place on Tenrou Island, our guild's sacred ground. The strength that you possess inside, your character, and your hearts… these are what I considered while making my selections. And I have chosen seven participants. Cana Alberona, Freed Justine, Levy McGarden, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Elfman Strauss, and Lucy Heartfilia."

He was forced to pause once again as more noise erupted from everyone listening, but silence abruptly descended again when Laxus shot lightning over everyone's head.

"Although seven wizards have been selected, only one will be chosen to be S-Class. The trials will begin in one week's time, so you better step up your preparations!" he finally finished his instructions.

After a few ticks of silence, cheers blasted from all the participants and other guildmembers, although a few groaned and griped about not being picked. Natsu seemed stuck between complaints and congratulations, and instantly picked a fight when Gray taunted him over not getting chosen.

Yet another exceptionally loud protestor was unsurprisingly Gajeel, as he barked, "Juvia got picked but not me!? What the hell? How's that fair? I thought the old man liked me better!"

"You're just not ready yet." Mira said with a smile from the stage, and Lucy could practically hear Gajeel's teeth grinding.

His hissy fit was cut short though by Master Makarov, as he announced, "For the benefit of our newcomers, let's go over the rules shall we?"

Mira took over at that point and sweetly listed off the rules. "Each participant will pick a partner. This person will also be allowed to train with them during the week leading up to the trials."

"You get to choose a partner?" Natsu muttered excitedly, and Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, a big part of the trial is testing your friendships and how well you work together with your partner."

Erza continued from there, and everyone shut up to listen to her. "Observe these two rules while choosing your partner. Number one, they must be a member of Fairy tail – and number two, they can't be an S-Class wizard."

"We'll reveal all the particular details of the challenge once we arrive on Tenrou Island. But know that you'll have to get past Erza to claim victory." Makarov then said.

A collective exclamation of dismay shook the guild.

"And I'll be doing my very best to weed out the rest of you right alongside her!" Mira announced perkily.

This led to yet another loud burst of noise and chaos as everyone yelped and took a step back. A lot of the chosen participants gulped and looked nervous, while the people who weren't chosen suddenly looked quite relieved instead of sulky.

"Well shoot, that's not good." Lucy muttered, wincing a little. She didn't want to fight anyone up on the stage – they were all more than capable of kicking her ass.

"They'll probably hold back a little." Gray mused from behind her, and she snorted.

"Yeah, still doesn't make me feel better."

"They're gonna crush us." Levy groaned from nearby.

The master cut them all off with one last announcement. "The seven participants that I named earlier and their chosen partners are asked to meet at the port of Hargeon one week from today. So get to work!"

At that, the S-Class announcement ceremony was concluded, and everyone on the stage stepped off. Loud noise erupted as everyone began to talk amongst themselves. The crowd slowly dispersed back to whatever they had been doing before the announcement, and soon the guild was significantly less crowded as people either went out, went home, or went on a mission.

Meanwhile, the chosen participants all parked together at a table to discuss the upcoming trials.

"So we all have to pick a partner huh?" Elfman grunted.

"Yep. Looks like. Who are you gonna pick?" Cana asked him as she absentmindedly drank from her keg-o-wine.

His eyes shifted and glanced over towards a certain green-clad fairy, and Lucy covered a smirk behind her palm. Happy and she shared a look and both snickered a little. Their train of thought was derailed slightly by Levy.

"This is gonna be tough, you guys. We have to beat Erza and Mirajane? And I'll bet you anything the other S-Class wizards are going to be part of it too. Why else would Gildarts come home right before the announcement?"

"I may be the manliest guy here, but thinking about going up against your dad makes me as scared as a little girl!" Elfman exclaimed, shuddering and pointing at Cana.

"Yeah, why does your old man have to be so dang strong?" Gray grumbled.

"Hey, it's not my fault Gildarts is a powerhouse." Cana mused, pursing her lips. "With my luck, I'll probably be the one to go up against him."

"That might work out well for all of us actually. He'll probably go extra easy on you, and then none of us have to fight him." Lucy pointed out.

"I doubt we'll get to choose who we go up against." Levy inserted.

"I'm all fired up now! I don't care who I fight as long as they're tough!"

"You weren't picked, Ash-Breath!"

"I'm gonna be Lucy's partner, Pervy Princess!"

The celestial mage in question raised her eyebrows in surprise at the declaration, since that decision hadn't actually been made yet. She let it slide though, because in all honesty, she probably would have chosen Natsu to be her partner anyways.

"Speaking of…hey Wendy? Would you like to be my partner?" Cana asked as the younger blue-haired mage passed by their table.

"You want me to be your partner?" she asked in a squeaky voice that sounded downright shocked.

"Yeah. You're one tough cookie, and I think we make a great team, don't you?"

"Um, sure! I'd love to help you!"

"Alright! Come and have a seat, Short-Stuff."

Wendy flushed and slid in next to Cana at the table, and Carla hopped up on top and parked next to a suddenly ecstatic Happy.

The white cat mostly ignored him though and focused on expressing her concerns about Wendy joining the S-Class Trials. "I really don't think this is a good idea Wendy. It's much too dangerous."

"Oh come on. Let the girl live a little. You're such a worrywart Carla." Cana laughed, reaching out to tap the white cat's nose.

Carla swatted her hand away and huffed. Recently these three had been going on missions together pretty often, so they'd already built up a good camaraderie.

"So who are you going to partner with Levy?" Lucy asked, choosing to ignore Cana as she proceeded to tease Carla.

"Um…well…" She glanced to the side, where Jet and Droy were currently fighting over who got to be her partner. It didn't look like either of them was making much headway though.

"Hm… I see your problem."

The conversation was brought to an abrupt halt as a tall dark shadow suddenly appeared behind her, towering over her tiny form and completely dwarfing her.

"Yeah I dunno if…uh…" Levy started and then trailed off as she saw Lucy's expression and how the celestial mage was looking high above her head at something behind her. "What's…?"

Turning, she ran nose-first into Gajeel's stomach.

"Geehee…. You're pairing up with me Shrimp."

When she started puffing up at the nickname, he snagged the back off her collar and lifted her into the air with one hand so they were nose-to-nose. "I'll make you bigger than you could ever imagine."

To Lucy's surprise, her blue-haired friend seemed to go limp and nodded meekly while flushing lightly. Grinning a sharp-toothed smile at her, the iron dragon slayer slung her over his shoulder and walked out the door, saying, "We better start training then."

Being tossed over his shoulder finally got a predictable response from the pint-sized script mage, and she kicked both arms and legs as she hollered, "Hey! Put me down! You can't just carry me off like this!"

He paid literally zero attention to her as he strode out the guild doors, oblivious to all the eyes following the pair out the door. Their entire table had watched the episode with concern at first, and then mounting amusement.

"You know…I think she likes him."

Cana nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah. The way she melted like a kitten when he picked her up? For sure. If anyone else tried that on her, they'd be laid out flat on the floor within seconds."

"True that." Gray snorted.

"She's a real man!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at that.

"He's got the right idea though Luce! We gotta go get ready!" So saying, Natsu grabbed her hand and dragged her off with him – Happy quickly flying after them.

"Wait, where are we going?!"

…

A little while later found Natsu, Happy, and Lucy on the beach, far enough from the guildhall that they couldn't be spied on.

"Okay…so…what now?" Lucy gasped, grabbing her knees and wheezing.

Natsu had dragged her along behind him as he barreled full-tilt to their current location, so she was beyond out of breath by this point. That boy sure could run.

"Now you train!" Happy announced, and she glanced up at him with amusement. He had snagged a whistle somewhere and was striking a pose. "I'm gonna be your coach!"

"Aye Sir!" Lucy chirped, smiling.

She wasn't smiling for long though, because - as it turned out - Happy was a devil in disguise.

"Drop and give me ten more pushups!"

"No way…" Lucy groaned, her arms already feeling like jelly. "I can't do it!"

"Natsu! Do twenty!" Happy compromised.

"Aye Sir!"

Doing twenty pushups was nothing for him of course, despite all the pushups he'd already done.

"You know, I don't think this is the kind of training we should be doing…" Lucy protested. "It takes months to actually build muscle, and we only have a week. We should be working on techniques, plans, strategies, working together, increasing our magic…stuff like that."

Happy pouted.

"This isn't bad to do though, we both need to know our physical limits." Natsu pointed out.

"Alright fine. I'm at my limit on pushups then."

"Natsu! Do as many pushups as you can!" Happy had definitely hopped on board.

"Aye Sir!"

After five minutes in, Lucy didn't think he was going to be stopping any time soon. When another five minutes passed, Happy's attention shifted back to her, and they basically ignored Natsu as he continued to do pushups.

"Lucy, do as many sit-ups as you can!"

She groaned, but agreed. It wasn't a bad idea to see where her limit was. So, she laid back and dug her toes into the sand to give her some support. She then proceeded to do as many sit-ups as she could in one set, then rested a moment and did another set. On the third, she finally gave out and reached her limit. Meanwhile, Natsu was still doing pushups.

Eventually he did stop, and by that point he was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, but his broad grin hadn't been affected at all.

After even more exercises, Lucy finally called it quits. She was exhausted, dripping with sweat, and had collapsed onto the warm sand.

As she lay flat on the beach and stared up at the sky – which was starting to turn orange as the sun dropped towards the horizon – she wondered if any of this had been productive. Her introspection was interrupted by Natsu's voice.

"Hey Luce! Catch!"

"Huh?" She lifted her head right in time to get a face full of water as Natsu splashed her. He was wading in the surf, with Happy perched on his shoulder.

"You…!"

Growling, she scrambled to her feet and pursued him, kicking off her sandals and running into the water. She was wearing a short skirt, so it didn't matter if she waded in a little. That didn't save her from getting splashed though as he scooped handfuls of seawater at her. She followed suit, and soon they were both pretty wet as they ran around and chased each other.

She was breathless with laughter as she did her best to catch Natsu. What she would do with him once she caught him, she didn't know… but she was sure she'd figure out something. The next time he bent to grab another handful of water, she put a little extra oomph into her run and finally got within striking distance.

"Lucy Kick!"

She used just enough force to knock him off-balance, and he went face-first into the water as she kicked his behind. His arms cartwheeled through the air as he tried to regain his balance, but it was too late, and he completely dunked under. With a gasp, he reemerged and shook his pink hair to send sprinkles of water in every direction.

She missed the smirk he sent her way, because she was too busy bending over and clutching her sides from laughing so hard. The sensation of his tail wrapping around her ankle snapped her back to attention though, and when she looked up with wide eyes and met his gaze, she saw the mischievous smile planted on his lips. And then he was yanking her off her feet, and she had splashed down into the water too.

"That's cheating!" she protested as soon as she'd spat water out of her mouth.

He just laughed at her.

With a growl, she pounced on top of him and planted her hands on his shoulders, giving him a good sturdy push. He fell over backwards again with a yelp, and she laughed at his shocked expression, which quickly got scrunched up as she dunked his head under. She let him up right away of course, laughing the whole time. He came up with puffed-out cheeks, and she had a brief second to realize what was about to happen before he sprayed water in her face. When she tried to get away, he grabbed her arms to hold her in place on his lap as he sprayed her.

"Ew! Natsu that's gross!" she protested, scrunching her eyes closed and holding her hands up in front of her face as a shield.

The sound of his laugh cued her into the fact that he had emptied his ammunition, and she spread her fingers to peek through them and send a glare his way.

His face abruptly got closer, until his nose was brushing the palms of her hands, and he asked, "Why's it gross?"

"Because you were spiting it at me." she grumbled, scowling at him and keeping her hands between their mouths, knowing he wanted to kiss her. After the stunt he just pulled, she wasn't sure he deserved a kiss.

"So? We've swapped spit before." By now his lips were pressing against her hands, which muffled his words a little.

She scowled at him. "That's disgusting Natsu."

He busted out laughing and pressed his forehead to hers as he continued to snicker. His hands slid down her arms and up to her wrists, where he latched on and gave a good solid yank. Her hands were pulled away from her mouth and his lips landed on hers. She thought about pulling away… but then got too wrapped up in the kiss to do so. As if to prove his point, he made sure to deepen the kiss and sneaked his tongue into her mouth. With that, she was gone, and melted into it completely, kissing him back with just as much enthusiasm. A tiny lick of fire tingled across her tongue, just a tease, and she instantly wanted more and pressed closer with a small noise.

He pulled back and chuckled. "I don't hear you protesting."

She opened her eyes to give him a glare. "Alright, you made your point. Now shut up and kiss me some more."

His eyes widened slightly as she reached up and grabbed a fistful of pink hair to pull him back to her. This time it was him who made a small noise in the back of his throat as she sealed her lips over his. As their lips parted and the kiss deepened, he apparently lost control of his fire and heat suddenly blazed into her mouth, burning her tongue and sliding down her throat. It tasted like fire whisky, like something spicy, sweet, and smoky…with that biting burn of fine liquor with a high alcohol content. She'd never thought the sensation of burning from the inside out would be pleasant, but it was…at least when it came to kissing Natsu and swallowing his fire.

Suddenly they were interrupted by a slightly bored voice saying, "Gross. Get a room you two. You're scaring the fishes."

With a gasp, Lucy jerked back, having completely forgotten that they weren't alone. Happy was a little ways off, perched on a stone at the edge of the shore, and he'd pulled out his fishing pole and was highly focused on the water under his perch. Apparently they had bored him with their water fight, and he'd flown off at some point to entertain himself with his favorite pastime.

After that, all that was left to do was go home and dry off, while Lucy ignored the truly spastic butterflies in her stomach that had spawned from their kiss.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _"So Luce, what kind of training did you wanna do?"_

 _"Well…I think meditating to increase my magic reserves would be helpful for starters. Then we can work on joint attacks and stuff like that."_

 _His grin widened. "Meditation huh? That's perfect. You know, I think we should go on a short trip, just the two of us. Get away from it all you know?"_

 _"Just the two of you? What am I supposed to do while you're off training!" Happy squawked, his fur ruffling with indignity._

 _"You could stay with Wendy and Carla. If they're staying in town to train."_


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note:**

It's Sunday! And you know what that means! A new chapter! Yay!

As always, Huge thanks and sparkles and cheer for all my wonderful reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses for my repeat reviewers: pixiecatost, Elphaba818, ravenqueen162, Donthedarkdragon26, xxIt'sAllAboutThemxx, Shadowslayer15, Lucinda, 19vanelkc, ThatOneAnimeGirl08, RabbitMelody, Wolves silver wind, KitsuneLover05, Ksta, TheJSmooth, WisdomDragon27, kilatails, Leomae2.0, silentlinkmit339, valerioux, thechani, Alice, Lady La-sara, Firefly9917, and MiseryWolf97. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Syfenos U, lengthiest peepee, Anna5949, mr-simba-722-97, and Ikrani.

For once I have nothing else to say sooooo, on with the show! And be sure to stay till the end for a sneak peek. :D

* * *

The next day she woke up sore all over and quite honestly didn't even want to get out of bed. Unfortunately, she had to train, whether she wanted to or not. So, with a groan, she geared up for an attempt at dragging herself out of bed, which would involve rolling Natsu out first or else crawling over him. Neither option was easy when you felt like you've been run over by a bus.

She was on her side facing him and her face was buried in his chest. One of her legs had gotten caught between his, and – as usual – his tail had snuck between them and was coiled around the leg not caught in a dragon trap …. all of which successfully immobilized her lower half.

So, she had to resort to prodding his chest and mumbling, "Natsu…Hey. Natsu. Wake up."

He woke with a grunt and then stretched, releasing her leg from its confines. The leg that had been stuck between his was now asleep, so she gingerly rolled onto her back and stretched it out – waiting until the pins and needles passed. Meanwhile, Natsu propped himself up on his elbow and stared down at her.

"So what do ya wanna do for training today?"

"No more exercising, that's for sure. I feel like I was run over by Sagittarius, drowned by Aquarius, and then pounded by Taurus."

Her mental filters apparently hadn't woken up yet for such a thing to pop out of her mouth, and it got raised eyebrows from Natsu.

"Pounded by Taurus?"

"Er…I mean I'm really sore. Maybe that wasn't the best analogy."

"It was just fine. But make sure you substitute dragons for bulls next time."

It took a moment for her brain to catch the euphemism, and then she flushed lightly and slapped at his arm. "That's not the kind of pounding I was talking about!"

He didn't even seem to hear her because he was chuckling too hard and collapsed off his propped-up arm. Apparently being teased constantly by Gray had worn off a little on him, and now he was using euphemisms all on his own – although she somehow doubted he knew entirely what they meant. The thought amused her, and she chuckled along with him, but for different reasons.

By this point her leg was fully awake, but she indulged a little longer … just enjoying the warmth and comfort of their bed and snuggling. Something snaked over her thigh, and she glanced down to see the covers shifting as Natsu's tail slithered under them. She wasn't exactly surprised when his fifth appendage coiled around the nearest leg and then squeezed lightly.

The tail thing had really only started happening around the time they confessed their feelings to each other, and she couldn't help but wonder what it was about. Figuring now was as good a time to ask as any, she decided to voice the question.

"Hey Natsu?"

"Hm?" he hummed against her throat, which he was now nuzzling with his nose.

"What's this about?" To clarify what she meant, her hand snuck under the covers and wrapped around the first coil of his tail on her thigh.

As she grabbed him, she abruptly realized that she'd never actually touched his tail before … at least not like this. Sure, she had brushed against it, or it had touched her the way it was now, but she had never reached out and grasped it with her hands.

He flinched against her and hissed his breath in between his teeth as she gently squeezed, which made her think that either his tail was very sensitive, or he didn't like it being touched, or she'd just surprised him by touching it. For the time being she withdrew her hand, figuring that was a separate inquiry …. which she fully intended to ask after her first question was answered.

"Um, what d'you mean? It's my tail."

"Well yeah, duh. What I meant was, why've you been wrapping it around my legs like this? You only started doing it after we got together, so I was wondering if there was a special significance to it or something."

He shrugged. "Dunno. I've just wanted to do it. So I did."

"Oh. Does it feel good or something?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Sort of like hugging you feels good."

"Makes sense."

After a brief pause, she remembered her second question and reached down again to lightly grab his tail, waiting to see if he would react the same way as last time. Sure enough, he tensed against her and sucked in his breath.

"Sorry, do you not like me to touch it?"

"No, it's fine. Why?" Even his voice sounded a little tight.

"Because you get all tense when I touch it. Or else you flinch."

"That's not cause I don't like it. It's just different. I've never let anyone mess with my tail before."

"Oh. So this is okay?" She gave him a gentle squeeze, and he shivered lightly.

"Yep…" His voice came out a little choked, and she pulled back to get a look at his face.

His eyes were closed and there was a scrunch between his eyebrows.

"You don't look okay. You're frowning."

"Am I?" He sounded genuinely surprised, and his eyes popped open to meet hers curiously.

"Well you were…"

"Huh. That's weird."

She determined it must have been the kind of frown that came from concentrating really hard on something, and not the kind that came from displeasure.

Since it apparently wasn't a problem, she let herself curiously explore the bit of tail she could reach. The first thing that caught her attention was that it was incredibly warm, maybe even more so than the rest of his body. After a bit of consideration, she supposed the increased heat might be because it was from his original form – only much smaller of course.

The next thing about his tail that intrigued her was its texture. The scales were silky, lying flat and smooth. The underside was even softer, where the scales resembled the belly of a snake – but she knew even those were downright impenetrable. After a bit of exploring, she realized there was a ridge along the spine that had a slightly raised texture, like a line of subtle bumps. It took her a moment to realize that it must be the line of spikes that popped out when he partially transformed.

She was so involved with her investigation, that she temporarily spaced out and didn't notice how he was reacting to it all, until a shudder worked through him. At that, she paused and glanced back up at him. His brow was scrunched up again, and he seemed to be busy chewing on his bottom lip.

"You okay?"

"Hm?" His eyes opened and met hers.

Her breath stuck in her throat at the sight of him with glassy unfocused eyes that held something very similar to the look he got when they kissed, but even more heated. Perhaps the most shocking thing about it though, was how his normally black eyes glowed hot gold – the way they did when he went draconic.

"Um…Natsu, your eyes changed color."

He blinked, and then blinked again more rapidly. "Oh. Sorry, I thought I was controlling it better. Hold on." He squinted and bit his lip, and slowly his eyes flickered back to black.

"Controlling what exactly? Why did your eyes turn gold?"

"Uh, well, as you know, usually I can choose whether to get a boner or not, but my body was just trying to override my brain on this one."

For a long moment Lucy just stared at him, trying to absorb that candid statement of fact about his body processes and what was currently going on. She honestly had no idea how to respond to that.

"You…you're…um. Why are you…?"

"Apparently my tail is attached to my dick."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"My tail is _way_ more sensitive than I thought, and you're touching it – which feels _really_ good. So…yeah. My body's sorta getting fired up." He grinned a little when saying 'fired up,' and his eyes sparkled with both mirth and excitement.

She could feel her mouth making an 'o' as she gingerly released his tail from her grasp. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that your tail was an erogenous zone."

"Erogewhozzits?"

"Like, nipples or lips. Something that you touch to make you aroused." she clarified, feeling a little embarrassed about it and blushing, but trying to be as candid as Natsu apparently was.

"Oh. Cool." After a pause, he added, "You don't have to stop, you know. Like I said, it felt really good."

"Um…yeah, but we're not really doing stuff like _that_ yet…" Although she certainly wasn't opposed to the idea.

"Stuff like what?"

"Like sexy stuff."

He blew a puff of hot air into her neck as he ducked his head to chuckle. "You're so weird Luce. I dunno what you mean by 'sexy stuff.' What we've done so far seems pretty sexy to me."

She supposed he was right, but now was not a good time to continue down that path. The sounds of Happy waking up was like a bucket of cold water dropping over her head, and as tempted as she was to continue and see where it led them, she bit her lip and shook her head, mouthing, _"Happy,_ " and pointing in the direction of his bed.

Natsu's eyes rolled and he glanced over his shoulder. With a sigh he turned back to her and nodded before mouthing back, " _Yeah, he's waking up."_

Then his brow quirked, and his eyes lit up the way they usually did when he'd had a brilliant idea … which generally got them in trouble.

"Get dressed." he suddenly demanded, and launched himself out of bed – leaving her to wonder what the hell just happened.

They promptly got up and got dressed, but Lucy didn't see any indication of what his idea might be until they were all sitting down for breakfast.

"So Luce, what kind of training did you wanna do?"

"Well…I think meditating to increase my magic reserves would be helpful for starters. Then we can work on joint attacks and stuff like that."

His grin widened. "Meditation huh? That's perfect. You know, I think we should go on a short trip, just the two of us. Get away from it all you know?"

"Just the two of you? What am I supposed to do while you're off training!" Happy squawked, his fur ruffling with indignity.

"You could stay with Wendy and Carla. If they're staying in town to train."

"We can go check." Lucy offered, and Happy was instantly on board with the idea. So, as soon as they finished breakfast, they headed to the guildhall.

She immediately spotted Cana drinking a barrel of wine on one of the nearby tables and headed her way. Since she was Wendy's partner, it would make sense that they would be prepping for the S-Class Trials together.

"Hey! Getting some good training in?" Lucy greeted as she approached, and the older woman lowered her barrel of wine with a grin.

"You know it! I'm just taking a short watering break here…. can't train on a dry throat you know!"

"Of course. Hey, I was wondering, are you guys staying in town to train?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Natsu and I are heading off for a short trip to train privately, and we were hoping Happy could bunk with Wendy."

"She's over at the bar getting some soda. I'm sure it'll be fine though. If they can't take him, I will. We'll have a sleepover and eat sushi all night, sound good Happy?"

She had him at sushi and he was already in love with the idea. She laughed as he hopped up next to her and placed his front paws on her knee.

"You kids take off. We've got this under control." She sent Lucy a knowing wink that made the blond flush, and then turned to the blue cat. "Right Happy?"

"Aye Sir!"

Chuckling slightly embarrassedly, Lucy gave him a hug, waved goodbye, and then headed out. She'd already packed her bag, so it was just a matter of heading to the nearest train station and picking out a destination.

"How about somewhere nice, where I can get some peace and quiet to center my mind…" Lucy murmured, scrolling through the pamphlets on a wooden stand.

"Sounds kinda boring to me, but I'm down for anything."

Eventually she settled on a spa resort/hot spring and booked herself tickets. Thankfully she had a little jewel saved up, so she could afford something nice – which she thought she deserved after the torture of yesterday.

The train ride itself was uneventful, and Amy summoned herself to keep Lucy company. She spent it cuddled up next to the fluffy wolf and writing in her latest book. It was over relatively quickly, and soon they were pulling into the station. Of course, she still had to walk to the resort itself, which was located further up the mountain than the village where her train had stopped.

The walk up to the resort was a bit long and tedious, but the scenery was so beautiful that Lucy didn't even care. Amy joined her for part of the way, but as soon as Natsu poofed into being, the wolf gave them both a smirk and disappeared.

The further up they went the colder and crisper the air got, which was pleasant for the rigorous walk, but she was glad she had brought a fluffy coat with her. By the time they got there, she was definitely ready to relax and enjoy this little vacation – even though it was technically for training purposes. Meditation was relaxing though… or could be at least.

Upon arrival, Lucy was immediately even happier with her choice. The grounds to the hot spring resort were absolutely gorgeous. It was perched in a clearing, and the front was beautifully landscaped – with lush gardens full of greenery that was currently frosted with a light coating of snow, and zen gardens made of rocks and sand that had been kept completely clear of any precipitation.

The first order of business though was to check into a room, so Lucy and Natsu passed through the gardens and entered the resort.

Unsurprisingly, the indoors were just as beautiful as the exterior, with gorgeously decorated paper screens, small potted flowering trees, and black bamboo furniture. Even more surprising and lovely were the water accents in the room – a small pebbled stream that ran through the lobby, a wall of windows made entirely out of falling water over glass, and a small waterfall that terminated in a pool full of koi in one corner. It was all perfectly arranged and not crowded in the least, and of course everything was impeccably kept, with not a speck of dirt to be seen.

After a few seconds of admiring the decor, Lucy approached the register. "Hello, I would like to rent a room."

"Of course, for how many nights?"

"Two?" She glanced at Natsu for verification, and he nodded with a grin.

"Alright. That will be 62,500 jewel."

That wasn't too terribly bad, considering this was an upscale place and it was for two nights. It was pricy, but this was a special occasion, and Lucy hadn't treated herself in a very long time.

Pretending like she wasn't gritting her teeth just a little, she grinned and agreed to the price. "Sure."

"Very well. Here's your key. Your room rate includes 24/7 access to the hot springs and all spa amenities and gardens on the property. There is also a complimentary breakfast between six and eleven o'clock in the morning. We have an excellent kitchen that provides for in-room meals if you wish, although that is extra."

"Thank you!"

After checking in, the first thing they did was find their room and drop off Lucy's luggage.

Their room was in similar décor as the lobby, with paper screens as walls – though it was obvious that there were actual walls behind the paper, because she couldn't hear the occupants of the other rooms through the walls. It was basically one large room, with an open sliding paper screen on one side that showed off a large bathroom. In the center of the room was a low table with cushions placed around it, where she assumed they could eat if they chose to order room service, and to one side was an enormous bed piled high with cushions.

A sliding screen on the wall opposite them was open to show a glass door, which led directly out into the extensive gardens and grounds behind the resort.

"So what d'you wanna do first Luce?"

She sighed. "Well, I'd really love to check out the hot springs, but I suppose we should do some training first."

"Sounds good. Lead the way!"

She dropped off her luggage and threw on a sweater, before venturing out through the door to the gardens. Thankfully, since this area of land apparently had lots of geothermal activity it wasn't quite as nippy as other parts of the mountainside, which made it extremely pleasant. A light mist of snow fell, and the flakes stuck to the leaves and branches of the surrounding plants, but once they touched the ground they melted. It was certainly amazing to be experiencing snow while not feeling bitterly cold.

They wandered through the grounds for a little while, admiring the snow-kissed landscaped gardens, but eventually Lucy picked a spot near a small waterfall to start her meditation. The waterfall was connected to the stream that seemed to wind through the whole property, and it fell into a larger, deeper pool of water that had koi fish in it. The stream continued flowing on the other side, but it was so shallow that the fish couldn't swim down it.

She parked herself on a flat stone next to the water and was a shocked when it felt mildly warm. When she took off her shoes and dipped her feet into the water, she was further amazed when the water felt mildly warm as well and supposed that it must be part of the hot springs. That explained how they had a koi pond up here on the mountain where it would otherwise freeze over. She left her feet in the water and closed her eyes, trying to center her mind and prepare to meditate.

To be honest, meditation wasn't exactly her forte. She didn't know the proper technique to do it exactly, she only knew the basics. So, she started by focusing on her breathing and quieting her mind.

Once her mind was basically blank, she tried to focus on her magic and the magic surrounding her in the outside world. Of course she knew that magic was in everything, and she could actually tap into that enormous source if she could just harmonize with it long enough – which was supposed to exercise her own magic and grow her reserves…somehow. Of course, increasing her reserves was highly desirable, because it would increase the amount of magic she could hold and expend at any given time. That would give her access to more powerful spells, like Urano Metria, which she still hadn't been able to cast since Grandpa Crux had downloaded it into her mind.

It was incredibly difficult though to _find_ the magic, even her own. It took a great deal of mental focus to sense magic in this way.

The sensation of fish nibbling her toes suddenly snapped her out of the meditation and she snorted, jerking her feet out of the water and tucking them up under her.

"How's it going?" Natsu asked from his spot nearby where he was playing with his fire.

"I got distracted by the fish chewing on me."

He laughed and made a fish out of fire before sending it to swim in the air around her. "Watch out for the fish Luce! They're gonna eat ya!"

She grinned and laughed, then swatted his fish out of the air. "Okay, I'm gonna try again, so be quiet."

Closing her eyes, she focused again and sank into the meditation, ignoring the sound of Natsu getting up and exploring. She'd done this several times before in the past to train, but it was always tough. Magic flowed throughout the body, so there wasn't any one place to focus on, instead she had to focus on everything at once. Her magic had a specific feel to it, sort of tingly and light and warm, and she had always pictured it like golden starlight – which seemed appropriate since she was a celestial mage. By picturing it flowing through her veins, she was eventually able to tap into that warm, sparkly sensation…. though it took a good deal of time, and she kept getting distracted by Natsu as he tripped over various things, knocked over or dropped stuff, and generally moved around snapping twigs and kicking rocks.

Once she was able to center herself though and tap into that magic flow, things came a little easier and she was able to focus. By concentrating on the tingly feel of her magic, she was able to sort of 'flex' it, like a muscle, and reach out her senses to try and feel the other kinds of magic surrounding her. All magic felt different, and the naturally occurring kind in the air, earth, sky, plants, and water surrounding her just felt clean and pure, like perfect spring water compared to all the flavors that mages had. It was harder to harmonize with this wellspring of naturally occurring power, but after another solid thirty minutes of meditating, she was able to faintly feel it as well.

She couldn't just _take_ the wild magic for her own, but she could tap into it with her magic. By harmonizing her magic with it, eventually the wild magic would start to seep into her own, making her like a sponge or plant absorbing water and air into itself and assimilating it. It took what seemed like a very long time, but eventually she could feel the return of the magic trickling in. It was so slow though, and she was left waiting and concentrating for ages before the magic she had expended was even replaced.

Eventually, after a great deal of patience, she matched the amount of magic she'd had when she started, and then began to push it further until her reserves were full. At that point, it turned into a different kind of training, as she actively worked to stretch her reserves as far as they would go…feeling the magic building up and tingling just under her skin.

Eventually she reached full capacity and had to stop before she popped. As she opened her eyes, the sight of golden light filled her vision and she looked down to see that she was glowing, though it quickly started to dim. The sight filled her with satisfaction, because it meant that she had done what she'd set out to do, and hopefully she had been able to increase her magic reserves even just a little.

As for Natsu… he'd been bored absolutely stiff for the first few hours and had explored the entire area several times over before Lucy caught his attention. She'd begun to glow, and something about it drew him in, until he was parked across the pond from her…watching the glowing aura around her increase slowly until she looked like a celestial spirit herself.

It was amazingly beautiful, and while Natsu generally suffered from attention problems, she somehow managed to capture his full and undivided interest. It was like watching a stunning sunset or sunrise…. Not that he'd ever bothered to stick around long enough to watch one, but looking at Lucy now, he could suddenly understand what made people want to do that.

He watched her for who-knows-how-long, before she eventually stirred, opening her eyes blearily as if coming from some sort of deep trance. She glanced around and smiled, looking pleased, and he couldn't help but smile a little himself, happy that she seemed satisfied with what she had accomplished.

He was a little sad to see the glow fading away from her.

"Hey."

Lucy's eyes turned towards the voice, to see Natsu sitting across the pond from her. He was actually quiet and still for once, and just seemed to be staring at her with something soft in his gaze that made her tummy flutter happily.

"Hey yourself."

"You done?"

"For now." she answered, then yawned and stretched. "I hope you didn't get too bored."

"At first yeah, it was pretty boring."

She rolled her eyes at his candidness. "Well come on. Let's go get something to eat."

He agreed enthusiastically and bounded across the pond in one leap. When she stood to join him, all her muscles protested. They were still sore from all the exercise yesterday, and after sitting still for so long they'd grown stiff. She groaned and staggered forwards a step, gingerly stretching out her back and wincing as muscles spasmed in complaint.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just sore from yesterday and tired from sitting so long. I need to go get a massage."

"A massage?"

"You really have been in the celestial realm for a long time haven't you? You've never heard of a massage before?"

"I've heard of it, but never really knew what it was." He shrugged.

"It's where someone rubs your muscles and gets them to relax."

He squinted at her. "That sounds kinda weird Luce."

"I guess…but it's really not. How about I show you when we get back to the room?"

He shrugged and grinned in response, but it was obvious that his brain was already focused on food.

…

Back in the room, they ordered food, and then while they waited Lucy investigated the amenities offered. As usual with these types of places, robes had been provided, and Lucy decided to change into hers since they probably wouldn't be going back out today for a while. The sun was already setting, and she didn't plan to check out the hot springs until later in the evening. She always preferred to visit hot springs at night, when she would usually have them all to herself.

By the time she was finished changing and inspecting the bathroom, their food had arrived. Apparently service here was exceptionally fast.

So, they dug into the delicious spread of food, and Lucy hoped it wasn't as expensive as it tasted, because – thanks to Natsu – they had ordered a lot. It was a good thing she'd saved up so much jewel…. she had the feeling she was going to need it when they got their bill at the end of their stay here. At any rate, she decided not to worry about it too much and just enjoy it while it lasted.

After eating and thoroughly enjoying the meal, Lucy sighed and started thinking about the next step in training.

"I think it would be good to have a baseline for my current level of magic. That way I'll know if the training is working or not."

"Okay. So how do ya wanna do that?"

"At the moment, I have a lot of trouble summoning more than one spirit at a time. I'd like to get to the point where I can summon two and not be out of magic power ten seconds later. So, I think the next part of my training should be trying to summon two spirits at once and see how long I can hold the spell."

Natsu belched and leaned back into the pile of cushions behind him. "Then I'm just gonna lay here and digest while you do that."

"Real helpful Natsu."

He flashed a broad toothy grin at her in response.

She couldn't help but chuckle at his cheekiness. "Alright, then I'll just be over _here_ training while you digest."

"Hey, if you want me to fight 'em or something, you just let me know."

"It might not be a bad idea to have you and Leo spar, because having anyone use their magic powers while they're out is more taxing on mine. So we'll see."

So saying, she decided to pick Leo, because he was probably the biggest drain on her magic reserves, and Aries, because she was a relatively low drain. However, when she tried to open the gate of the lion, he wouldn't come, and she could feel the weird sensation of trying to open a door that was already open.

Blinking in surprise, she stared at his key. "He's uh…he's already out and about doing something under his own power."

"No kidding. He's probably off sexing up his girlfriends or something."

She shot him an offended look. "He would come if that was all he was doing. Our contract means more than some date. Besides, he knows that I would send him right back if it wasn't an emergency and he told me he was in the middle of a date! I guess I'll have to call him instead. Undoubtedly he felt me messing with his gate, so I'm sure he knows that I'm peeved."

Her hunch proved correct. Before she even had a chance to use her magic to call him, he called her. His key heated up and she felt a tapping on her magic – like someone knocking on a door almost – and she opened a link between her magic and his key so that she could hear him through it.

"Lucy, is this an emergency? Are you in danger?"

"No, I'm fine. I was just wondering if you could help me train for the upcoming S-Class Trials."

"Shit. I'm sorry, but I agreed to be Gray's partner. We promised to be each other's partners long ago, before you found out about me being a celestial spirit. So right now, I'm Loki of Fairy Tail."

The news surprised her, but she wasn't upset by it. "Fair enough I suppose. Then I won't bother to call on you during this time."

"Of course you can still call on me if there's an emergency and you're in danger outside of the trials, but yeah, otherwise…thanks Lucy."

"No problem. And good luck to both you and Gray."

"You too."

And with that, the connection was cut off.

"Well, as it turns out, Leo is working as Gray's partner in the S-Class Trials."

"What?!"

"It's perfectly legal. He's a Fairy Tail member just like you."

"Oh yeah … I guess I'd forgotten about that." He frowned for a moment, but as usual shrugged it off and went back to being cheerful.

Now she had to figure out who to summon instead of Leo. Aquarius was just as strong and took plenty of magic to summon, but if Lucy summoned the cranky mermaid here, she'd probably have to promise not to summon her again for a while… which meant Aquarius wouldn't be able to help during the actual trial. The next powerful was probably Gemini, Scorpio, or possibly Sagittarius.

In the end, she decided to summon Gemini and Aries to start with, because they were both really easy to get along with and probably wouldn't mind helping out.

"Open, Gate of the Twins! Gemini!"

With a puff of blue smoke, the twins manifested floating in midair. "Pirri Pirri! Hello, Miss Lucy!" they chirped in tandem.

"Hi guys! Would you mind helping me train for the upcoming S-Class Trials I'm going to be participating in?"

"Not at all! How can we help?"

"Um, I guess just turn into me … and then wait around while I summon Aries? I wanna see how long I can keep two gates open at once."

With a pink puff of smoke, suddenly there was another Lucy standing in front of her … clad in the last outfit she had worn when summoning them, which happened to be a towel.

"Sounds like a plan! Let's do it!" the other Lucy said with a grin.

"Hey, so, not to interrupt ya or anything but…. Why're ya wearin' a towel Gemini?" a laughing voice sounded nearby, and both Lucys shot Natsu a look.

He was smirking, and with a roll of her eyes, the real Lucy suggested, "How about you switch to what I'm wearing now Gemini…so we don't have to deal with the peanut gallery over there."

Gemini laughed and changed, blowing a kiss at Natsu while she did so.

Ignoring her cackling dragon spirit, Lucy proceeded with the plan and pulled out Aries's key. "Open! Gate of the Ram! Aries!"

With a ' _baaa_ ' sound and a momentary small explosion of pink wool, Aries popped into existence. As usual, she cringed a little and blushed with shyness. "I'm so sorry, Miss..."

"Thanks for coming Aries…and you know you don't ever have to apologize for anything."

The gentle spirit flushed even more, but smiled timidly and seemed to relax a little. "How can I help?"

"Well, you're already doing it to be honest. I'm training for the upcoming S-Class Trials, and I want to see how long I can keep two gates open at the same time."

Already she could feel an immense drain on her magic power, but it seemed a little less than previous times she had tried summoning two spirits, so maybe the training really had helped a little. The four of them sat and chatted about things as Lucy did her best to keep both gates open, but after about five minutes she finally reached her limit.

"All right guys, I think this is where I have to call it quits. Thanks for coming, do you mind if I summon you again tomorrow for more of this?"

"Not at all!"

After sending both spirits back to the celestial realm, Lucy drooped, feeling completely drained of all the magic power she had accumulated today.

"Phew…I feel so tired." she groaned, flopping back to lay against the floor cushions.

"I could have helped you keep them out way longer you know." Natsu commented, sounding just a little smug and cocky. Of course, he was _always_ cocky, so that was no surprise. But she was confused about what he'd said.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on Luce. You know. I could have lent you some of my power."

He had indeed given her power from time to time when she needed it, but now that she was thinking about it, Lucy suddenly realized that she didn't really understand it.

"Yeah … I've felt you lend me power every now and then during a fight … but I still don't really know how that works."

"It's like when you talked to Leo. Our magic is connected, and I can choose to transfer mine through it. Want me to show you?"

"Um, sure?"

He grinned and then closed his eyes. For once, a serious expression crossed his face as he concentrated, and then suddenly she felt her previously drained magic reserves getting filled up.

She gasped and pressed a hand to her belly, feeling like liquid fire was being injected into her. It seemed to settle in her center first, and then the magic slowly transferred like burning molasses through her bloodstream. Just like when they kissed, his catch-phrase, 'Now I've got a fire in my belly,' ran through her mind, and she chuckled weakly, thinking that it was a very appropriate saying for his power.

Her entire body flushed with heat, and it felt like she had a fever. In some ways it felt good, like the fire of his kisses, but it was also uncomfortable and grew more-so by the second.

"Okay, okay! That's enough Natsu! I'm burning up over here!" she gasped after a moment, sweat popping up all over her skin.

He chuckled, and the transfusion stopped - much to her relief - but she still felt like a roaring fire was sitting deep within her just burning away. She liked the heat, but too much of a good thing was still too much.

"I think you went too fast…" she wheezed, fanning herself in an attempt to cool down.

"Oops, my bad. I guess I thought you could handle it since you've been swallowing my fire for a little while now."

"Well yeah, but that was like fire concentrate that you just pumped me full of!" she protested, and fiddled with her robe, trying to fan herself with it.

"I guess my magic is more potent than my fire," he mused. "Never really thought about it before."

"Well I can promise you that it is. For sure."

"Maybe it's something we can include in your training then … getting you used to my magic. It'll definitely give you a big boost in power."

"Yeah, it's a really good idea." After a long pause, she couldn't help but add, "I kinda feel like it's cheating though. I mean it's not _my_ power, I'm just borrowing yours."

"If it bugs you, just think of it like this – I'm your spirit. You summoned me. I'm yours. So my magic's also yours."

She flushed and cleared her throat, not sure what to say after that for a long time. And then a new thought occurred to her.

"Why haven't I ever heard of this before? I've never come across anything that said spirits could transfer power like this."

"Mythic spirits like me are probably just harder to come by I guess." He grinned smugly. "We're on a whole 'nother level in case you haven't noticed. You can do stuff with us that you couldn't do with your zodiac spirits in a million years."

"So does that mean Amy could transfer power to me as well?"

"If she chose to, yeah. But it's totally up to her. This isn't a spell, or something you can control. And to be honest…most mythic spirits don't do it."

"Of course! I'd never ask for something like this. That would be super rude."

"It would be more than that. It'd practically be a breach of contract." he said seriously, but then a completely happy grin replaced his solemn expression. "Of course, you can have as much of my power as you want. You aren't just my mage, you're also my mate, so I'm happy to share. It's all yours as far as I'm concerned."

He said it so happily that she had a hard time comprehending what it was that he'd actually just said, so for a long time she gaped at him in astonishment. Warm, sappy emotions made her heart puff up and fill with syrup that tried to drown her.

She laughed lightly and wiped moisture from her eyes. "Yeah…same goes for me. If I could give you my magic of course, but I have no idea how I'd do that."

"Thanks Luce!"

He beamed at her, and then got up and walked over to plop down next to her. He leaned in to give her a cheerful kiss on the lips, and said, "…love you!" with a big smile.

She returned the smile and pressed a gentle kiss of her own to his lips before murmuring, "Love you too Natsu."

After a brief pause, he leaned back on his hands and cocked his head. "So now what? You wanna train some more now that you're all fired up with my magic? Or do you wanna take a break?"

"I'd love to take a break and check out that hot spring, but I'm already so hot that I don't think it'd feel very good right now. Making snow angels sounds way more appealing."

He chuckled. "Why don't you just go take a cold shower instead?"

For the very first time in her life, a cold shower sounded heavenly. "You know…. I think I may just go do that. Excuse me."

She left him there, laughing his ass off and completely unempathetic.

After cooling her jets in the shower, her exhaustion returned big time. The extra magic boost had replenished her reserves of _magic_ energy, but not the ones that kept her awake. It was already pretty late, so as soon as she exited the bathroom she made a beeline for the bed and sleep. Natsu followed close behind and happily snuggled up to her, apparently cool with going to sleep as well.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _He shrugged and shimmied off the robe from his shoulders so it pooled around his waist, then leaned back on his elbows to watch her as she reached over to the nightstand and snagged the complementary lotion they provided. Squirting a healthy dollop into her palm, she used her clean hand to shove his head down onto the bed so she could get to his shoulders._

 _He lay down with a grumble and crossed his arms over his chest. She worked the lotion into both palms and then placed them on his shoulders._

 _He flinched and instantly yelped, "That's cold!"_

 _"It'll warm up fast, don't fuss so much."_

 _Since he was so hot, the lotion warmed up even faster than she expected, and he relaxed again. Every time she had to reapply though he would flinch and yelp, making her laugh each time._

 _With firm fingers she worked the lotion across his skin and used it to make sweeping motions over his muscles to relax them without any unpleasant friction. It didn't take long to get him on board with the idea, and soon he was practically putty beneath her palms and fingers as she kneaded the tight muscles in his shoulders and neck._


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note:**

It's Wednesday! (I just love stating the obvious, don't you? lol) Anyways, you all know what that means...a new chapter! Yay! And it's another double chapter to boot. ;D

As always, huge, wonderful, fluffy, happy thanks to all my fantastic lovely reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: xxIt'sAllAboutThemxx, ravenqueen162, Lady La-sara, KitsuneLover05, Firefly9917, Alice, Wolves silver wind, TheJSmooth, valerioux, Maczorro, Leomae2.0, Lucinda, WisdomDragon27, mr-simba-722-97, Elphaba818, Donthedarkdragon26, Anna5949, thechani, Shadowslayer15, Ikrani, kilatails, loopymama, MiseryWolf97, Syfenos U, silentlinkmit339, and HotvampGurl23.

Also, I've had a few people ask about where this story is going, and I just wanted to say that there are two plotlines. Natsu and Lucy's relationship is one, but there is an overarching plotline as well. Basically, I'm rewriting Fairy Tail, if that makes sense. So it will be a longer story, and isn't JUST about NaLu (though that is a HUGE part of course.) So don't expect it to end as soon as they have sex for the first time, lol. As I mentioned last chapter (I think?) there will be multiple love scenes, basically one (or two) for each story arc, although I made sure to make each one unique so it wouldn't get repetitive. ;D So buckle up kiddos, the ride's not even close to over yet. There's plenty of lemons, fluff, humor, action, and heartache to come.

Alrighty, on with the show! And stay tuned for another author's note and a sneak peek at the end.

* * *

"Okay, okay! Too much!" Lucy yelped, heat burning through her veins for the fifth time in the past couple of hours.

Natsu cut off the magic he'd been sending to her and grinned. "You took more this time! Good job Luce!"

She grimaced, her body breaking out into a sweat and flushing from top to bottom. "Yeah, great."

For the first part of the day she had meditated again, working to expand her reserves some more – and then after lunch they promptly went into the second part of her training regimen and summoned Aries and Gemini. This time she'd been able to keep them out for about seven or eight minutes before growing exhausted. Then Natsu had refilled her reserves, and they had repeated the whole process … more than once.

It was getting a little easier to take Natsu's magic into herself, but it still made her feel like she'd been shot up with liquid fire. It was a good thing she always packed too many clothes, because she had sweated through at least three outfits today. It was also lucky that it was nice and cold outside, because it seriously helped when dealing with Natsu's fiery magic.

"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

She had graduated to summoning Virgo instead of Aries, because it took a little more magic power to summon her.

"Are you ready to train some more, Princess?"

"Yep." she wheezed, fanning herself.

"You look hot, has Natsu transferred more of his fire to you?"

She just nodded and wiped sweat out of her eyes.

"Would you like me to punish him for making you hot and bothered?"

At that, Lucy scowled and rolled her eyes. "That joke is getting old. I'm just hot – not hot and bothered."

"You look awfully bothered by being so hot." Virgo pointed out.

Natsu snickered, fire licking his lips as he sent Lucy a mischievous smirk. That was one euphemism that he now fully understood, thanks to Virgo.

"Don't you start too, Mister."

He mockingly saluted. "Aye Sir!"

Ignoring the both of them for the moment, she instead focused on summoning Sagittarius again. This combo was significantly more difficult, and she could barely hold their gates open for four minutes at a time. In sharp contrast – after repeated training today – she'd been able to keep Ares and Gemini out for almost twenty minutes.

"Hidy Ho! Reporting for duty Miss Lucy!"

"Thanks Sagittarius…sorry for calling you guys so much today."

"It's completely understandable, and honestly I'm quite impressed by your commitment to training!"

"Good, I'm glad it's not a bother."

There was a slight pause, and then Sagittarius lowered his voice just a little. "If you don't mind me saying so…. you don't look quite well Miss Lucy. Perhaps you should drink some water?"

"It's not a bad idea, I should probably do that after this round." Lucy wheezed in agreement and found a patch of shade to park herself under.

As before, she just held their gates open while they visited. This time she was actually able to hold out till a full ten minutes had passed, and by the time their exiting puffs of smoke had vanished she felt pretty proud of her accomplishments. She was still exhausted though.

"Alright… I think that's all I can do for now. I need to rest for a bit." she groaned, and stretched out flat on her back under the tree she was sitting under. "Could you go order dinner for us? And make sure to ask for lots of ice water please."

"Sure thing."

He disappeared, and then reappeared a short while later to tell her that the food had arrived. After eating - and drinking her weight in water - she rested for another thirty minutes before feeling like herself again.

"How about we go check out those hot springs now?" Natsu asked as she sat up in bed and stretched.

"Sure. Sounds like fun." she responded, hopping out of the bed and donning her coat. Now that she was no longer burning up, she was a little chilly from the cold air coming in through the open doorway.

…

They had to walk a little ways to get to the hot springs, but when they got there Lucy was surprised to see that there were several different options given – as well as several non-hot-spring related attractions.

There were natural baths for men and women, and a mixed bathing option was even offered. Of course those were just for soaking, since soap was not allowed in the hot springs. Showers for actual washing were located nearby – again offering options for women, men, and mixed.

That was all sort of expected – aside from the mixed bathing options – but what really surprised Lucy were the cool spring-fed pool and the geothermal mud bath. Plus, there was a sauna, hot stones, and a fish pool bath.

"Wow, this is awesome! I want to try everything!" she exclaimed, already eager and ready to try stuff out.

They headed for the hot spring first, and somehow Natsu managed to drag her into the mixed bathing option.

"Um, Natsu…I'm not sure about this." She hesitated going through the door after changing into just a towel inside one of the changing rooms.

"Come on Luce. You're wearing a towel!"

"Well yeah, but…"

"Oh come on. Stop being such a worrywart." With that, he tugged her the rest of the way through the door and out into the bathing area.

Thankfully there was no one else there, so she didn't have to deal with the awkwardness of being mostly nude around male strangers. In fact, it seemed like there were very few people in the spa at all …. they had only seen one or two bathers in the other pools. That was probably because the sun was already setting, and the temperature was starting to drop – but whatever the reason, it was nice and allowed for her to admire the amazing setting.

Like most of these hot spring baths, this one was outdoors, with bamboo fences around the sides to offer privacy. The area was beautifully landscaped, just like the rest of the grounds – with plenty of mossy rocks, flowering plants, and zen garden type decor. Amazingly, the hot springs were open on one side to give the bather a beautiful view of the setting sun over the mountains from the side of what appeared to be a cliff.

Natsu of course distracted her from the view by doing a cannon ball into the hot spring, the tails of his white scarf flapping in the wind. He'd tied it onto his head like a bandanna again.

"Come in! The water's great!"

"Oh, all right." she sighed, and tucked her towel securely around her body.

After she'd stepped into the water though, all her doubts started to ease away. With a sigh, she relaxed fully into the hot water and let herself float for a long moment, before wading over to watch the sunset from the open side. She laid her crossed arms on the mossy rocks and let her chin rest on them, sighing again in relaxation as her muscles started to unclench.

"This is nice…I haven't been to a hot spring since that spa mission we took earlier this year."

Natsu just hummed in agreement. After a while of peaceful silence, though, suddenly he started chuckling.

"What's so funny?" She turned her head to look at him and noted the twinkle in his eyes and his mischievous smile.

"I was just remembering how I barged in on you taking a bath. Remember?"

"Oh yeah. That was fun." She rolled her eyes, chuckling a little herself at the odd memory.

There was another short pause, and then, "You know…I think we bypassed a couple of steps on your list."

"My list?"

"Yeah…you know, the list!"

When she stared blankly at him for a while, he grumbled, got out of the bath, went back into the changing rooms, and came back waving a paper which had apparently been tucked into his clothes somewhere.

After he'd plopped back into the pool, he gave the paper an extra wave and then handed it at her. "Your list!"

She looked down at it, to see an old grocery list of hers. "Um…bananas, apples, milk…what is this supposed to be exactly?"

He growled and grabbed it, flipped it over, and then shoved it back into her hands. When she looked back down at it, her eyebrows shot up on her forehead.

It was a list alright, in his messy handwriting, that read: _"_ _ **1**_ _: dates (going to places and doing fun stuff)_ _._ _ **2**_ _: kissing_ _._ _ **3**_ _: messing around with clothes on_ _._ _ **3 ½**_ _: above the belt first, then below the belt_ _._ _ **4**_ _: taking clothes off_ _._ _ **4 ½**_ _: bathing together apparently_ _._ _ **5:**_ _sex and stuff."_

It took her a long time to figure out just what it was she was looking at. Then, finally she remembered the conversation she'd had with him about why he couldn't take a bath with her, and she started cracking up.

"You wrote all this down?!"

"Well yeah, how else was I supposed to remember it?"

"Oh my god…" She just couldn't seem to stop laughing, and Natsu snatched the paper from her hands before it could get wet.

When she finally managed to control herself, he was looking confused and had already put the list back up, since it had taken her a little while to calm back down.

"That is too funny…" she snickered, wiping away the moisture from her eyes that had popped up from the giggle attack. "So, uh…what was it that you were saying before bringing _that_ out?"

"I said that it looks like we skipped a few steps."

"Oh. Well, we're not fully naked."

"No, but we _have_ taken our clothes off … and we _are_ taking a bath together." He was starting to approach at this point, and she could already see where he was going with this.

"Yeah, uh, true but…"

By this point he was close enough to wrap his arms around her and bend down for a kiss. She let him peck her lips but pulled away before she could get too involved. "This is a public place Natsu! I'm happy to do more stuff when we get back to our room though."

He pouted a little. "But Luce, there's no one around…."

"Right now, yes. But what if someone walks in on us? We could get kicked out."

With a sigh, he finally relented, but instead of putting some space between them, he just turned her around so her back was to his front and then wrapped his arms around her waist. His chin came down on her shoulder and she felt his tail coil around one of her legs.

"Uh…what're you doing?"

"Hugging you. I can do that at least right?"

After a moment, she sighed and relented. "Fine. I suppose it's okay."

She could feel his grin against her neck as he found a place to sit and tugged her down into his lap. Apparently this was how he planned to soak. Though it was a little awkward at first, she couldn't say it wasn't comfortable. Once she relaxed and let herself just lean back into him and float in the water a little, it was actually very nice. He certainly provided a more comfortable brace than the rock wall of the pool. She could have easily gone to sleep like that.

After soaking for a while, Lucy finally decided it was time to exit the hot spring – both because she was beyond pruney and because she was also starting to fall asleep.

By the time they got back to their room, she was as thoroughly relaxed as possible under the circumstances. Her muscles still twinged a bit here and there, but they definitely felt much better. She collapsed onto the bed with a satisfied sigh and stretched. It wasn't long before Natsu had plopped down next to her.

"Well you look happy. Do you think you're still gonna want one of those massage things when ya get back?" Natsu asked.

She got the feeling that he didn't necessarily approve of her getting a massage for whatever reason.

"Um…yeah, probably. Why?"

He hmphed. Then after a moment he added, "Speaking of…. you said you were gonna show me what a massage was. You wanna do that now?"

"Sure." She sat up and stretched again for a moment, before scooting up the bed so she could sit above him. "If we're going to do this properly though, you need to take off the top of your robe."

He shrugged and shimmied off the robe from his shoulders so it pooled around his waist, then leaned back on his elbows to watch her as she reached over to the nightstand and snagged the complementary lotion they provided. Squirting a healthy dollop into her palm, she used her clean hand to shove his head down onto the bed so she could get to his shoulders.

He lay down with a grumble and crossed his arms over his chest. She worked the lotion into both palms and then placed them on his shoulders.

He flinched and instantly yelped, "That's cold!"

"It'll warm up fast, don't fuss so much."

Since he was so hot, the lotion warmed up even faster than she expected, and he relaxed again. Every time she had to reapply though he would flinch and yelp, making her laugh each time.

With firm fingers she worked the lotion across his skin and used it to make sweeping motions over his muscles to relax them without any unpleasant friction. It didn't take long to get him on board with the idea, and soon he was practically putty beneath her palms and fingers as she kneaded the tight muscles in his shoulders and neck.

It was plenty fun for her too, because she got to feel all those great muscles up close and personal. He had a beautiful body, and she had a wonderful time exploring it. After a while, she had him flip over and got to work on his back, which was just as lovely as his front.

Eventually she got up onto her knees and straddled his head so she could lean far enough forward to get to his lower back. She didn't think much of it until his pink hair tickled her inner thighs, and then she realized this might be slightly inappropriate. Of course that didn't exactly matter, but it was slightly awkward.

Ignoring it for the time being, she stretched forwards to reach his lower back muscles near his tailbone and worked on them with the heels of her palms. Apparently it felt good, because after a moment he stretched out a little under her - his back flexing and lengthening - and a deep sigh escaped his chest. Hot air blew over her thigh, and she suppressed a shiver.

Once his lower back was relaxed, she tugged on the bunched-up robe around his hips and flattened it out so she could massage the top of his butt over the material. There was probably no need for her to go any lower, she was sure he got the idea of what a massage was by now, but frankly she _wanted_ to go a little lower. So, she smoothed her palms down below his tailbone and out to the sides, working on his hips a bit. The muscles there were impressive, just like the rest of him, and she thoroughly enjoyed copping a feel.

Working her way in from the sides, she went back up to the muscles she had been working on near his tail bone, and then worked straight down from there a little ways. Of course unlike a human, his tailbone actually had a purpose, and as she worked around a little more boldly in the area, she ran into the base of his tail. For a second her fingers froze, and she wondered if she should call it quits …. but after a moment, her curiosity overrode any concern she might have had. Using her thumbs, she massaged around the base of it, getting an idea of where it attached and how.

Given what he had told her about his tail, she wasn't overly surprised when he reacted to her rubbing around the base of it. The muscles in his hips and butt all sort of clenched up and flexed in something like a long flinch as she first started working the area, and she clearly heard him when he muttered, "Fuck…"

She couldn't quite keep herself from chuckling a little, flushing with pleasure at the knowledge that she was making him feel good. But his twitching was not going to help the massage, so she felt compelled to ask him, "If you can, try not to tense up. It'll undo all the relaxing I just did."

He grunted, and then cussed some more. "Crap. You're not making it very easy to relax right now Luce."

"Sorry, would you like me to stop?" she asked, honestly wondering if she was pushing things too far.

"Hell no!"

She laughed, happy that he was enjoying what she was doing. "Okay."

As she went back to what she'd been doing, he tensed up again, but then with a few jerks he seemed to get his muscles to relax again. On her thigh she could feel his breath catch on a gasp, and then kick up a notch as she continued. A jolt of heat settled in her stomach, and suddenly it wasn't just curiosity driving her exploration of this particular zone.

She could feel his muscles continuing to flinch every so often and clench up spastically as he tried – and apparently failed – to keep everything relaxed. Every now and then he cussed. His legs shifted restlessly, and she could see his tail doing some odd things as well – arching stiff, and then wiggling around restlessly for a moment before repeating the process. When he whined and his hips bucked, she figured she'd probably tortured him enough and moved up to the muscles on his back, working there instead to give him a break. Sitting back down above his head, she went back to kneading his shoulders and upper back and neck, and he slowly seemed to relax again, though his breathing stayed relatively fast.

To finish off, she wiped all the lotion off her hands and slid them into his hair to give him a head massage, which she figured might help to calm him back down. It did indeed seem to calm him … up until her fingers pressed against the little bumps of his horns, and then he seemed to tense up again, very similarly to the way he had when she was touching his tail.

She stalled, thinking that there couldn't be any way that this was also an erogenous zone. What were the odds that both pieces of his dragon anatomy would be erotic for him? It seemed highly improbable to her. The tail she could understand. It was a tail, it came out of his rear, it was attached to his spine for heaven's sake … of course it was going to be sensitive at the very least. Horns though were a different matter. They were like fingernails or teeth… there shouldn't be any sensation within them as far as she knew. Especially if they were used in battle. On the other hand, if they were mainly decorative or maybe like the tail of a peacock (the bigger horns meant the best male or whatever) then it was possible they might have some feeling in them, unlike horns that were meant to be used for headbutting.

Whatever the case, the way he had tensed when she touched them meant that _something_ had happened … either the area around them or they themselves were sensitive.

Curious again, she lifted her hands away. To test if the horns themselves had any feeling in them, she eyeballed one and very lightly touched the tip with her finger. The feather-light touch got no reaction, so she tried something else and stroked her finger gently across it. Again, there was no response from barely touching the surface…. which suggested that if there was any feeling, it was probably more like a tooth, where you couldn't feel the surface but any tugging, pushing, or tapping would be transmitted through the nerves in a root.

To test that theory, she lightly scratched it with her fingernail, and he very slightly twitched. So, apparently he could feel that. It didn't get the same sort of response though as before, so scratching it probably didn't feel good. That made sense, considering that going to the dentist and getting your teeth scraped didn't feel good at all. However, the fact that he had twitched at all did suggest that her hypothesis was correct and his horns had roots with nerves in them – but of course that still didn't tell her if he'd tensed before out of discomfort or pleasure.

She figured she should probably just ask if she was causing him discomfort. "Quick question… you can obviously feel your horns. Should I avoid them when I massage you head? Is it uncomfortable when I touch them?"

"No. Feels good." he mumbled, his face mushed into the bed.

She blinked. So, her first theory had been correct.

Although… she still didn't know if it felt good in a sexy way, or if it just felt good like a head scratch or something. There was a really good way to find out though, so she quickly worked her fingers back into his hair, unable to quite keep the smirk off her mouth. Touching him was quickly becoming very entertaining for her… in more ways than one. That heat in her belly kicked up another notch, and she was helpless but to pursue her curiosity and intrigue.

Her fingers found the little nubs of his horns and firmly rubbed around their bases, the same way she had done to his tail. She got an immediate and positive response as he hissed and groaned, the muscles in his back visible tensing. He inched up on the bed a bit and ended up with his head in her lap, which was both cute and hot at the same time. His hands reached around and latched onto her upper thighs, as if to anchor himself as she gave him a head rub.

After rubbing around the bases for a little bit, she slid her fingers onto the horns themselves and grabbed them as best she could, before using that grip to tug and push and pull on the horns. Of course, they didn't move at all because they were likely attached to his skull, but it certainly got a reaction from him.

"Shit, Luce!" he gasped, and his hands clamped down tight onto her thighs as he pressed his forehead hard into one of her calves.

Maybe the intensity of his reaction was because she'd already turned him on and messed with his tail for so long, but it left no doubt in her mind that his horns were at least somewhat of an erogenous zone.

Eventually she just had to ask. "Am I imagining things, or is this turning you on?"

"Well yeah, I said it felt good didn't I?"

"Ah. Good to know."

Getting verbal confirmation that she was making him feel good like _that_ made her flush a little, but she also couldn't keep the grin off her face. It was beyond cool that she could do this to him, and she found it a little intoxicating. She was plenty turned on herself, knowing that she was pleasuring him, and she wondered how far she could take this. As her mind drifted into fantasy land beyond the gutter, her hands must have stopped moving on his head, because a few moments later he was pushing himself up out of her lap. The quick motion surprised her, so she flinched and pulled her hands back with a yelp, and then lightly glared at him for startling her.

However, the sight of him immediately erased her irritation at being surprised. His hair was a mess from what she'd just been doing, his cheeks were a little flushed, and his eyes were burning bright gold with dark pupils making them heavy.

Trying to lighten the suddenly intense mood, she cleared her throat and said, "So, uh, that's a massage!"

He scoffed and then laughed. "If that's a massage, then there's no way you're getting one from anyone but me."

She would have gotten mad, but since her massage had turned him on and was relatively sexual – to a dragon at least – she understood what he was getting at. "Well normally massages don't…arouse you. It's usually just relaxing. Like the first part."

He grinned. "It did feel pretty awesome. All of it did."

She blushed a little. "Good…I'm glad I made you feel nice."

"Better than nice Luce."

She flushed hotter for more than one reason when his smile shifted, showing a little more fang and edging into the territory of a smirk. Before she could think up a proper response, he was already crawling over her, and she was forced to lean back.

"Now … how about I return the favor?"

She gulped thickly, her insides twisting up in excited knots. "Um, sure?"

By this point she was flat on her back and he was kneeling with one leg on either side of her hips. "Can I take this off?" he asked, tugging at the opening of her robe.

She bit her lip and blushed, but nodded. He grinned and eagerly tugged the robe open until her front was exposed. With some awkward wiggling and shimmying, they managed to get it completely off her top half and pooled around her hips, the way his was. She was still wearing a bra though.

He stared at her bra for a long moment, looking both confused and slightly irritable with it. After giving it the hairy eyeball for a bit, he hooked his finger under the front connection between her breasts and gave it an experimental pull. "Can we take this thing off too?"

She didn't really see why not. It was a little nerve wracking, but she was hardly insecure about her body, and they had been dating long enough that she felt comfortable taking it to the next level. Thanks to having Happy around all the time, they hadn't been able to progress their physical relationship as far as they probably would have otherwise, and she was beyond ready to explore some more stuff with him.

She still blushed though as she sat up a little and reached behind her to undo the clasp. As soon as it went loose, Natsu hooked it and yanked it off, almost giving her rope burns on her arms from the straps.

She flinched a tiny bit and complained, "Watch it Natsu, those things are expensive!"

He didn't seem to be paying any attention to her whatsoever. His eyes were focused on her chest as it bounced free, and his head cocked to the side. Eventually a wide grin settled on his mouth, and she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

"What? Is there something funny about my boobs?" she grumbled, not sure about his smile.

He blinked and looked up. "Huh? What're you talking about Luce?"

"Nothing, you just looked weirdly amused."

He cocked his head again. "No, I'm just happy."

Immediately she relaxed, feeling silly for getting bent out of shape. She just hadn't expected him to smile like that after seeing her boobs for the first time… it seemed like an odd reaction for some reason. But she should have known he would smile. He was always smiling.

"Well come on, lay down!" he said after a moment, his legendarily short patience running out.

She 'oofed' as he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back down on the bed. "Hey!" she protested, but he was already reaching over her for the lotion.

He looked at it for a moment and then gave it a heavy-handed squirt, which sprayed lotion onto his palm as well as everywhere else too. Lucy winced a little as droplets spattered over her too. The mess didn't seem to bother him at all, and of course the explosion barely fazed him. Natsu was probably so used to things exploding and going everywhere that it seemed perfectly normal for him.

Lucy made a mental note to never let him cook alone in the kitchen, because it would probably be absolutely destroyed after he got through with it.

With a grin he tossed the bottle of lotion onto the bed and then rubbed his hands together to get it evenly distributed, before reaching for her. He started on her shoulders and gripped them, mimicking the sorts of motions she had used on him. Of course his hands were significantly stronger than hers, so the first few squeezes were way too hard and Lucy cringed.

"Ouch! Ease up there Natsu!"

"Oh sorry! I thought that's what you were supposed to do?"

"Start gentle and then slowly increase the pressure," she directed.

He nodded, following instructions for once and rubbing her shoulders gently. "This better?"

"Yeah…" she sighed, and his trademark grin popped back onto his face.

He didn't stick to rubbing her shoulders for long, but the whole time he did she wondered when he was going to move on to other things, and the anticipation had her belly coiling up into tight knots. She didn't have to wait long, because in true Natsu fashion, he quickly barreled headfirst to his main goal, which was obviously to feel her up. Rubbing her shoulders was a pretty weak attempt to pass this off as a massage.

Soon he was traveling down…and she was just as eager as him to get on to doing more fun things. To his credit, as his hands slid down and cupped over her chest, he stayed gentle. He ended up with a hand on each breast, and gently squeezed.

Immediately, his eyebrows shot up on his forehead and his eyes popped wide as he gasped a little in shock. "Wow Luce! They're so squishy!"

She could just feel the incredulous expression crawl across her face, and then busted out laughing. His response was so unorthodox, and so incredibly Natsu, that she just couldn't contain her mirth. "You are such a weirdo!"

"What?! They are! They're like…" He squeezed a couple of more times. "Water balloons or something!"

She just snickered some more, and he gave her a toothy grin of his own, then refocused on his hands. He squeezed and massaged her boobs, then shifted his hands to the sides and pushed them together to make a mountain of cleavage. Then he cupped his hands under them and jiggled them up and down. And the whole time he played with her, he sported a silly grin, bright sparkling eyes, slightly flushed cheeks, and she could see his tail wagging back and forth happily behind him.

Honestly, Lucy wasn't sure what to make of it, aside from just giggling helplessly at his silliness. With anyone else, she probably would have called it quits and told the guy to stop, but with Natsu she just found his antics funny. His playfulness was both cute and weirdly attractive, and she couldn't remember the last time she had been so happy, relaxed, and amused.

Still chuckling, she squirmed and laughed under him, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Just messing with your boobs. They're super awesome, Luce!"

"I'm glad you think so," she snickered.

After a bit more messing around, he finally seemed to calm down enough to just grope like a normal person. Instead of jiggling them around to see how wiggly he could make them, he went back to grabbing and squeezing, which felt much better. For Lucy, it felt good to have her boobs squeezed and massaged … they got more sensitive the more he rubbed. And as his hands shifted and moved over them, his palms rubbed against her nipples, which sent zings of pleasure down south and made her more and more fidgety as he continued.

It was like a very arousing massage, which was appropriate since she had basically done the same thing to him. Now that he wasn't just playing anymore, she found it much more stimulating and ended up squirming and tensing up in probably the exact same sort of way that he had. When his thumbs ran across her already pretty awake and perky nipples, she jerked and sucked in her breath. He cocked his head and ran his thumbs over them again – getting the same sort of response from her – and then pinched. At that, Lucy arched up and whined a little, which got his eyebrows shooting up his forehead, and he flashed her a fangy grin.

"That feels good?"

"Yep…" she gasped, wincing with pleasure as he did it again. "Really good."

His grin got wider, and he focused there for a bit. Then he leaned closer and eyeballed the pink buds. "Wow Luce, they get so big!"

He sounded positively shocked, and she ended up breathlessly laughing and rolling her eyes at him as he leaned to the side to get a side view of her very erect tips.

"Yeah…they do that." she said somewhat dryly, still chuckling at his apparent amazement. "Is that okay?"

"It's awesome! They're super freaking sexy…makes me wanna…"

The open-ended statement left a question, but it was answered almost instantly as he straightened himself and then leaned down and latched his mouth over one. She yelped, and her hands ended up in his hair to hold him to her. He groaned, either at her response or at the feeling of her nipple in his mouth, or maybe both, and his body shifted to lie down over hers instead of straddling her. He had to lift his mouth off her for a second when the jostling threatened to make him accidentally bite her, but as soon as he was situated between her legs he dropped his head right back down.

She'd been more than happy to spread her legs and let him fit himself between them … in fact she hadn't even thought about it. However, when he landed snug against her and a hard ridge dug into her hip, she was forced to think about it. It was instantly apparent what was causing such uncomfortable pressure in the crease of her belly and hip, and the realization had a shot of what felt like pure fire zipping through her libido. Something deep in her belly stung sharply and then started to throb.

As sexy as it was, she still had to squirm around and get him rearranged so he wasn't grinding into her bone, which hurt. By arching her lower body and giving a little buck – which was almost instinctual given how he was still sucking on her and his hand was now grabbing and messing with her other boob – she was able to reorganize everything down there so he lay in between her legs. The sensation of his dick grinding into her v-zone was sharp – both pleasurable and a little uncomfortable – so she clenched her thighs tight on his hips and used the grip to control how hard he pressed down. Nobody wanted a bruised pelvis.

As for Natsu, he had instantly felt the shift, and knew without having to look where his dick now rested. The softness and the heat were dead giveaways, and he had to work hard not to just grind down into her at full power. He had to remind himself that she was a human, he was a dragon, and he could easily break her if he wasn't careful. So, when her legs clamped down on his hips and controlled his thrusting power that way, he was happy to follow her lead. Plus, the sensation of her legs clenching on him like that was super-hot.

At this point, he could feel things getting way out of control, and he didn't even really care. He had one boob under his mouth and another under his hand, while his dick pressed right up against her pussy …. how the hell was he going to complain about any of it? The only thing he had to be careful about was being gentle with her. As it turned out though, that wasn't proving to be too big an issue, because anytime he was too rough with her she would grumble and yank on his hair or readjust herself, and it would instantly remind him.

He had no idea how far this was going to go, and he wasn't even bothering to think about it …. all he knew was lust and a fire in his belly that was getting hotter by the second. It wasn't long before that fire started spilling out of him and leaked into his mouth, which happened to be located on her breast.

Lucy gasped and then moaned as suddenly the nipple in his mouth started burning. It was a good burn though. It only stung a little, and far exceeding that was scalding pleasure that left her nerves tingling all the way down the road that had been established between her nipple and v-zone. Though she had kept most of her noises quiet – in consideration of the other guests potentially trying to sleep in other rooms – that sensation proved to be too unexpected and too pleasurable to keep from groaning loudly.

"N-Natsu! What are you doing?!" she yelped, twisting under him and wondering how he was doing that … only to figure out a second later that he was probably just breathing fire on her.

Whatever the case, it felt so good that she just didn't know what to do with herself and was halfway tempted to yank him off, because it was practically too much. Her hips bucked up into his, and they both groaned at the friction. After that, her hips insisted on rocking and grinding herself against him, which at this point felt pretty great.

Her hands ended up in his hair and went between yanking on it and gripping it tight in her fists. By chance, her fingers passed over his horns, and she latched onto the bumps as something to hang onto. He gasped against her and his head jerked back, his neck arching a little with pleasure, and his whole body pressing into hers. Their eyes met, and if possible she was turned on even more by his expression…how his eyes were heavy-lidded and glazed over with pleasure, his cheeks flushed, and his lips parted on quick breaths.

His eyes squeezed closed and a blast of heat shuddered from him on a groan. Suddenly the little bumps under her fingers expanded, growing into full length horns. She jerked her hands back in surprise, staring at his horns with shock. And then the situation hit her, and she started to laugh.

"Seriously? Your horns get horny? Like… they get erections when you're turned on enough?"

He sent her a crooked grin. "You were the one playing with them. It's not my fault."

"I guess that's true." She grinned back, and her hands lightly landed over his newly lengthened horns.

They rooted near his temples before slicking back along his skull in a subtle wave, first up and then down, and finally the tips hooked back up and around to point forwards again. Her fingers ran along the deep spiral that coiled up their length curiously. Then when he slanted his mouth over hers, she gasped, and her hands slid back to where his horns lifted away from his skull. Grabbing them there, she suddenly realized that she had full control over his head, and the thought made her slightly giddy. It also seemed to strongly affect him, and he growled against her mouth, his lips parting and roughly deepening the kiss.

It was mere seconds later that she felt fire flooding her mouth and sliding down her throat to fill her belly with heat. A deep groan came from her as the flames seemed to melt her from the inside out, and this time they immediately settled low in her gut, sinking lower by the second. It wasn't long before her pelvic muscles were trembling from the fire that dripped into every part of her and seemed so much hotter than ever before. She gasped into his mouth, the heat almost stealing her breath and making it hard to breathe.

Her head spun, her body arched up into his, and her legs wrapped around him tight. His tongue was like liquid fire itself as it burned the inside of her mouth, and she sometimes found it hard to distinguish between that and the actual fire that poured down her throat.

After a few minutes of this, she pulled him back - using his horns - and he gasped, then growled as his lips were yanked from hers. She had to breathe. There were no _'ifs or buts'_ about it. As soon as her mouth was free, she gulped in air. When her eyes managed to peel open, it was to the sight of Natsu staring down at her with a slightly feral look in his golden eyes. After a minute though, that look softened, and he chuckled, grinning a little.

"What do you wanna do Luce? You've got me by the horns … it's up to you."

She gasped out a weak chuckle. "Let me just catch my breath a second… your fire is kind of intense."

His grin widened, showing a little fang, and he huffed, "Sorry. Can't help it."

After a short moment, she had caught her breath and dragged his head back down to hers for another kiss. He growled against her lips, and she felt heat burn them. She took a deep breath and parted her lips to let his fire in again, and the soft sound she made was swallowed by him.

His fire was addicting, she couldn't get enough of it, but at the same time it was so overwhelming that she wasn't sure how much she could stand. At some point her hands slid from his horns and her arms wrapped around his neck instead. Her entire body was slick with sweat by now as she flushed from head to toe with heat. When she tore her mouth from his to breathe again, his lips drifted down her neck, and his flames continued to burn her skin, causing her to hiss a little air in between her teeth. It felt like he was branding her almost, and she loved every second of it … while also kind of hating it.

This was going places fast, and she had to figure out where to draw the line. It was still a little soon for sex in her book. She was a virgin, so it was kind of a big deal to her - although she really wanted to go for it at this particular moment. But she knew she had to draw some lines now, while they were both still somewhat sensible … all things considered.

"N-Natsu, hey, Natsu…" she had to repeat herself when he didn't respond to his name the first time, and the second time only got a grunt from him as he blew a little tongue of flame in the hollow of her throat.

"Natsu, trying to say something here…" she gasped, squirming a little under him and having trouble concentrating.

With a sigh he finally surfaced. "What?"

"Before we go any further with this, I just wanted to say that I'm not ready to go all the way yet. Is that okay?"

He nodded. "That's fine, but can I get back to kissing you now?"

A laugh escaped her throat and she grinned up at him. He took that as a yes, and after a grin of his own he dipped back down and pressed a burning kiss to the center of her chest, then trailed up her throat and latched onto her lips again.

After inhaling and swallowing fire for another unknown period of time, Lucy was so hot she just simply couldn't stand it anymore, so she shoved him off and followed, rolling them over so she could be on top. He went with a surprised grunt, and they landed with her straddling him. Sweet relief in the form of cool air flowed over her drenched skin, and she sat up fully to try and cool off, shivering violently at the abrupt change in temperature. Under him she had baked in his heat, but now she was able to actually get some air.

Her nipples tightened in the cold air, of course, and acted as magnets for Natsu's fingers apparently. She groaned and looked down at him, feeling slightly frustrated, amused, and of course highly turned on.

"I'm trying to cool off…"

He grinned unrepentantly, and his hands didn't budge.

She shivered and grumbled, but didn't protest, because it simply felt too good. The rest of her was cooling off… she didn't need the air over that little bit of her. Her hips rolled and she ground her crotch into his, which wiped the grin right off his face as he clenched his teeth and scrunched his eyes closed. With a yelp, she was almost bucked off when his hips jerked up under her and she was tossed forwards. To keep herself from doing a face-plant into him, she braced her palms on his chest, and then when she realized where they were, she indulged in smoothing them down his front. As her fingers trailed over his abs, he shivered, and his hips flexed, but thankfully didn't buck again. His hands switched to grabbing and massaging her boobs, and she arched her back to press them into his grip while simultaneously grinding down into him.

It all felt so good that she felt like she was going to go crazy. She had no idea where this was going, but she had the smarts to know that it was probably going to end with him orgasming. Frankly the thought just aroused her more, and she bit her lip as she rotated her hips to grind down into him some more and get some much-needed friction. Something hot and smooth slid up her thigh, under the robe still somehow pooled around her hips, and then looped around her once before sliding up her back. When it slid around to her front again, she grabbed for it and managed to snag his tail as it slipped between her breasts.

"Sneaky…" she breathlessly laughed and gave his tail a squeeze, which had him hissing a few choice cuss words.

Wrapping both hands around it, she proceeded to essentially jerk it off…which would have probably felt a little weird if he didn't react so wonderfully to it. His hands immediately landed hard on her hips and he gripped her tight as his hips bucked up, grinding his erection into her.

After a moment of that, she was forced to release his tail so she could brace her hands on his chest again. Even with his supporting hands she needed extra balance, and it gave her the leverage to lift up a bit and prevent his grinding from getting painful. In exchange for lightening the pressure, she moved with him… circling her hips over where she felt his erection end, knowing that the tip was supposed to be the most sensitive part.

And all the while, his tail clenched, coiled, rubbed, and massaged rhythmically around her body…which she found stimulating and could only imagine that he did too. It slithered down her body a bit and relaxed to let her lean forwards and kiss him, swallowing his fire as he gave it to her. Unfortunately, grinding and kissing proved a bit difficult, because she kept accidentally clicking their teeth together, so she sat up again.

"Shit Luce, what're you doing to me?" he groaned, arching up into her movements and mimicking her rhythm as she picked up the pace again.

"Hopefully getting you close."

He sucked in his breath and his eyes widened. "You want me to cum like this?"

She faltered. "Only if you want to…. Would you prefer to do something else? I can…"

She scooted her butt down a little and slid her hand down his stomach – which clenched under the caress – to the line of his robe still pooled around his hips. She figured it was probably pretty obvious what she was offering.

He inhaled sharply and glanced down with big eyes, looking a little shocked.

"If you want to, then hell yeah." he breathed, his wide eyes flicking back up to meet hers.

She couldn't help but grin, and something low in her clenched tightly with heat. She shivered and moved both hands down to the confusing bundle of folds in his lap. After a moment of finagling and tugging, she managed to worm her hands into the tangled cloth and find where his robe overlapped, spreading it to get to his erection. Somehow she wasn't surprised at all when she met no resistance in the form of underwear. Instead, all her palms met was warm skin as she parted his robe, not bothering to get permission since she already knew good and well that he wasn't bothered by nakedness.

It was a moot point though, because she didn't get a close look at his erection anyways. As soon as her hand gingerly wrapped around it, his body seized up underneath her, and then they were suddenly in motion as he flipped them back over with him on top. Somehow her hand stayed latched onto his dick, but that was all she was able to do as he pounced on her, his lips crashing to hers. Once again fire consumed her senses, his lips prying hers open and his tongue slipping into her mouth without waiting for an invitation.

At that point, his dick was trapped between their bellies, with her hand wrapped tight around it. She curiously ran her fist up and down his length, getting a feel for the girth and length of him with the strokes… and also noted that he was either circumcised or else dragons simply didn't have a foreskin. Rubbing it was difficult though with her hand being pressed between them, and in the end it wasn't necessary. After a moment, his hand reached down and wrapped around her wrist, moving her hand to the upper half of him.

"Just make a tight fist Luce," he muttered into her mouth, and she nodded.

After that, his hips did all the work as he continued to kiss her breathless. He shoved his length into her fist, back and forth, and slowly his pace increased. Soon he was pistoning in and out at a rate that had her wondering if she would be able to keep up if he was anywhere other than her hand. It made her a little nervous at the prospect of eventually having sex with him, but also sent a violent thrill through her.

His kisses were equally worrying and intoxicating as the flames that poured down her throat seemed to impossibly grow hotter and hotter until she was gasping for breath and once again drenched in sweat. She tore her mouth from his to grab a few desperate breaths of cool air before he caught her again. He was consuming her completely, burning her inside and pounding her outside.

On top of it all, his tail was still coiled all around her, flexing under her as it slithered across her frame. Several coils circled the thigh that was hitched around his hip, while even more of its length wound around her hips and ass and slid over her belly. The end slithered over her chest, going between her boobs and twining around them, the very tip finding one of her nipples.

It wasn't long before his whole body jerked to a stop and his tail constricted on her almost painfully. A deep, loud, and not very human sound rumbled out of him and into her through their lip-lock. The flames that escaped his lips kicked up in heat again, and she yelped into the kiss. By this point she had gone past feeling hot and reached some sort of second wind in a way, because now the hotter the flames were the more they aroused her, despite how her body flushed and sweated and shivered. She'd basically given up trying to breathe normally, and was just breathing fire now, and every part of her felt like it was being consumed. She felt like she had a fever and was delirious with it, so the sudden burst of increased heat had her almost going into her own orgasm. Of course without any stimulation downstairs, that wasn't going to happen, but she still arched up into him and met his final thrust with one of her own.

He kicked in her grip, throbbing rhythmically, and blisteringly hot liquid suddenly spurted out, coating her hand, her belly, and him. His flesh in her hand also blasted with unnatural heat, all the way up to his pink curls, and it flashed in rhythm with his pulses – which seemed to go on for at least a minute if not more. She was left wondering if dragons simply had longer orgasms. He jerked a couple of times until the last spasm, and then finally went limp, his mouth parting from hers and his head thumping down onto her shoulder as he panted.

"Fuck Luce…holy hell."

She breathlessly chuckled, now gasping in air herself, suddenly realizing that she did in fact need to breathe as soon as his mouth released hers. Gasping in air also made her aware of the scent of smoke, and with a yelp she glanced down between them to note that he had actually set fire to their robes. She panicked and pushed him up off of her, but when he noticed what it was that she was so worried about, he started to laugh.

"Don't just sit there and laugh! Help me put it out!"

Almost casually he patted out the flames until they had died down and their robes were simply left blackened.

After that, she figured that sexy activities were over, even though his fire still simmered in her, making her itchy and hot and aroused. She was proven wrong though when Natsu laid back over her, kissed her shoulder, and once again grabbed her wrist. He guided her hand between them, and then both his hand and hers shoved down inside her blackened robe.

She tried to pull her hand free, not sure about what was going on at first, and mumbled, "Natsu, what are you-"

She was cut off when his lips landed on hers again. The fire that licked the inside of her mouth alongside his tongue was much cooler than the inferno he'd just given her a moment ago, but it still thoroughly distracted her and made her moan. His hand on her wrist jerked back and forth a little, as if he was mimicking jerking off, and suddenly she got the idea.

She gasped, separating their lips a little, and mumbled into his mouth, "You want me to…?"

"Fuck yeah, I want you to cum too Luce, and I can smell how close you are."

She shuddered, and his lips landed back on hers, kissing her vigorously. One of his hands reached for her breast, which sent a blast of pleasure across her nerves right as her fingers slid down and made contact with the appropriate parts. Her whole body bucked up against his and he growled against her lips, hotter fire sliding into her mouth. She moaned, and within less than a minute of just flattening her fingers and rubbing in vigorous circles, she was orgasming stronger than she ever remembered.

The muscles in her torso tensed up and tried to curl her into a ball, but that wasn't happening with him pinning her to the bed. Spasms shuddered through her entire body and she shook against him as she rode out the waves of pleasure that assaulted her as subtly as a hammer pounding her flat. Her knees clamped down so tight on his hips that her hip popped, and the fingers of her free hand dug into his bicep. He swallowed her cry, the way she had done for his, and then she felt his lips curl up against hers in a grin. For some reason that just caused another wave of pleasure to go through her and she jerked again, whimpering.

It lasted what felt like forever to her, then gradually slowed … the tight grip her vagina had on the rest of her body easing up a bit. Eventually, every muscle in her body went limp, though they were still trembling.

His lips lifted off hers finally, and she gasped in some much-needed air, feeling like she had just run a marathon in ten seconds. When her eyes eventually managed to peel open, it was to see Natsu hovering over her with a brilliant smile and his normal black eyes glittering down at her.

She attempted a wobbly exhausted grin back, and mumbled, "Hey…"

"Hey yourself. You okay? That seemed kinda intense."

She rolled her eyes. "No kidding. Yours did too though … are _you_ okay?" she countered with a chuckle.

He busted out laughing and finally fell off her, collapsing onto his side next to her and nuzzling close, one leg thrown over hers and his tail coiling around the other.

After a moment of peaceful silence, he muttered, "That was amazing…we've gotta do that again. And soon."

She sputtered in amusement. "I agree. Even though you almost cooked me alive."

"Hey! You can handle it, you're a dragon's mate."

She just snorted, pretty sure there was a limit to everything.

There was another long peaceful pause, and when the warm happy butterflies in her stomach just wouldn't let her stay quiet any longer she finally whispered, "Hey Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Love you."

He hummed happily and nuzzled her shoulder. "Love you too Luce."

* * *

 **Post Note:**

Okay, yes, I know some of you might be questioning my sanity about the horn thing...but let me just defend myself by saying that it was something I actually picked up from a romance novel involving a demon (with sensitive horns, lol) so I'm not the first one to come up with it! And no, they aren't nearly as sensitive as his tail, he can't get off on them or anything like that. Soooo...I hope it wasn't TOO cheesy. And if it was...well...just do your best to ignore their mention in future lemony scenes. If it makes you feel better, Lucy finds the whole thing really funny and cheesy too. XD

Also this gives you an idea of how explicit things are in this story...because this is pretty much the baseline. From here on out, all lemons/limes will be about this involved, if not significantly more-so. So if this was too much for you...I guess just skim over the future lemons, because it's only going to get worse. Or better, depending on your opinion. ;D

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Ignoring them, the master in question continued. "Please direct your attention to the smoke coming from the shore." He pointed at a tall column of smoke. "Your first task will be to head for its source. Once there, you will choose one of the seven routes leading into the island. Each is meant for a single team only, so don't dawdle and pick one. After you've made your choice, you will have to conquer these obstacles."_

 _A magical display suddenly popped into being next to him. It showed a map of sorts, with an area that had multiple paths leading off it. Each path was numbered, and was labeled either "intense combat" or just "combat." The "intense combat" labels also had the name of an S-Class wizard attached to them._

 _"Combat routes are self-explanatory. Two teams clash, but only one moves on. You should use every power at your disposal. Intense Combat routes are more difficult. Find yourselves on one of these, and you'll be fighting one of Fairy Tail's elite."_


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Note:**

Alrighty everyone! Sorry it's later at night, I've been trying to post earlier in the day lately, but just didn't get around to it today. But anywho, I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!

Of course, as always, let's hear a big round of applause for all the wonderful reviewers out there who made this chapter (whole story really) possible! *lots of cheering and applause* Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Catherine, ThatOneAnimeGirl08, xxIt'sAllAboutThemxx, ravenqueen162, thechani, 19vanelkc, WisdomDragon27, Daisy73, Wolves silver wind, valerioux, TheJSmooth, Lucinda, KitsuneLover05, Anna5949, Donthedarkdragon26, Ksta, Firefly9917, kilatails, Leomae2.0, Lady La-sara, Alice, mr-simba-722-97, FantasyDreamer06, TheAvatarShadow, and Serika2001. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: thetrywriter, FluffyWuffy, Trollka21, HeavenlyEclipse, Aoekae, Forever Nalu, and neffateri13.

Also, I'm so glad everyone seemed to like the horns! In fact, a couple people asked about the book I mentioned (in reference to the horn thing). It's one of Kresley Cole's books from her paranormal romance series 'Immortals After Dark' (I would highly recommend the entire series to anyone who likes supernatural romance) But specifically the horn thing refers to the demons in that series, so any of the books with a demon as the main male lead will get you there. ;D Specifically...I think book 6 and 7 both had demons.

Alrighty, well, on with the show! And stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

Soon they returned home, and the rest of their week of training was spent back in Magnolia.

Natsu and Lucy continued to train by having her absorbing his magic power and then using it to summon spirits for longer and longer. They made an impressive amount of headway, so by time it was required for them to show up at the Hargeon port, Lucy felt somewhat hopeful that they had a chance of making S-Class.

Everyone boarded the ship upon arrival … aside from Natsu of course, who poofed as soon as transportation came into the picture. Happy kept her company though, even if he wasn't actually part of the trials and wouldn't be able to assist her in any way. Once they got to Tenrou Island, he would just have to sit out the trials in the camp. Everyone who was eliminated from the Trials would need somewhere to nurse their wounds and get something to eat and rest while the rest of them battled it out.

Once everyone was on board and settled, and the boat had departed – heading for Tenrou Island – Lucy sat back and took the time to look over all her competition.

Wendy and Cana might make a tough pair, but they were probably the least worrisome. Even though Wendy was a sky dragon slayer, she wasn't the most skilled in combat yet…at least as far as Lucy was aware. Of course, Carla had also come along, but she would be sitting on the sidelines with Happy…a fact which he was inordinately happy about.

More concerning by far was the fact that Gajeel was Levy's partner. In comparison to Wendy, the iron dragon slayer was a very formidable fighter. Lucy knew firsthand how brutal and strong he was, and though she'd completely forgiven him for that, she wasn't happy at the prospect of going up against him in a competition.

Freed and Bickslow were another potentially problematic team that she needed be wary of. She'd also gone up against Bickslow – during one of Laxus's temper tantrums – and knew he could be a real pain in the ass to beat. The helmet wearing freak had nearly yanked her soul out to turn her into one of his little puppets, which was a terrifying prospect to be sure. And Freed was no pushover either. He was a master of script magic, and he could prove to be a real annoyance if he started laying traps. Of course that wasn't even the worst of it…he also had some forbidden magic tucked up his sleeve, and if he used his Dark Ecriture then his opponent was a goner. He'd even held his own against Mirajane before…though she beat him soundly in the end.

Speaking of the Thunder Legion, it was no surprise to anyone that Elfman had teamed up with Evergreen. They were yet another a team to watch out for, though Lucy was mostly concerned about Evergreen's ability to turn her enemies to stone, and not so much Elfman's beast takeover magic. She was pretty sure her spirits could take him.

Gray and Loki were also definitely worth keeping her eye on, but she wasn't quite as worried about them. If Lucy was lucky, Juvia might prove a hindrance to Gray and Loki would have the same problem with her.

Similarly, she wasn't as worried about Juvia, because her blue-haired friend would probably have her work cut out for her trying to compete against Gray. However, she _had_ teamed up with Bisca, and the green-haired sharp shooter was no slouch.

Lucy had been a little worried about Juvia finding a partner, but it turned out to not be a problem at all. Bisca and Juvia had actually been hanging out quite a bit lately and had bonded over girl talk and boys. Of course, everyone knew that Bisca had the hugest crush on Alzack, and it was equally apparent that her feelings were reciprocated. But those two had been dancing around each other for _**years**_ , despite being partners for just as long. Apparently Bisca had gone to Juvia for advice on how to express her feelings, because she was jealous of the water mage's ability to be so open about hers.

After sizing up the competition, Lucy sighed and settled in a lounge chair, ready to wait out the rest of the trip with her notebook and pen. Happy had already abandoned her for his white-furred paramour, so she was left to spend her time trying to figure out a kink in the plot she was currently working on.

Soon after setting sail, a pervasive boiling heat set in, and everyone on board the small vessel began to melt…. with three exceptions.

Gray made himself an ice igloo to keep cool, which everyone was jealous of and tried to capitalize on by leaning up against it. Of course all that body heat melted the ice quickly, so he kept having to beat people off with a stick. Likewise, his girlfriend also seemed untouched by the weather, which wasn't surprising since she was a water-woman. The only kind of temperature Juvia would have trouble with was either freezing or boiling – and she was pretty good at controlling her internal temperature with magic.

The third person to be less affected was Lucy – because after training with Natsu's fire, this felt like nothing. It was still hot, and she was still quickly covered in sweat, but she didn't feel the need to complain about it. Everyone else though kept up a constant stream of protests and whining as they lay strewn across the deck in various unproductive heaps.

"How are you still busy writing Lucy?!" Cana complained, fanning herself with a magazine.

Lucy shrugged. "Let's just say this is nothing compared to the training I've been doing."

"What the hell kind of training have you been doing? Sitting in an oven?!" Gray called out from inside his ice shield, which Juvia had parked herself in as well.

"That's a secret." she replied with a wink and a grin.

Soon though, everyone's suffering came to an end, because the island came into view.

This was the first time any of them had been here, and they were awed by the sight of a truly massive tree growing out of a relatively small island. The leafy thing was practically the size of the whole landmass and had grown much taller than any plant had a right to do. It looked like a skyscraper…or a giant umbrella that shaded the entire island. Plus, the land itself was eye-catching, even without the monstrous tree. The whole island looked like it was made of sharp jutting pieces of land that had been glued together, and Lucy couldn't help but wonder what sort of crazy geological incident had created such a shocking landmass.

"Woah! Look at it!"

Various exclamations erupted from the crowd, some of them complementary, others critical, but soon Master Makarov had come out on deck and caught all their attention.

"There's a legend about Tenrou island…. They say it once had fairies living on it."

"Really?" Wendy asked eagerly, sounding excited by the prospect.

"No one knows if it's true or not, but what we do know is that this island is very important to our guild. It's the resting place of Fairy Tail's first master, Mavis Vermilion"

"And you're going there dressed like that?" Gray questioned, pointing at Makarov's short khaki pants and his Hawaiian shirt.

"Said the nudist to the stylish man." Makarov shot back, and Lucy couldn't help but laugh.

As usual, Gray was naked, this time _**completely**_ naked … probably because it was so hot out.

"Speaking of, could you put on some clothes? Nobody but Juvia needs to see your junk, Gray." Cana interrupted the show and nodded at his dangly bits. She didn't seem perturbed in the slightest though. If anything, her smirk said she was just trying to embarrass him.

He yelped and dove for his igloo, where his trousers were probably located.

Meanwhile, Master was getting cranky. "Anything else? I'd like to reveal the first round of your trial _if I may_."

"There's more than one round?" Wendy asked anxiously, sounding pretty nervous.

"Well yeah. If any of Master Makarov's events were called simple, he'd probably keel over." Cana answered with an eye roll.

Ignoring them, the master in question continued. "Please direct your attention to the smoke coming from the shore." He pointed at a tall column of smoke. "Your first task will be to head for its source. Once there, you will choose one of the seven routes leading into the island. Each is meant for a single team only, so don't dawdle and pick one. After you've made your choice, you will have to conquer these obstacles."

A magical display suddenly popped into being next to him. It showed a map of sorts, with an area that had multiple paths leading off it. Each path was numbered, and was labeled either "intense combat" or just "combat." The "intense combat" labels also had the name of an S-Class wizard attached to them.

"Combat routes are self-explanatory. Two teams clash, but only one moves on. You should use every power at your disposal. Intense Combat routes are more difficult. Find yourselves on one of these, and you'll be fighting one of Fairy Tail's elite."

From the back of the group, Elfman loudly commented, "This sucks…. If we pick one of the routes with an S-Class mage on it, we're gonna get a manly pounding!"

Evergreen scoffed. "You're not a real man. You're a real wimp."

Meanwhile, Levy was cringing off to the side. "I don't want to fight any of my friends…"

"Sounds great to me, I've been looking for an excuse to pick a fight with some of these fools!" Gajeel countered, his arm resting on top of Levy's head like an arm rest.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "As long as it's not me."

"Oh, don't you worry Bunny-Girl, that dragon of yours is plenty. I'd just love to take him on again."

She scoffed. "Yeah, remember how well that worked out last time?"

"This time it'll be different!"

Before they could get into an argument over who would win in a fight between the iron dragon slayer and the celestial fire dragon, Makarov interrupted. "All right! You ready? Your trial starts right now!"

"Hold up, it starts before we hit the island?!" Loki shouted.

Makarov grinned and chuckled, and after a shocked pause, suddenly everyone was caught in a mad race to get off the boat. Freed managed to escape first, but not before he wrote an enchantment that kept the rest of them on. As Lucy ran face first into a wall of purple script while attempting to dive overboard, it became clear that they were stuck.

"Don't worry! It's not permanent. You all just have to stay on that boat for five more minutes … plenty of time to give us the first pick." Freed called back over his shoulder as he flew off with his enchanted wings. Bickslow flew along next to him, carried by his "babies," and all he had to offer was cackles.

"Ah man! We're all screwed if he gets to the island first! He's gonna lace it with enchantments!" Gray yelled, pounding on the enchanted wall.

Levy though wasn't intimidated in the least by the purple wall. "Not a problem for me!"

She quickly pulled out her pen and started to rewrite the enchantment. When she and Gajeel jumped overboard, everyone else tried to follow suite, but ran into the wall again.

"Sorry! I only rewrote it for me and Gajeel!"

"Hey! No fair!" Cana yelled back.

"All's fair in war, Losers!" Gajeel yelled back, and soon they were out of sight.

Evergreen also proved to have the ability to rewrite Freed's enchantments, and soon she and Elfman were also diving overboard. The rest of them though had to wait for the five minutes to expire, and then when the enchantment disappeared with a pop, everyone lunged overboard all at once.

Gray made an ice slide for him and Loki, Juvia used her water magic to make her and Bisca swim super-fast, and Wendy tried a sky dragon roar to propel her and Cana though the water.

As for Lucy, as soon as she hit the water she called Natsu.

"It's about time! Let's get this party started! What's our first goal?"

"See that smoke? We're supposed to go there."

"All right! I'm all fired up now! Let's go!"

And with that, a blast of heat escaped him and his wings popped out – causing a wave of water to fall to either side. Lucy nearly went under with the fierce splash, but Natsu deftly plucked her out of the water and soon they were flying ahead of the rest.

"Haha! Aren't you glad you have a partner with wings!"

"Yeah!"

On the way, she caught him up to speed since he hadn't been present for the debriefing, and he grinned. "Cool! We get to fight Fairy Tail's strongest wizards! This is gonna be awesome!"

Lucy could only roll her eyes at his enthusiasm.

By the time they got there, at least half of the paths were already blocked off with glowing magical barriers … and just in case that wasn't clear enough, a big red X marked them as closed for business. There were still quite a few options though, so they just had to pick one.

None of them were labeled the same as the map Master had showed them – they had letters instead of numbers – so there was no way to tell which was which. It was blind luck at this point who they ended up going against.

"Let's pick E! I bet Erza's down that route!"

"Huh?" Lucy asked, confused about his reasoning.

"E for Erza! It's the first letter of her name!"

"Seriously? That's all you're going off?"

"Come on Luce!"

And without further ado, she was dragged into the cave, which closed with a magical pop behind them.

"Well, I guess we're going this way then…" she sighed, rolling her eyes. Really, any route was fine, they were all the same risk in her book.

So, they walked down the dim path, and Lucy marveled at the tiny little spirit flies that lit their way. They were so beautiful really, and if she wasn't about to get into a fight with one of her guildmates – potentially one of the unbeatable ones – she would have been enamored. As it was though, she was too tense to fully enjoy the romantic looking scene.

It wasn't long before they arrived in a large cavern, and the sign hanging over the entrance stated "Combat," which meant at least they wouldn't be going up against one of the S-Class mages. With a sigh of relief, she let herself relax some, knowing that it was probably still going to be tough, but at least they had a chance now.

"All right, it's about time! I was starting to get bored!" A taunting voice rang through the passage, and she winced.

"Shit. Bickslow…one of the ones I didn't want to go up against," she cussed and slowly looked around to see him. Sure enough, perched on a rock, the long-tongued freak sat and cackled.

That meant that Freed was here too, and they would have to be very careful of any enchantments he might have set. "Watch where to step Natsu, Freed could have written all sorts of nasty traps into the ground…. Natsu!"

Of course Natsu – being Natsu – hadn't bothered to stick around and pay attention to her advice. Instead, he had barreled headlong into the fight and knocked Bickslow off his rock podium with a firm fist to the face.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Woah!" All of Bickslow's 'babies' squeaked in alarm as he hit the wall with a crash that knocked some stones loose from the ceiling.

With the two of them getting into it, that left Freed up to her, and to be honest he was the more dangerous of the two.

As they squared off, Freed murmured, "I apologize in advance. I would rather not hurt you, but I cannot lose."

"Yeah, same here." she grunted back, eyeing his sword. He wrote his rune spells with the thing, and used it for physical attacks too, so it was worth eyeballing.

"Before we start though, would you please put on a shirt?"

She blinked at her opponent and noticed that he was blushing lightly.

It wasn't like she was naked or anything… she was wearing a bikini top and short-shorts. It was just so hot and tropical that a swimsuit seemed appropriate. She glanced down at her attire, and then cocked an eyebrow in his direction, intrigued by the show of a potential weakness.

"Are you a prude Freed? Do swimsuits make you uncomfortable?"

He flushed even darker and scowled. "It's simply not appropriate attire for combat! And clothing yourself in such a manner is a crude underhanded tactic!"

Actually, it was nothing of the sort, but she wasn't above turning it into one. Smiling, she felt her confidence mount. Maybe she had a chance if she exploited his discomfort with unclothed women.

By this point, he apparently determined that she was not going to heed his request, and so with a long-suffering sigh he unsheathed his sword fully and pointed it at her.

Immediately, her mind was racing as she wondered which one of her spirits would be best suited to dealing with Freed. As far as she knew, none of her spirits were particularly well-versed with enchantments, so that meant she would need to incapacitate him, or trap him somehow. With this thought in mind, she summoned Aries.

"Open! Gate of the Ram! Aries!"

With a pink poof and 'baaa,' her shyest spirit made an entrance. "H-hello Miss Lucy. I'm so sorry…"

Before Lucy could say anything to her spirit, Freed sputtered and gawked. "A cute fluffy female? What sort of perverted sorcery is this?!"

As expected, Freed was enchanted by the cuteness that was Aries – as most men were, Lucy had found – but of course she wasn't going to use her spirit in any sort of inappropriate way.

"How can I help?" Aries timidly stammered, looking like she was expecting the worst.

"All I need is for you to incapacitate Freed with one of your wool balls! And hurry, he's getting ready to write an enchantment!"

True to what Lucy said, Freed's sword was out and about, waving frantically in the air, and soon purple script flowed from the tip. Thankfully Aries's wool ball got to him before he could complete whatever spell he was writing, and he gasped as a cloud of pink engulfed him.

"What is this?! A cloud of pink cotton candy!? Why do I feel so warm…and…wooly…?"

As was always the case with Aries's main attack, the victim caught within her wool ball was lulled into complacency through sheer comfyness … which gave Lucy the perfect opportunity.

"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

"Hello Princess! How may I be of service?" Virgo asked perkily as she emerged, dressed in a fanservice maid bikini.

Lucy didn't even bother asking her why she was dressed like that. All that mattered was that Freed squawked and his eyes bugged out of his head. "A bikini babe?! How many women do you have tucked up your non-existent sleeves?!

She ignored him, and instead pointed at the ground directly under the wool ball. "Virgo! Dig a deep hole and plop him right down it!"

"Your wish is my command!"

Instantly Virgo disappeared, and a pit opened up right under Freed. He plummeted into it with a loud yelp – wool ball and all. Of course Lucy knew he could use his Dark Ecriture to sprout a pair of wings, so she dismissed Virgo and Aries, and instantly summoned Taurus and Scorpio in their place.

"Each of you cover one of the holes Virgo left! Freed's gonna be coming out of one of them and it's up to you to knock him out!"

They nodded with grins, and one dashed to each hole, Taurus raising his ax and Scorpio aiming his tail. Meanwhile, Lucy unrolled her whip, in case he escaped and she had to drag him back for her spirits to beat up. Sure enough, a few moments later, he popped out of the one Scorpio was covering. That wasn't a smart move, because the instant his green hair showed over the lip of the tunnel, Scorpio was blasting him with sand. The swirling sand storm pushed him back down into the hole, and Scorpio just kept pumping it in, which would drive him out the other side.

"Smart move Scorpio! Good job! Taurus, he's coming your way! Feel up for a game of whack a mole?!" Lucy shouted with a broad grin, beyond proud of her spirits and their power.

"Absoluuuutely!" Taurus bellowed with an equally broad grin, and he hefted his ax.

"Just don't kill him okay?"

It was a good thing she thought to mention this, because as soon as Freed attempted to make an escape from the sand storm tunnel, Taurus smacked him with the flat of his blade – knocking him out cold but not splitting his head open.

As soon as he passed out, Lucy caught him with her whip and dragged him out of the sand-filled hole so he wouldn't suffocate down there.

"Thanks guys!" she huffed, starting to run seriously low on magic power. "You're the best!"

"Wicked!" Scorpio said with a grin, and they both poofed, leaving her feeling rather drained.

She sat and breathed a sigh, relieved and a little shocked that she was able to take out Freed so easily. It was probably only because she'd been able to take him by surprise and beat him before he could write an enchantment. If he'd been able to do that, he would have beat her, hands down.

Soon she felt heat behind her as Natsu approached, still toasty from his fight.

"Yo!"

She tipped her head back to look up at him. "Hey. Did Bickslow give you too much trouble?"

"Nope." His shit eating grin was answer enough.

With a groan she hoisted herself back to her feet. "All right then, let's head through that open gate over there. It's probably the way we're supposed to go."

"Makes sense to me."

As she wobbled a little on her feet, he reached out to steady her. "Woah! Did you use up all your magic already?"

"Not all of it, but I burned through a lot pretty quickly summoning two pairs one right after the other."

"Here, let me give ya a little boost."

Without waiting for her response, she felt that telltale sensation of fire flooding her body.

As soon as she topped out, she raised a hand and gasped, "That's it." She'd quickly found out that she had to stop him before he overdid it, otherwise she'd end up feverish.

The heat tapered off quickly, and she sighed as her body cooled a bit. The heat still lingered in her veins from Natsu's magic, but after training so vigorously with him, she guessed that her body had somehow adapted to handle it and cool down fast. With the infusion of fire, suddenly her energy levels perked back up and she felt like she'd taken a caffeine shot, but without the jitters.

"Better?"

"Much," she sighed and grinned at him, which he returned and bent to peck her lips.

As they walked through the gate and then continued on down the path presented to them, Natsu nudged her side with his elbow. "Have I ever told you how hot you are when you fight?"

She sent him a bemused look. "No? Have I ever told you that you're weird?"

He just flashed his fangs in her direction, and she snorted in amusement. To be honest, she knew what he meant though, because she enjoyed watching Natsu fight too. The way his body moved, the flexing of his muscles, the fire in his eyes, and the fierce grin on his lips … it was like when she'd watched him dance on stage, but more natural to him.

After a second of chuckling, he nudged her again. "Yeah, but I'm _your_ weirdo. You know you love it."

At that, she couldn't help but scoff and lightly bounced her shoulder off his. "Yeah, I love you, Weirdo. I guess that makes me weird too, huh?"

"Oh, you're weird for more reasons than just loving me," he said with another of those thousand-wat smiles of his. "But I guess weirdness attracts weirdness, cause it just makes me love ya more."

They walked the rest of the way hand-in-hand… both grinning a little stupidly.

After traversing the tunnel, they emerged into a clearing in the woods, where they encountered the other winners of the first round as well as Master Makarov.

"Congratulations for making it to the winning circle, Lucy, Natsu," he said as they walked out into the clearing.

"Thanks Gramps. So who else made it? Is this it?" Natsu asked, scratching his head and looking around.

"What d'you mean 'is this it'?!" Gray fussed, taking offense to a comment that probably didn't mean anything.

"What flew up your nose, Blizzard-Butt?" Natsu countered with a glare.

As their foreheads clunked together, Loki and Lucy shared a look and dashed forward to pry their respective partners from each other.

"Natsu! We can't waste energy here! We have to save it for the trials!" Lucy scolded as she yanked on his scarf and he mildly choked.

Loki was in the middle of saying something similar, when Gajeel and Levy staggered into the field. They looked battered and a little traumatized, but overall relatively okay.

"What happened to you two?" Lucy asked, concerned for her friend.

"Don't ask…" Levy whined, looking about ready to pass out.

Even Gajeel seemed shaken, so she didn't bother asking them any further questions. Shortly after, an equally battered and bruised Elfman and Evergreen limped in, and this time it was Gray who commented.

"You look like you got chewed up and spit out. What happened man?" He addressed Elfman, since Evergreen wasn't exactly sociable.

"We beat my big sister!"

That got everyone's attention. "You beat Mirajane?!" Gajeel spat, looking dubious. "How the hell did you two manage it? I mean I could've taken her easily, but you guys…"

"Don't write us off just yet." Evergreen interjected snootily, pushing up her glasses and glaring at the iron dragon slayer.

"And that's everyone!" The master's words drew their attention. "As it stands, Gray and Loki beat Wendy and Cana in combat. Lucy and Natsu beat Freed and Bickslow in combat."

Gray whistled and sent Lucy an impressed look. She grinned back.

"Levy and Gajeel were passed by Gildarts in intense combat."

"Passed?" Natsu chuckled, sending Gajeel a smirk. He got an iron pipe to the face, and Lucy had to hold him back by his scarf so she could listen to the rest of the master's commentary.

"Elfman and Evergreen defeated Mirajane in intense combat."

"Hey, where's Juvia? She didn't even make it through the first round?" Gray suddenly asked, sounding both concerned and skeptical.

A pained expression settled across Makarov's face. "Juvia and Bisca went up against she-who-knows-no-mercy."

Everyone flinched at the mention of Erza.

"Ouch…sucks for them." Loki muttered, wincing along with everyone else.

"Yes indeed. Now, I will explain your next trial. To complete this task, you will need to find the resting place of Mavis Vermillion, the founder of Fairy Tail. It's somewhere hidden on this island, and you have six hours to successfully find it. If you do not, you will fail this challenge and cannot continue the trials. Understood?"

When everyone nodded, he grinned and exclaimed, "Then your second trial starts now! Good luck everyone. I will be waiting for you at the first master's grave."

And with that, the second part of their trial began.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _They landed in a shower of dirt and sparks as Natsu softened the impact with some fire, and Lucy dropped off his back and hit the ground running…. or would have if she hadn't tripped … skipped a few steps … fell … skidded into a roll … and scrambled back to her feet. Then she hit the ground running._

 _She could see that Erza, Mira, Juvia, Wendy, Cana, Freed, and Bickslow were all eating food in the mess tent, so she made a beeline straight for them, waving her arms manically to get their attention._

 _Erza was the first to notice Lucy, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Lucy? You aren't supposed to be here until the end of this round, which is in…one hour and twenty-four minutes."_

 _"Never mind that! Natsu and I just saw an enemy ship approaching the island, and when we went to investigate, I saw the guildmark for Grimoire Hearts!"_


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note:**

Hello all! It's Wednesday and time for a new chapter! And it's another double chapter to boot!

As always, a HUGE thanks to all my wonderful reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: WisdomDragon27, Firefly9917, Ikityan, KitsuneLover05, TheJSmooth, Lucinda, ravenqueen162, Leomae2.0, valerioux, Alice, kilatails, loopymama, and TheAvatarShadow. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: stranger1999, Softkittypaw, and Kzykat.

For once I don't have much to say beyond that, except I hope you enjoy the new chapter! So on with the show! And stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. :D

* * *

Natsu and Lucy ran out of the clearing like a fire had been lit under their tails – not that that would actually do anything to either of them, since Natsu would just eat the fire. But in any case, as soon as Makarov gave the signal that the trial had begun, it wasn't just them running out … everyone dashed off in search of the gravesite. Of course Lucy ended up being dragged behind Natsu, as usual, and very nearly tripped over about a million roots as they catapulted through the woods at top speed.

Eventually she ground them to a halt after running at full-tilt for several long minutes with seemingly no reason or rhyme. It wasn't easy either, she had to dig in her heels and throw all her weight back to prevent herself from getting literally dragged – and eating dirt wasn't on her list of to-dos.

Natsu nearly fell backwards when she put on the breaks, and then spun around, looking bewildered.

"What's up Luce? Why the heck we stoppin'?"

"Do you have any idea where we're going?"

"Uh, to find this Mavis person's grave right?"

"Well yeah, but we can't just run around blindly and expect to trip over it! Not when we just have six hours to do it in! We need a plan!"

Natsu pouted for a moment and rolled his eyes. "Aw, fine I guess."

"First of all, a grave is typically in soil, and right now we're pretty much on bedrock. I mean the roots of these trees are all practically above ground. So, we need to find somewhere that has deeper dirt."

"Deeper dirt? Isn't that just a matter of how deep ya dig?"

Obviously he didn't get it. "I _mean_ , dirt that's softer and easier to dig, Numbskull!"

"Oooh, yeah I guess that makes sense. But this is Fairy Tail we're talkin' about... They could dig a grave in anything."

He actually made a good point, which left them back where they started…at nada, plus zilch, and a dash of zero.

"Well…shoot. Yeah, I guess you're right. Damnitall."

He grinned broadly at being right, seeming to ignore the fact that it just made their search harder. "See? So let's just keep goin'! I'm sure we'll find it sooner or later."

"Sure, but how much later? We only have six hours!" If she was going to have to remind him about the time limit every few minutes, this was going to get seriously tedious.

Just then, their conversation was rudely interrupted by an enormous crash that resounded through the nearby forest, and Lucy jumped, looking around for the source. Even more alarming were the deep thuds that were gradually building up intensity and making the ground vibrate. By the time an enormous, dinosaur-looking critter emerged from the tree line – literally, its head was way above it – Lucy was sure that there was more to this challenge than just finding a grave. They also had to survive the apparently prehistoric-sized creatures that inhabited this godforsaken place.

With a squawk that would have done a primeval bird proud, she turned to run in the opposite direction, which seemed like a pretty good idea when a thousand-pound creature of unknown heritage and temperament was barreling down on you. Natsu had other ideas of course, and with a fierce grin, he ran in the opposite direction…towards the thing.

When they passed each other, Lucy skidded to a halt and spun around, yelling, "Natsu! What the heck are you doing!?"

"I'm gonna see if this thing knows were Mavis's grave is!"

"Say what now?!"

She gaped as he flung himself at the huge beast and fire coated his fist. With a bang that sounded like Thor had decided to play one of those strong hammer games at the fair, the dragon's fist met the dino's face, and suddenly a big scaly green body was plummeting nose first into the soil, practically on top of Lucy. With another primitive sound, the celestial mage scrambled back to avoid becoming a pancake.

She was gearing up for an epic scolding on how Natsu should aim his victims – when he did something that derailed her tirade. He jumped on the thing's snout, grabbed one nostril, and yanked hard, asking, "Where's Mavis's grave!?"

The green creature's enormous snoot wrinkled up in discomfort as Natsu pulled on it, and the dino whimpered surprisingly pathetically, before grunting, "I don't know!"

The voice was deep and nearly incomprehensible, but the fact that it answered at all had Lucy's jaw nearly touching the ground in shock.

Natsu, on the other hand, was completely unfazed by the spectacle of a talking dinosaur, and just grinned, releasing his prisoner with a friendly wave. "Oh, okay then. Thanks!"

As he turned and sidled off back into the woods – looking for all the world like he was just taking a Sunday stroll through the park – she followed him with her eyes and slack jaw, still unsure if that had really happened or if some funny mushrooms were sprouting hallucinogenic spoors into the air. Of course, with what they'd already seen of this island, she really wouldn't be surprised by anything.

They continued on for a bit but didn't make any more progress … which wasn't a surprise given that they were still walking around in blind circles.

"Hey Natsu…we still don't know where we're going." she eventually pointed out, and snagged the tail of his scarf to make sure he actually stopped with her.

A sound like, 'Urp!' came from him as he was pulled to a stop, but by this point he was so used to her using his scarf like a leash that he didn't even comment. Instead, he just stopped and turned to face her, looking around and scratching his head in a manner that said he had no idea what to do either.

Eventually he just sent her a grin and asked, "Well, what d'you wanna do?"

"I don't know! There has to be some sort of rhyme or reason to it!"

They both looked around some more – an effort in futility if ever there was one since they were surrounded by trees and couldn't exactly see very far. It wasn't as if the grave was just going to pop out of the bushes and yell, _"Here I am!"_

"Hey! How about we go to the top of that huge tree!" Natsu eventually suggested, looking up at the massive umbrella of foliage that they could still see through the branches of their patch of trees.

"There's no way a grave could be in the branches of a tree. It's gotta be in the ground. However … getting a bird's eye view is not a bad idea."

He perked up from the slight pout he had started sliding into. "Yeah?"

"Yeah!" She nodded, warming to the idea even more. "If we fly around the island, maybe we can see this grave from above!"

"Alright! I'm all fired up!" He pumped his fist in the air, a broad grin splitting his lips now that they had a plan and weren't just standing around talking about it.

As he stepped forwards and reached for her, she thought better of it though and warded him off with her hands up. "I think I'd better ride piggyback, so I can see over your shoulder and help look. If you carry me like you usually do, I won't be able to look down at the ground."

He blinked and then shrugged before turning around to present her his back. "Hop on then, and let's get the lead out!"

She placed her hands on his shoulders and hopped a little to hoist herself up – with the help of his hands under her thighs – and then wrapped both arms and legs tightly around him. Her limbs clenched even tighter – probably nearly strangling him – when a blast of heat cooked the nearby foliage and his wings popped out on either side of her.

She'd seen them plenty before, but she had never ridden him like this or been on his back when his wings extended. So understandably she was shocked by the tingling rush of magic and the sensation of his back rippling under her chest. His muscles and tendons slithered under his skin like a mass of snakes as they rearranged to connect to the pair of wings that emerged, and she couldn't help but flinch as the two massive red appendages snapped out on either side of her ribs.

It also took a little adjustment for Natsu, having her on his back.

Normally, he would have taken off right then and there as soon as his wings were out, but with Lucy between them, he had to flex a little to make sure this was even gonna work. He couldn't bring them fully together, which would make taking off a bit harder, but shouldn't affect his flying too much otherwise. Lucy grunted a little in his ear when he squeezed her between his wings, and he felt her squirm into a better position. He tightened his grip on her thighs and helped hoist her higher up on his back, thoroughly enjoying the feel of her boobs squishing against him as she did so.

Lucy wasn't sure what he was doing, only that he was moving his wings around like he was stretching or something, and his wing muscles were surprisingly powerful. When he squeezed her between them, she was a little worried that he would crush her or pop her off his back, but he only did that a couple of times before he figured out how far back his wings could go with her there.

Then, suddenly they were taking off. All she had as a warning was the way Natsu suddenly crouched and how all his muscles bunched up under her. The wings flanking her arched up, and then they were airborne. It all happened so fast that she hadn't quite prepared herself, so she yelped and clenched him tightly with both arms and legs at the abrupt jerk upwards. His wings pumped faster than normal to get them airborne – probably because of her – and they bounced off a couple of branches on the way up.

Once they'd cleared the tree line, Lucy risked opening her eyes and then stared down in shock at the ground falling away beneath them. It was obvious that he couldn't climb as fast with her between his wings, but he was still getting some pretty good altitude fairly quickly. Abruptly, Lucy realized she'd never actually spent all that much airtime with him. Their flights had always been a matter of him catching her and then quickly landing, or else flying close to the ground from point A to point B…. But they hadn't ever flown together way up high for any length of time.

Somehow it felt very different from when she flew with Happy. She didn't know how really, maybe it was because she was essentially ridinghim instead of being carried. Maybe it was because the way he flew was so different – his wings beat much slower and stronger than Happy's, and that meant the ride had an up and down motion that she wasn't used to. They dropped what felt like a full foot through the air every time his wings swept up, and then jumped back up on the downbeats.

She could practically _feel_ the power in his body, as if she was perched on top of a coiled spring, and she had the unnerving sensation of sitting in a very dangerous place…like a bomb could go off under her butt at any moment. Even though Happy could go super-fast, there was a palpable difference in raw power and untamed energy. It was like the difference between…. riding a very speedy pony and a Clydesdale. Then again, what should she have expected? She was comparing a magical flying cat and a dragon for heaven's sake.

He rose through the air so much faster than he should, given his size, and it left her breathless as they broke through the canopy and careened up towards the Tenrou crown. By the time they were level with the branches of that massive tree, her adrenaline was running wild through her veins, and the sound of her heart almost overpowered the sound of Natsu's wings beating.

It wasn't just fear though that had her pulse so fast though … there was a thrill too that made chills run wild all over her body and butterflies pound away in her stomach. If butterflies could resemble Gajeel at all, she could totally see the ones currently assaulting her as metal studded.

Natsu must have felt her heart beating against his back, because once they'd reached the height he wanted, he spread his wings and started a glide, his legs stretching out behind him as they moved forwards.

"You scared or something?"

The only reason she could hear his words over the air going past her ears was because the side of her head was pressed up against his.

"Uh…a little," she admitted, clutching him tightly and staring at the island so far underneath them.

"You'll be fine." he chuckled, tilting a little to start spiraling around the island. "So where do ya wanna start?"

"Um…" She glanced down and stared at the geography, trying to spy anything that looked like it might be a good grave site. Nothing popped out at her, so she just sighed and suggested, "I guess let's start at the coast and then spiral inwards?"

"Sure!"

And with that, he laughed and apparently decided to try and scare the ever-living-daylights out of her, because he suddenly dove down to get a slightly closer look – leaving her stomach and ability to scream behind them somewhere.

He sharply pulled up after a short ways, with powerful wing beats that plastered her to his back and made her feel like a hippo was trying to catch a ride on top of her. Then he started flying around the coastline as they both looked carefully for any sign of a memorial. When none showed up, Lucy squeaked again as Natsu made another of those powerful, fast, unpredictable movements and shot back up into the air. By this point she was starting to think she should have compared him to a bucking bronco. Every simple turn, dive, and climb threatened to unseat her as the air and gravity worked to yank her off him in a hundred different ways….and that wasn't even considering his more acrobatic aerial maneuvers.

Eventually though – after flying around for a little while – Lucy started to relax and increasingly enjoy it as the sensation of absolute freedom set in. Feeling him moving under her became less and less of a worry as she grew accustomed to how he flew. The unpleasant swoops in her tummy quickly changed to much more pleasant flutters of excitement, and her grip on him loosened just a little as she looked around more freely.

When she spied a dark spot on the ground below she pointed it out. "Hey Natsu, look at that!"

He immediately dove down for a closer look, and she gasped at the abrupt drop, but ended up laughing instead of afraid as her stomach did a summersault. The dark spot turned out to be nothing, so he built up speed to climb again, and Lucy found herself raising her head to feel the air fly past.

"Starting to enjoy yourself?"

"Hm?" she questioned, not quite hearing him since she'd been sitting up a bit and looking around.

"I said, are you havin' fun now?"

"Yeah actually! It's still a little freaky, but as long as I don't think too hard about it, it's really pretty fun!"

"Good!"

She saw his broad grin out of the corner of her eye and felt some of his tense muscles relax just a little.

After that, they started having a little more fun with it, swooping through the air and making sharp turns as they canvassed the island, spiraling in from the edges. She had to make sure to keep him on track though, otherwise he would start peeling off in a random direction – his attention being caught by something else. He always grumbled a little when she redirected him, but would return to their charted course with a sigh. Occasionally though, if he'd been really interested in checking out whatever had distracted him, he would do a barrel-roll in retribution, and she would screech bloody murder.

"What are you doing?! Do you want me to drop off and die!?" she exclaimed after the second time, and he just laughed.

"You wouldn't drop off, I've got a good grip on you. And besides, even if you did fall off, I'd just double back and scoop you out of midair. No problem."

"No problem he says…" she muttered sourly, displeased by his assessment. "Yeah right, you wouldn't be the one free-falling."

She could practically feel him rolling his eyes at her. "We've really gotta get you more comfortable with this, Luce."

It would be handy to have, she had to admit. Being comfortable flying, and maybe even _fighting_ midair, could prove very useful. But to even consider going into battle with her on his back, he was right. She would have to get a lot more comfortable flying with him… which meant more training. Knowing him though, there was no doubt in her mind that he wouldn't make it easy for her, and they'd end up doing all sorts of terrifying acrobatic feats midair.

"Alright, we'll work on that after the trials," she conceded with a slight groan, and practically felt the vibration of excitement go through him – which certainly didn't make her feel any better about her decision.

"But until then, try and keep your flying a little smoother please! I keep feeling like you're gonna knock me off!"

"Fine, fine," he agreed, though she could hear the tone of a pout in his voice. Thankfully though, he did smooth out a bit and stopped making such unexpected dramatic maneuvers.

That made the rest of their flight much more pleasant for Lucy, and also helped her to focus on the task at hand … which was to find a stupid needle in the form of a grave in a haystack the size of an island. After another hour of searching, Lucy was starting to worry that it was underground or something and had no landmarks that they could see from above.

After a bit more searching, they were diving down for a closer look at a promising ravine, when suddenly something distracted her from her task. A strange shape off to the east caught her attention, and she glanced that way for a second only to look again when it registered as not normal. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a ship. She decided to keep an eye on it while they continued to hunt for the grave and was rather alarmed when she determined that the thing was slowly getting closer and appeared to be heading right at them.

When the unidentified object hadn't changed course at all after another couple of rotations around the island, Lucy gave it a little more attention and stared hard at it. It seemed to be a flying airship of some sort, kind of like the one she'd heard Blue Pegasus had. But this was Fairy Tail's sacred ground … there was no reason for anyone to come here.

"What's got you so tense Luce? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, uh…do you see that thing over there?"

He turned to look and then cocked his head. "Yeah…what about it?"

"It looks like a ship right? I've been watching it for the last thirty minutes or so, and it's definitely heading this way from what I can tell. And it's going pretty fast."

"Do ya think it could be part of the S-Class Trials?"

"I guess…maybe. But something about it just doesn't seem right."

"Let's go check it out then."

Before she could protest, he was already swinging in that direction, and they were off.

Natsu could be damn fast when he wanted to, and Lucy abruptly had to duck her head when it felt like the air resistance was going to either rip her head off or tear her clean from Natsu's back. Even with her face pressed into his shoulder, she had to close her eyes to prevent them from watering. Maybe investing in a pair of goggles would be a good idea. The wind also nearly deafened her as it roared by her ears, and she didn't even want to think about what it was doing to her hair.

Before she knew it, they were coming up to the suspicious vehicle, and she had the presence of mind to shout in his ear, "Go underneath! If it _**is**_ an enemy, we don't want them to know we're here!"

Thankfully he heard her and angled down, taking them rather alarmingly close to the water, and sea spray stung her cheeks. As soon as they were directly underneath, he pulled up. The ship wasn't anything she'd ever seen before - that was for sure - and it just made her more uneasy.

"Bring us up the side, slowly though," she muttered, knowing he would hear her since she had pressed her jaw to his.

He followed her directions for once, and they edged up one side. Then they circled the massive vehicle, looking for any markings that could give them a hint as to where this thing came from. As they rounded that side, Lucy suddenly spied a guildmark stamped across the wood and pointed to it, guiding Natsu a little closer.

When she was able to see it clearly, her heart dropped into her stomach and she urgently muttered, "Down! Go down!"

Hearing the insistence in her tone, he _dropped_ – nearly leaving her behind – and they ended up inches from the water underneath the ship.

"What is it Luce?"

"This is a ship from Grimoire Hearts! A super-powerful dark guild that's kind of dropped off the map for a couple of months now. Nobody knows what they've been up to or why, but it's not good that they're here! We've gotta get back and warn the others!"

"Why don't we just go up there and _ask_ why they're here? If they pick a fight, we can just blow 'em up."

"No way Natsu! Grimoire Hearts is one of the most powerful dark guilds out there! We can't take them on by ourselves. Hurry! We have to get back to camp!"

She could feel the vibration of his grumbling, but thankfully he listened to her and shot across the water back to the island at top speed. They were there in seconds, though Lucy had left her breath somewhere behind them. She directed him to the best of her ability to the Fairy Tail headquarters camp where all the teams who had lost were supposed to report. It took a couple of passes – because Natsu overshot it – but finally they careened down towards the collection of popped up tents.

They landed in a shower of dirt and sparks as Natsu softened the impact with some fire, and Lucy dropped off his back and hit the ground running…. or would have if she hadn't tripped … skipped a few steps … fell … skidded into a roll … and scrambled back to her feet. _Then_ she hit the ground running.

She could see that Erza, Mira, Juvia, Wendy, Cana, Freed, and Bickslow were all eating food in the mess tent, so she made a beeline straight for them, waving her arms manically to get their attention.

Erza was the first to notice Lucy, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Lucy? You aren't supposed to be here until the end of this round, which is in…one hour and twenty-four minutes."

"Never mind that! Natsu and I just saw an enemy ship approaching the island, and when we went to investigate, I saw the guildmark for Grimoire Hearts!"

Instantly everyone within hearing range was paying attention and turned to look at her. "Grimoire Hearts? Are you sure?" Mira asked, her eyes tight and worried.

"Positive."

By this point Natsu had trotted up to stand next to her.

"Did anyone see you?"

"I don't think so…"

She glanced at Natsu, and he just shrugged.

"This is a deeply concerning situation…" Erza mumbled, frowning and looking deadly serious.

"That's putting it mildly." Laxus calmly commented, but his expression was anything but serene. "We need to come up with a plan STAT." His eyes shifted to his green-haired companion. "Freed, you should put up a defensive enchantment all around this camp, layer multiple if you have time, and make them as strong as you can."

"Good idea." Mira approved, and Freed instantly jumped up and started doing as the leader of the Thunder Legion requested.

"Yes, Laxus, right away."

As he ran off to start his first enchantment, Mira stood as well. "We should split up and try to find the others as quickly as possible. Right now, we're missing Gray and Loki, Elfman and Evergreen, Gajeel and Levy, Carla and Happy, and Master Makarov."

"Carla and Happy aren't here?" Lucy instantly latched onto that information, and a zing of worry stung her heart.

"No, they left a little while ago to go fishing. I think it was a date…" Mira very briefly slipped into her matchmaking mode, but snapped back to seriousness almost instantly.

Naturally, Erza took charge of the situation and started issuing commands. "Five of us should go and search for them, each one of us after a single team. As soon as you locate one of the missing teams, return with them immediately. In thirty minutes we should all return and see who we're still missing. The rest of us should stay here for the time being so our forces aren't too divided."

"We need some sort of signal system, so if anyone runs into trouble they can send an SOS of some sort." Cana suggested logically, and Lucy was totally on board with the suggestion.

"I agree. For my signal I can send up a celestial firework." Lucy offered, knowing she could use any of her keys to send up a signal flare of golden light.

Erza nodded. "That will work. Who else will go?"

Laxus shrugged. "I guess I will."

"We all know what your signal will be." Mira teased lightly, and despite the serious situation, a smile quirked his lips.

"How will we tell the difference between an SOS lightning strike and one from just fighting though?" Erza asked.

He heaved a sigh. "Not that I think I'll need it, but if something does happen, I'll send up some lightning and terminate it in a fireworks display like Blondie." He jerked his thumb at Lucy.

"I'll go as well." Juvia announced. "And send up water fireworks if I need assistance."

Cana also volunteered and said she'd send up actual fireworks from one of her cards. Wendy offered to go with her, but everyone nixed the idea, saying she needed to stay in the medical tent and conserve her energy for healing. Erza was the last volunteer and said she would send up red fire fireworks from her flame empress armor in case of an SOS.

Once decided, they all split off and left the rest to protect the camp. Lucy jumped back onto Natsu, and he took off again, since searching by air would be the fastest way to go about it. As soon as they took to the sky and got some altitude, Lucy noted that the enemy ship had already docked at the shore.

"Shit, they're already here."

"Better find the others and warn them then." Natsu grunted, already looking for any sign of life down in the trees.

They flew around in circles for a while, until Lucy spotted a flash of orange and blue dashing down a forest path they were flying over.

"Natsu! There!"

Instantly, he dove into the trees and landed, nearly scaring poor Levy half to death. She threw herself into the nearby bushes to take cover.

"Levy! It's us!"

A blue head poked back out of the leafy foliage. "Luce? Luce!"

As she dashed out from her hiding spot, Lucy got a good look at her clothing and her body – which were both all beaten up.

"What happened Levy?!"

"I don't know! These two weird guys suddenly jumped us and attacked! Is this part of the Trial?"

"No, Grimoire Hearts is attacking us for some reason. Natsu and I saw their ship approaching, and we just went to warn the others. Five of us are all searching for the people scattered over the isle, and the rest are setting up a defendable base. Where's Gajeel?"

"He's back in the clearing…. He ordered me to run and get help."

Hearing this, they all dashed back the way she had been coming and followed her back to the clearing she spoke of. When they got there, Gajeel was just finishing with some strange looking creature. It was half man and half…bird or lizard of some sort. They also quickly found out that it spat fire when its beak opened and roasted all the trees nearby – and since they happened to be running up behind Gajeel, it nearly cooked them too. Thankfully they happened to have a dragon with them, and Natsu just opened his mouth and sucked in all the fire before they could get scalded.

"Urg…cockatrice flames. Disgusting." He groaned and coughed out a smoke ring, looking a little green around the gills.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…they're just nasty sons of bitches. Poisonous everything, even their fire."

At that, anxiety sparked Lucy in the butt. "Their fire is poisonous!? Are you sure eating it was a smart idea?!"

He smirked. "It might technically be poisonous, but I can eat _**any**_ fire. It'll just give me a little reflux." So saying, he hiccupped and then burped, grimacing.

Meanwhile, Gajeel had just swung his iron dragon blade down through the thing, and it disappeared in a puff of black smoke and feathers, leaving them all to blink at it in surprise.

"Did that thing just…disappear?" Levy asked, wobbling a little on her feet.

"It looked exactly like one of my celestial spirits…"

"Close. But it's a demon, not a celestial spirit." Natsu corrected, and for once his voice was completely serious, without a single jovial tone in it.

"A demon…?" Lucy started, but cut off when Gajeel suddenly keeled over and took a face full of dirt.

Levy ran over to him instantly, crying out something panicked that sounded like it could have been Gajeel's name. When she reached him, she hit the ground on her knees and checked for vital signs.

"So is Metal Head still ticking over there?" Natsu asked, and Lucy elbowed him hard in the ribs for being so callous. "I know he's still alive Luce…I can smell it," he grunted, squinting at her.

"Then why did you ask?!"

He shrugged. "Seemed like the thing to do."

Rolling her eyes at him, she ran over to her blue-haired friend who was sobbing with relief next to Gajeel's passed out body. With a gesture, she had Natsu joining her, and they hoisted him up between them to drag back to camp.

It was slow going, especially in contrast to how fast they had gotten there, but eventually they did crest the last hill that hid their camp from view and started down into the little basin.

"Oh my goodness! What happened?" Mira asked as they dragged Gajeel into the healing tent and dropped him on one of the cots that had already been set up.

"Grimoire Hearts is already here and on the attack it seems. Although…" Lucy glanced at Natsu, wondering what all this talk about demons was about. "The guy disappeared as soon as Gajeel ran him through. So we aren't dealing with just normal mages here."

"There's at least one demon that we know of. But probably more." Natsu added seriously.

Mira's eyes widened, and she kept glancing at Natsu as she helped Levy onto a cot as well. "Demons? Are you sure?" She, at least, seemed to know what he was talking about, and from her reaction it didn't seem like a good thing.

He nodded gravely, still acting very out of character. "Positive. Ya can't trick a dragon's nose."

"Well, this changes things…"

"Um…demons? You mentioned that before, and I'm still not entirely sure what it means." Lucy questioned, and Levy nodded along.

"They're like…well, they're kinda like celestial spirits really. They have keys and gates that lead to Asphodel… the demon realm. They can be summoned, and when you hurt one bad enough they go poof and disappear back to their realm."

"That sounds just like celestial spirits actually…"

"Yeah, pretty much. The only difference is that they live in a different world and their magic is different from ours."

"How is your magic different exactly?" Levy questioned, with that particular tone she got when her curiosity was peeked and she was going into bookworm mode.

"Dunno really." He shrugged. "It just is. Feels different, smells different. And they can generally use spells, which they call curses…kinda like Frito."

"Frito…?" Lucy questioned, not knowing who he was talking about, until she followed his head nod and saw that he was looking at Freed. The mirth at having Freed called 'Frito' nearly made her bust out laughing and forget about the serious nature of their conversation, but she contained herself at the last second. Levy seemed to have the same problem, as did Mira.

"So, celestial spirits don't use enchantments?"

He curled his lip. "Not usually. Our magic's generally more elemental. Although I know a few who can use divination magic, which is basically the same thing. Even Old Man Crux uses divination, though he calls it Archive, since that's what you guys know it as."

"And demons don't use elemental magic?" Levy asked.

"They use all kinds. Depends on the demon. The higher-level ones can do all kinds of crazy shit. But ya always wanna watch out for curses whenever you go up against one – even the low-level ones – 'cause they can get pretty nasty."

"So they've got levels? Is it like the silver, gold, and mythic keys of the celestial realm?"

He nodded and sent her a grin. "Yep. You got it. They've got iron, copper, and mythic keys. Though they call 'em blood, life, and soul keys."

"Why are their keys made of less precious metals?" Levy asked, and Natsu couldn't help but snicker.

"That's only to you humans, although we tend to razz them on it. Basically it just has to do with silver and gold being sky metals, and iron and copper being earth metals." He shrugged.

"Let's not get distracted. What do you think they want?" Mira interjected finally and got everyone back on track.

"First let's get everyone back together and then we can all swap info. Our first priority should be finding everyone." Lucy was the one to interject this time, and the others nodded.

"True, we're still missing quite a few guildmembers."

"Let's go back out and do some more searching." Lucy suggested, meeting Natsu's gaze and asking him silently if it was okay with him. He just grinned broadly.

"I'm in! Let's go Luce!"

And with that, they were off. Once again she found herself astride his back and clutching him tight as he flew in his unpredictable way…. Natsu was a firecracker both on and off the ground.

They spent the next few minutes scanning the ground for any sign of human life, when an explosion and a loud crash drew their attention. Flying closer, they arrived in time to see a smoking figure get tossed above the tree line and then plummet back into the foliage a good ways away. Natsu needed no prompting from her to go and investigate, and they were off like a shot, barreling down through trees that tried very hard to rip Lucy from his back.

When they hit the ground though, Lucy didn't have any time to pay attention to the cuts, torn clothing, and leaves left on her person, because lying on the ground was Master Makarov, badly beaten and nearly unconscious.

"Master!" she cried and dashed to his side, with Natsu pelting along right with her.

"What happened?!"

"Don't worry kids…I'm-" He paused to cough, and then continued. "- alright. Erza has already told me the situation."

"You've seen Erza? Why didn't you two return to camp then?"

"We ran into a tough enemy, and Erza was still fighting him when I got tossed over here. Damn it…I should be fighting with my children…" he coughed some more and then wheezed a little.

"Who did this to you? Is it the enemy Erza's fighting?"

"No … I confronted Precht … Grimoire Hearts' guild master … before she arrived. I'm ashamed to say he tanned my hide pretty good. He has acquired some new, and very … dark and powerful magic…"

That was distressing news indeed, if the master of Grimoire Hearts could beat Makarov so thoroughly. They really needed to regroup and consider their options if the enemy they were facing was this dangerous.

Right as they were getting ready to scoop him up and return to camp, another huge noise resonated through the trees, though from a different direction this time. Given how bad Makarov was hurt, they generally would have ignored it and left it up to whoever was doing battle over there, but the sound of a familiar voice crying out loudly in pain drew them up short.

"Carla!" Happy's voice rang through the trees, sounding both like he was in pain and also afraid for his lady love.

Makarov was still conscious, and with a grunt he waved them off. "Go check that out, it sounds like Happy is in trouble. I'll be fine here."

Torn, Lucy glanced back and forth between him and the direction of Happy. Thinking fast, she pulled out one of her golden keys and sent up some fireworks to show that they needed help.

Almost before she had finished her fireworks, another bright flash of light appeared, and Amy stepped out. She took in the situation with sharp golden eyes and instantly transformed into her full wolf form. "We're under attack?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes, Grimoire Hearts attacked us during the Trials. We're in the process of regrouping back at camp."

Curling her lips back to bare her teeth, Amy growled in displeasure. "I'll come with you." Another couple of wolves appeared next to her. "Jeza…Waka, stay and protect him," she ordered, nodding at Makarov.

"We just summoned for help, so backup should arrive soon. We were going to investigate an explosion… I think Happy's in trouble." Lucy added urgently.

Amy nodded and turned to the two wolves flanking Makarov. "Tell whoever comes to take the master back with them to camp. We'll join them after investigating this explosion. Does that sound good?"

"Sounds perfect!" Lucy answered, and then called thanks to the other two wolves as she ran off, following Natsu – who had of course already carved a path of destruction through the trees heading for Happy. Amy quickly sprinted after her.

Right before they arrived on the scene, the ground suddenly shook as an enormous boom sounded and cracks resonated out towards her from where Natsu was. She tripped over the uneven ground and ended up catapulting herself out of the trees and tumbling onto the battlefield in probably the least intimidating way possible. Amy followed in a more dignified manner as she loped through the air.

"You okay Luce?!" Natsu asked from somewhere nearby.

"Yep…never better," she groaned and got to her hands and knees, which were both well bloodied from the rough landing.

"Ah. Good. There you are, Lucy Heartfilia." an unknown male voice said said in almost a pleasant manner, though there was also a drone to his tone that sounded nearly robotic or just extremely bored.

In the middle of peeling herself off the ground, she clumsily shot to her feet at the apathetic comment. Looking up, she saw a dark-skinned man around her age, surprisingly attractive, with shoulder-length dark green hair. He looked utterly calm, but she had to assume he was the one who had caused the earthquake that had shattered the ground she was now standing on.

Glancing around, she spied Happy and Carla off to the side and instantly diverted her attention to them, leaving the enemy to Natsu for the time being as she went to make sure they were still alive.

"Keep him busy for me Natsu!" she called over her shoulder and heard him chuckle darkly in response.

"You know it Luce. I've got a fire in my belly now." His tone was dangerous, which said he'd already seen their feline friends' states and was none too happy about it.

She skidded to her knees next to their limp forms. Happy's arms were wrapped around Carla, and it looked like he had tried to shield her from some sort of attack, because his back was all beat up, burnt, and crispy. Amy stuck close and guarded Lucy, keeping watch on the fight as Lucy checked on the two injured felines.

"Oh Happy…" she whispered, very gently reaching out and separating him from Carla so she could check their individual pulses.

Carla groaned and blinked blearily up at her, but Happy was out cold and flopped over lifelessly. Lucy hissed, terrified, and hurried to lift him into her lap so she could check his breathing and pulse. The weak, but steady, thrumming of his blood under her fingers on his neck gave her a wave of relief, and she sighed, her eyes watery as she very carefully placed him back down next to Carla.

"Wha-…what's happening…?"

"Shh, it's okay. You just rest Carla. Natsu and I will take care of everything, I promise," she whispered back to the white cat.

She scooped up both cats gingerly and looked around desperately for a safe place to put them. Two new wolves stepped forwards on either side of her, and she looked behind to see Amy nod at the wolves and then the trees, silently telling her to give Happy and Carla to them.

"…thank you…can you take them back to Makarov and your two comrades?"

The blue wolf near her nodded. "Yes…we'll take these two to where Waka and Jeza are standing guard over your master."

She gently lifted up Happy, and the blue wolf very carefully latched onto his vest with her teeth before taking off into the trees. Lucy repeated the process with Carla and the red wolf, and then she turned back around to the fight.

The loud sounds behind her suddenly made sense when she was met with the terrifying sight of a cyclone tearing up the ground of the cliff they were currently fighting on. It looked like the thing was going to destroy the very ground they were standing on and send them all plummeting to the craggy shore that she knew was lurking below. She'd seen those jagged rocks that looked like gnarly teeth on their many overhead passes around the island, and she was not keen to find out what it would feel like to fall on them. It wasn't her fault that the shore desperately needed the attention of a cosmic dentist, and like heck was she going to be punished for it.

The rebuffing winds that flew off the unexpected cyclone nearly knocked her back into the trees, and she had to dig in her feet and throw her weight forward into the wind to hold her ground. Amy also crouched to keep herself afoot and slowly inched backwards until she was standing right next to Lucy. Natsu though – who was much closer to the thing – was knocked off his feet and sent head over heels across the ground. Lucy's scream and horrified cry of his name were swallowed by the funnel of badness bearing down on them, and then it cut between them, carving a groove into the ground that cut her and Amy off from the fire dragon.

She couldn't see him and didn't know what was happening, at least not until a flash of pink flew over the edge of the cliff.

For anyone else, that would have been deadly, and even for him it was dangerous. A shot of terror bit her in the butt, her dread only mounting as the wind funnel curved and started in her and Amy's direction. With her attention forcibly refocused on the whirlwind of death, she instinctually grabbed her dragon key and forced his gate closed only to reopen it a second later.

Normally getting blasted by heat that felt like it was coming out of a thousand-degree kiln was less than comfortable, but for her, the wave of warmth was more like a lover's embrace than being baked alive. Somewhat surprisingly though, the heat and magic came from above her, but before she could question it, the answer was presented to her as Natsu landed practically on top of her.

Amy skidded to the side to make room for him as he forced Lucy down on hands and knees – which actually did feel more stable. Then he took a protective stance directly in front of her, his tail waving over her head and nearly clipping Amy's nose. He had transformed, his wings spread, his body armored with scales, his head crested with horns, and his fingers armed with claws. One might think a form with wings was not the wisest choice to go up against a tornado, but Natsu was nothing if not unconventional, and he used them to his advantage.

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" he bellowed, and the mythical appendages mentioned flexed back and pressed together. Fire built in the taut arched tents of red hide, and then he snapped them forwards impossibly fast. The fire that had built inside them lashed out in twin spiral infernos with a sound that rivaled the roar of their opponent's tornado. The flames almost acted like a massive pair of wings and slammed together, pinning the tornado between them and ripping it apart like flimsy tissue paper – flaring even hotter as the firestorm consumed all that wind.

Once the blaze died down, their opponent was revealed… and he seemed unimpressed. He just stood there and stared at them for a second, but the quiet didn't last when an enraged Natsu launched himself forwards and attacked. Flames coated him from head to toe and his massive aura flashed, revealing the true dragon he was for a brief second before he landed a hit. The demon – or whoever he was – staggered back, but when Natsu made a second attempt, he countered by just touching him and saying in a mildly bored tone, "…impact."

With a gasp, Natsu was tossed back like he'd been hit by a cannon ball and landed with a crunch, only for his momentum to continue tumbling him across the dirt in a vicious skid and roll until he finally hit a tree and came to a grinding halt.

"Natsu!" Lucy bellowed, and Amy flinched in sympathy.

His whole body shuddered, and he lay still for a moment, looking shell-shocked. To cover him, Lucy yanked out Scorpio's key.

"Open! Gate of the Scorpion!"

As soon as he showed up, all she had to do was point at the guy and Scorpio grinned and aimed his tail. "Wicked!"

Sand blasted the enemy, and while he was blinded she summoned Sagittarius – who she directed to shoot a volley of arrows. Expectedly, the enemy wiped out the blast of sand easily enough, this time with a weird sphere that popped with electricity. Both the sand and the lightning disappeared a moment later, only to expose Sagittarius's arrows that had been hidden in the sand funnel.

He took the projectiles, grunting and stepping back as they embedded in his body, but he still seemed relatively unruffled. That didn't bode well at all, so she quickly dismissed Sagittarius and summoned Leo.

"Sorry Leo, I know you were fighting with Gray. Can he handle whatever fight he's in right now without you?"

"He seemed to have it under control, don't worry. Juvia arrived right before you summoned me."

She sighed with relief and nodded, refocusing entirely on the fight. Juvia's Gray-Radar really came in handy sometimes.

Hoping to catch the enemy off guard, she combined Scorpio's sand attack with Leo's regulus light, making a hot molten mess of glowing glass that spewed right at him in the shape of a tornado. It was one of her most powerful attacks at the moment.

It backfired though, when the enemy intoned, "Cyclone," and his enormous wind funnel popped back into being. Their combined attacks got sucked into it, and suddenly hot sticky molten sand was sprayed every which way and they had to dodge. Scorpio got hit, cussed, and Lucy instantly sent him back to the celestial realm to heal. She was running low on magic anyways, so keeping two spirits out was becoming difficult.

"Dragon Wing Attack!" came the voice of Natsu, and she glanced over to see he had gotten back to his feet and was slapping aside the cyclone attack like a pesky fly once again.

"Good to see you up Natsu." Leo called, apparently having seen him collapsed earlier when she had summoned him.

"Oh don't worry, I'm all fired up now…" the incensed dragon growled, glaring at their opponent heatedly.

With the cyclone once again disappearing, it revealed their opponent, who had transformed into a larger, burlier version of himself. He now looked somewhat leonine, with a nearly catlike face and a mane of dark green hair that reached his midback. His hands and arms up to his elbows had gotten black and furry, as had his lower half up to his belly button. Bloody arrows lay discarded on the ground, and he didn't even seem hurt anymore. Apparently this form gave him super healing abilities.

Blandly he shoved his hand out, palm facing them, and said, "…impact."

Half a second later, the ground crumpled up like an invisible force had been propelled from him, and the violent earthquake carved towards them faster than they could dodge – although how they could dodge an earthquake in the first place Lucy wasn't sure. The answer was Natsu's wings and Amy's flight, and Lucy quickly sent Leo back to the spirit realm as she was whisked off her feet a second before the earthquake hit her. Amy had grabbed a mouthful of her shirt to yank her into the air, and Natsu quickly swooped in to grab her from the wolf's teeth.

They all flew up high for a moment to let the earthquake settle, and while they were up there Natsu surprised Lucy with a little jolt of fire as he infused her with his magic to bolster her flagging reserves.

Being up high also had the added benefit of giving them a bird's eyes view of their battle ground, and an idea came to her as she noted that the ledge they were fighting on was getting pretty unstable.

"Natsu, do you think your roar would be enough to take out the cliff? Maybe we can drop him down to the shore."

A fierce grin parted his lips and he nodded. "Good idea Luce! Let's knock him down a peg or two."

Amy already knew what was about to happen and made the intelligent decision to poof back to the celestial realm to avoid being cooked alive.

As for Lucy, she instantly felt the natural amount of intolerable body heat he always possessed increase exponentially, and it just keep getting hotter as he started to inhale. She'd only been this close to him when he roared twice before, and at the time she'd been worried about dying. So this time, she paid closer attention to it and was amazed and awe-stuck by the experience. The sensation of his chest expanding impossibly wide and magic building alongside some sort of deep rumble inside him – like a volcano about to erupt – was all fascinating. She knew exactly when he reached full capacity, because that deep rumble suddenly peaked, and she felt compelled to duck her head down tight.

The unbelievable heat in him – mostly unbelievable because it should have literally baked her alive – rose from his chest into his throat, and then got impossibly hotter when it poured from his mouth as he roared. Possibly the least comfortable part of it though, was the ear-shattering sound coming from his throat right next to her head.

The cracked ground under them didn't last long under the barrage of fire that could melt metal, and with a truly terrifying sound it shattered, sending enormous chunks falling to litter the already jagged shoreline. Of course, along with the cliff, went their enemy.

The rockslide lasted for all of a minute, and then the dust rose up in a column, making it hard to see much of anything at all. So, for a long moment they just hung there, until of course Natsu ran out of what little patience he did possess, and they dropped as his wings pressed back. Before she could scream at him and ask why he was letting them drop, his wings slammed back down, creating a concussion of wind that had her ears popping violently and painfully. The massive downlash of wind did clear out all the dust though, so they could see whether they had defeated the enemy with that last attack.

At first it seemed they had won, but then the rocks shifted and out popped their opponent, who was at least bloody and beat up, but still unfortunately kicking. Even worse, he seemed to regenerate as they watched, and Lucy's stomach sunk to her tailbone as dread crawled up her back.

"How are we gonna beat this guy?! He keeps getting right back up!"

"Just keep hitting him hard till he stays down," was Natsu's input.

They dove down to meet him, leaving a good portion of Lucy's insides behind at the sharp drop, and Natsu landed with an intimidating bang.

"You're one stubborn bastard, you know that?" Natsu griped, setting Lucy down. "Now come here so I can pound ya!"

Unsurprisingly, Natsu was already on the attack by the end of his last statement, and the two engaged in some vicious hand-to-hand combat. No matter how many hits he landed though, their opponent didn't seem fazed. Natsu was mildly more affected by their opponent's attacks, mainly because he didn't instantly heal in that annoying way this guy seemed to do. To her frustration, for a long moment Lucy couldn't do anything besides watch the fight unfold. They were going at it so fast and hard that there was no way for her to get in a whiplash without possibly hitting Natsu, and she couldn't see any of her spirits doing any better than her. Amy flashed back into existence though and stood beside her to watch the fight.

Eventually they separated, both breathing heavier than before, and eyeballed each other for a second. When she stepped forwards to lend assistance, Natsu just met her eyes and shook his head.

"Stay back Luce, I don't want you to get hurt."

She nodded and stepped back, putting a little distance between her and the brewing fight. Normally she would have protested…but in this particular instance, she was forced to agree that Natsu was probably the best match for their opponent. If she interfered, she might just get in her partner's way.

With that, he turned back to the hulking baddy and they locked eyes. After half a second, he flew at him again, but their enemy managed to not only block, but also lay a hand on him and throw him back, saying, "Impact."

As before, Natsu was tossed back on his ass at such a high velocity that when he hit a giant chunk of the cliff that had fallen off, he crashed right through it, and only came to a halt when he smashed into the new cliff face. A new Natsu-shaped hole was carved into the solid rock, and deep cracks resonated up through the land all around him. He hung there for a moment and then flopped over to perform a limp faceplant into the ground. Amy and Lucy both flinched, and the wolf's hair rose up all along her back as she snarled loudly and viciously at the enemy.

Like before, Natsu was left mostly immobilized and shell-shocked for a long moment, but he managed to struggle to his hands and knees when the enemy started towards him. At this point Lucy couldn't just stand back and watch. Amy flanked her as she dashed towards them at top speed.

Pulling her whip out, she snapped it forwards and latched it around the big lug's neck before yanking back hard to stall him out. He did stop but seemed unaffected by the stranglehold she had on him. However, it did give Amy an opportunity to launch herself at him and bite down hard on his shoulder in an attempt to drag him down to the ground.

He just used his impact curse again, and she was sent flying to splash down in the nearby ocean. Then, he turned to Lucy and after a second of staring, he held out a hand and said, "Sink."

With a gasp, she started to do just that as the ground under her seemed to suddenly turn to quicksand. He easily uncoiled the whip from his throat and derisively tossed it away while she was busy trying to figure out how badly she was in trouble. By this point Natsu had struggled back to his feet – though he was still pretty wobbly – but she couldn't really focus on that since all her attention was on how to get out of the sink hole she suddenly found herself in.

Amy slogged out of the ocean and shook her fur out with a snort of disgust. When sharp golden eyes scanned the battlefield and noted Lucy's predicament, she immediately dashed to her side and urgently barked, "Toss me your whip!"

"Okay!" Lucy obediently snapped her whip out to land on the ground by Amy's feet, and the white wolf quickly snagged the tail with her teeth before she started to pull. Using her whip like a rope, Lucy also helped get herself out of the quicksand bath by climbing out hand over hand, and between the two of them she eventually emerged muddy from the pool and flopped onto dry ground next to Amy with a breath of relief.

At that point she immediately looked back towards Natsu.

He was on fire of course and was sending fireball after fireball flying at the enemy, followed by punches and kicks. Apparently it was a bit much even for Mister Indestructible, because he caused another violent earthquake that knocked Natsu back. As he was peeling himself up off the ground and his fire started sputtering back to life, their opponent decided to use a different attack that proved most inconvenient for the fire dragon.

"Downpour," he intoned, and suddenly they were in the middle of a deluge.

Lucy's hair was plastered to her skull in a matter of seconds, and even Natsu's fire sputtered weakly under the unrelenting flood of water that washed over their heads. It even felt a little hard to breathe … the way it did when you stuck your face directly under heavy shower spray.

Seeing his fire flickering dangerously low had fear kickstart Lucy in the gut, and she scrambled to her feet before carefully and quickly picking her way around the puddle of quicksand with Amy. She made it around in time to get an up-close view of the enemy using impact once again on Natsu, sending him crashing back into the cliff face… which cracked and dropped rocks down onto him after he had crumbled to the ground. Seeing large and relatively sharp chunks of rock crash down on top of his motionless body had Lucy picking up her pace and a cry of dismay to tear from her throat. That was a pretty devastating hit even for a dragon, and it was the fourth or fifth of them he had taken. It had to have caused internal damage of some sort.

Amy dashed forwards at top speed as the enemy aimed another of those attacks at Natsu, and four more wolves popped into being flanking her. Two peeled off to go grab Natsu, each snagging a shoulder of his vest and picking him up between them to swiftly drag him out of the way, while Amy and the other two attacked their opponent. More wolves appeared, surrounding him, and they nipped at his heels and bit whatever part of him they could reach – which thoroughly distracted him from Natsu at the very least.

Meanwhile, Lucy was already grabbing for her keys as she closed the distance between them at a dead run, but she never had the chance to use them. The enemy intoned, "Impact," again – this time directed at the ground – and another earthquake radiated outwards from where his feet touched the dirt. All the wolves were knocked back, some of them thrown into various boulders and poofing back to the celestial realm, and others just landing hard on the ground.

A ripple of earth rushed towards Lucy as well, and suddenly the ground was ripped out from under her. Not only was she tossed back, but it felt like the power that had caused the ground to buckle hit her as well and nearly drove the air right out of her lungs. It slammed into her with the solidness of a train and drove her back sharply to slam into a nearby rock. Pain bloomed all along her back and side where she had met the rock at full force, and she couldn't quite keep the cry of pain from breaking out.

The impact was such that it shook her to the core, and the pain only emphasized her need to not move as she let herself fall limply at the foot of the rock. Water from the deluge still fell over her, and she felt like she was drowning, which forced her to weakly roll to her side so she could breathe.

Over the rushing of blood in her ears and water over her head, she heard their enemy start to talk and blearily glanced up towards him.

He was holding a strange communication lacrima of some sort in front of his mouth. "I found her."

A deep voice that sent shivers down her spine was barely audible through the other side. "Excellent, Tempester. Good work. Is she alone?"

"No, she is with the fire dragon Natsu Dragneel."

"I see. That pest. He's going to be a pain … you'd better drive him back to the celestial realm. Don't kill him if you can, we need his magic, but break him until he has no choice but to return home. As for the girl… bring her alive. Don't hurt her too badly."

"Understood. I can easily capture her and will return shortly."

With a click, he cut off the connection and then turned towards her. He eyed her, crumpled up on the ground, and then after a moment he formed a lightning ball in his palm, saying, "Thunderbolt." With an almost bored toss, he flung the curse at Lucy, apparently intending to shock her into unconsciousness or paralyses.

Seeing the bolt of lightning zip towards her, she made a mad grab for her keys and somehow managed to summon Pikachu at the last second possible.

Thankfully, as soon as her little rabbit spirit hopped onto the field, he immediately noted the problem barreling towards them. Standing on the tips of his back paws, he made himself as tall as possible and reached up with his front paws, acting like a lightning rod for the attacking electricity, and squeaked, "PIIIKAAAA" at the top of his lungs. The lightning hit him with a crack, and he easily redirected the flow to hit a nearby rock instead of Lucy…far enough away that the electricity didn't still zap her through the heavy water in the atmosphere.

For a long moment, Lucy just stared wide-eyed in shock, expecting another attack…which never came. Instead she was presented with the turned back of her enemy, who apparently couldn't be bothered to see if his attack landed or not – the cocky bastard. As soon as he had flung his attack at her, he'd turned towards her partner and started towards him.

Since she'd overheard his conversation, she knew what his goal was – to hurt Natsu badly enough to drive him back to the celestial realm. Unfortunately, she also knew her partner, and knew that he likely wouldn't return even if it meant he would die – he was too stubborn and too protective of her. Amy and her pack of wolves couldn't help him either … they were still busy recovering from their recent flattening.

So, as he turned towards Natsu, she struggled to her feet and looked past him to her partner, who met her eyes. A silent message passed between them. Then she met Amy's eyes and motioned for the wolf to get herself and her pack out of here. Thankfully the canine got her message, because with several flashes, all the wolves disappeared. Finally, with a heartfelt and hushed thanks, Lucy also sent Pikachu back to the celestial realm.

Then, she pulled out the two keys that she had never summoned together before and took a deep breath, hoping she would be able to pull this off.

"Open! Gate of the Waterbearer! Aquarius!"

At her shout, Tempester turned and glanced back at her in time to see her summon Aquarius from the rain still pouring down over her.

"You look like a wet dog." Predictably her most powerful spirit was less than pleased to see her and took the opportunity to make a cutting remark. "Is this a wet t-shirt competition?"

Lucy just rolled her eyes and grabbed the second key. "Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

At that, Aquarius shut up and her eyes went wide while her eyebrows shot up on her forehead.

The drain on Lucy's magic was instantaneous and nearly crippling, both spirits would have been sent back if Natsu hadn't tapped into her magic and started feeding her some of his on a steady drip-line.

The two powerful zodiac spirits stared at each other in obvious shock and then at her, before turning to look at the enemy they were fighting … and past him to where a very bedraggled Natsu was starting to turn up the heat.

"We're going to have to do something drastic." Lucy muttered, all her focus on Tempester, who seemed to be contemplating whether he should attack her again.

For once Aquarius didn't have a smart comeback.

The three of them faced off against Tempester. Aquarius raised her water bearing vessel, and Leo's fists began to glow with the light of Regulus. The fourth member of their team was currently being ignored as the enemy focused on Lucy and her two newly summoned spirits, but Natsu was hardly sitting back drinking a lemonade. Greater and greater waves of heat began to radiate from him, and soon the rain started turning to steam as it got too close to his body.

More red scales started crawling across his skin, and his golden eyes began to glow so hot that Lucy could clearly see them from the other side of their opponent… even through the blinding rain and steam. Tempester made the mistake of turning to glance at Natsu behind him, and as soon as his attention was diverted, Lucy gave the signal. The sea was to their backs, and that worked in their favor as Aquarius drew forth a tsunami sized wave. It arched high above their heads then broke up into several individual spirals of water that shot towards Tempester at lightning speed. Soon the water was joined by rays of blinding light as Leo produced a massive Regulus attack. The two magics twisted together into a single attack that leaked so much power it rose the hairs on Lucy's arms.

The magic attack hit Tempester with the weight of the sea and the power of the sun and he was buried, blinded, and broken with water and light. When Lucy's attack finally dispersed, it showed Tempester on one knee, grimacing as he bore with the wounds she had inflicted on him. Given a minute or two, and he would be good as new, but they didn't plan to give him the time to recover.

As the wave of water and light dispersed, Lucy rose her wolf key and shouted, "Open! Gate of the Wolves! Lupus!"

The entire pack came into being with a burst of light, and suddenly Tempester was besieged from every possible angle by extremely sharp teeth and powerful jaws as wolves bit into every piece of him. They ripped into him and dragged him to the ground, where even _he_ writhed.

When he spat, "Impact!" Lucy instantly closed the wolves' gate, and they all vanished in a split second…before the curse could affect them.

The earthquake passed, and Aquarius slammed a wave into the ground to stop it from hitting them. Dust and ocean spray coated the air thick for a moment, but when it had all fallen, it revealed Natsu perched in the air above the torn up beaten form of Tempester. The fire dragon was radiating such heat that the very air around him seemed to boil, and he gave their opponent a truly terrifying grin that showed all his fangs.

As magic built alongside a deep inhale, he let his aura burst out of his body, and the image of a dragon appeared where he hung in midair. Both images of him opened fanged mouths and let loose with a roar that flattened Tempester to the ground. Fire spat through the rain-filled air and caused any water it touched to evaporate, and then hit the soaked ground with a hiss as steam blasted everyone. The soil baked hard, any moisture sucked from it in an instant, and then it began to glow hot as cracks started radiating outwards from the hottest part of the blaze.

When the fire finally ended, they could all see the broken form of their enemy lying on the ground, and then his body burst into smoke as he disappeared and returned to the demon realm.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _The ground shook, and a massive, ear-shattering boom resounded through the air. That was closely followed by the most horrendous sensation Lucy had ever had the misfortune to encounter…a cosmic ripping that felt for all the world like a gate had just literally been raped. It was a tearing sensation accompanied by a soundless screech that grated across every one of her magical senses._

 _Normally she couldn't feel gates opening or closing other than her own, but this one was such a massive gaping hole that she couldn't help but feel it…as much as she wished she couldn't. The sensation of a gate being split open with something that wouldn't fit, and then having that massive something shoved through anyways, was NOT pleasant._

 _Instead of the normal pop that she felt when a gate closed, like a satisfying click, there was a distinct crash and collapse that was almost painful in its intensity as she perceived the complete destruction of the insanely powerful gate._

 _It felt like gravity had just been cranked up several hundred pounds, and everyone was knocked off balance to some extent…some more-so than others. Although, the positively terrifying roar that blasted their eardrums to bits and shook the soil probably would have put them on the ground by itself. Even the air trembled with shockwaves from the sound that rent the world asunder._

 _"Too late. He's here." Natsu hissed._


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Note:**

It's Sunday! And time for a new chapter! I hope it lives up to everyone's expectations. :D

As always, big thanks to all my wonderful, fantastic, amazing reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: mr-simba-722-97, Lunar13, TheJSmooth, 19vanelkc, WisdomDragon27, Wolves silver wind, Lucinda, TheOldIronKing, ravenqueen162, valerioux, stranger1999, RabbitMelody, KitsuneLover05, Ksta, Kzykat, Lady La-sara, kilatails, Leomae2.0, Firefly9917, and thetrywriter. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewer: TitaniumRaven.

And on with the show! Be sure to stay till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

"Oh good…" Lucy sighed in relief as she and Natsu staggered back into the forest and saw Mira standing guard next to Master Makarov, Happy, and Carla. The two wolves who were also there both nodded at Lucy and then poofed back to the celestial realm to join the rest of the pack.

"Why didn't you guys head back to camp already?" Natsu called.

"Master wouldn't have it until you two got back safely!" Mira chirped back with one of her perky smiles.

Lucy just sighed and shook her head before bending down to pick up Happy and Carla, while Mira picked up Makarov, much to the master's grumbles. Natsu wrapped his arm around Lucy's waist when she tilted at a dangerous angle and offered to carry both cats for her, but she declined.

"You sure Luce? You look like you're about to pass out or something…"

"I can carry them just fine Natsu…but…you might have to carry me…" she mumbled, only halfway joking. After the bruising she took, she didn't really feel all that steady. He gave her a grin and easily slid into the curve of her waist.

As soon as they were ready, all of them headed back to camp at a fast clip, eager to get the invalids to the medical tent and safety. Thankfully, it wasn't too incredibly far away, so they arrived within a reasonable amount of time… with some huffing and puffing and groaning on everyone's part.

However, as soon as they stepped foot inside the boundaries of their camp, a series of multicolored fireworks shot up from the direction Cana had gone in – as if on cue.

"Shoot, Cana needs help…"

" **MY SWEET BABY GIRL IS IN TROUBLE**!"

The nearly supersonic bellow had Lucy cringing, and Natsu nearly lost his grip on her waist. By this point, he had also started to lean on Lucy, and they were almost equally using each other as a crutch. The lack of balance became apparent as they both swayed and dipped towards the ground like some kind of crazy dance move – undoubtedly a drunken one.

Mira's hands were full carrying the master, so all she could do to help was press into Lucy on the other side and try to stabilize them through a sandwiching method. Thankfully it worked. So they all got to see Gildarts blast out of camp from upright positions… instead of flat on the ground while eating their daily allotted portion of soil. Lucy was pretty sure they had already overdone it on the dirt diet today, with all the being thrown around and stuff.

After a short pause to stare at the dust Gildarts had left in his wake, they all resumed making their way towards the medical tent.

As soon as they got there, they immediately laid Master Makarov, Happy, and Carla on cots.

"Oh my gosh! What happened?!" Wendy exclaimed, rushing over from where she had been treating a cut on Levy's shoulder. Gajeel was all bandaged up and laying on a cot next to her, still out cold.

"Attacked." Natsu said, grimacing.

"And you two?"

"We fought a demon too." Lucy groaned, lowering herself to sit on a cot as well.

She didn't plan to stay, but she wanted to rest. When Natsu didn't follow suit, she reached up, grabbed a fistful of his vest, and dragged him down to join her. He sat hard with a grunt.

After just a few minutes – during which, Wendy immediately began treatment on Makarov, Happy, and Carla – a loud whiz and bang got their attention. Everyone currently not unconscious leaned out from under the cover of the tent and saw the remains of a red magic firework starting to fade.

"That's Erza…" Lucy said dully, almost numb.

Natsu and Wendy both wordlessly nodded. Mira immediately ran off to lend assistance for a second time, and they watched her go silently, all wondering what sort of demon could cause Erza to send up an SOS call. Almost directly after that, another firework shot up… this one blue and with a distinctly watery sheen to it.

"Juvia too…" Wendy mumbled with a whimper in her voice.

"I'll go…I came with her after all."

They all glanced up at Bisca, who was perched on the stony ridge backing their camp. She had been even higher up, in a very tall pine tree sprouting from the ridge, but she'd descended somewhat to call down to them.

"Nah, you just stay up there, Sniper Girl. I've got it." Bickslow said with his tongue lolling and a broad grin.

"It would be best to have a lookout. And as a sniper, you are most qualified for that position." Freed agreed, and Bisca reluctantly resumed her station in the tree.

"What's going on?! We're being hit on all sides!" Lucy grumbled, letting her face fall into her open palms and scrubbing fiercely.

For a long time, silence reigned over the campsite as Wendy went back to treating the three comatose patients. Eventually though, she graduated to bandaging Natsu – who was indisputably hurt worse than Lucy – and the silence was broken as he loudly protested, saying he didn't need assistance.

"Either you let her bandage you, or I'm forcing your gate closed so you can heal back home!" Lucy put her foot down, and Natsu sulkily agreed to getting treated.

Soon though, Wendy's medical attention was redirected to a passed-out Elfman and Evergreen. They'd both been beaten to a pulp and were being literally _dragged_ back into camp by Laxus, who looked a little worse for wear himself.

"Laxus! What happened?!" Freed exclaimed, rushing to his team leader in a nearly frantic manner.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, Lucy once again wondered if Freed's feelings for the lightning dragon slayer were strictly platonic idol worship, or something else entirely. The green-haired man fussed over Laxus like a mother hen…or possibly a worried wife. And the fact that Laxus didn't really protest being fussed over suggested that he might also be interested, but of course he was a LOT harder to read. All he really did was dump Evergreen into Freed's arms to carry, which the rune mage did happily – for both his teammate's sake, and to help lighten his team leader's load.

The two unconscious mages were laid on cots and Wendy rushed to help them, since they were obviously in worse shape than Natsu, Lucy, or Laxus – who looked about as badly beaten up as them.

"Meet a demon did ya?" Natsu said with a cocky and amused grin… which was ruined slightly when he coughed abruptly with a grimace and spat a little wisp of smoke into the air.

Laxus just cocked an eyebrow and eyed the curl of smoke drifting from Natsu's lips sardonically. "Looks like you did too, Firebreath."

"Yeah…they're no joke." Lucy agreed on a slight groan as she shifted and her bruised side protested the movement. With a hiss, she placed her hand on her ribs as pain shot through a couple, and she wondered if they were broken. Natsu shot her a worried look.

"No kidding."

She was startled when Laxus agreed with his own small wince. For the tough mage to show any weakness was a shocker.

"What'd yours do?"

"Some octopus dude that turned shit into swords." Laxus said with an exasperated eyeroll, and suddenly all the cuts on him made sense.

"Ouch. That sucks." Natsu said with a sympathetic grimace. "Hope you kicked his ass."

"Yeah, he's sushi now."

"I would kill for some sushi…" Lucy mumbled into her hands, startling the two men into silence as her stomach suddenly succeeded in announcing itself with a thunderous growl. She flushed a little in embarrassment, but then busted into surprised laughter when Natsu's stomach answered hers with an exponentially louder roar.

"I'm getting a fucking toothache over here. Finishing each other's sentences is bad enough… I draw the damn line at listening to your stomachs having a conversation." Laxus complained somewhat dryly, which only made Natsu join Lucy in raucous laughter.

Surprisingly, Laxus hung around the medical tent for a few bandages of his own, and Lucy stuck around too in the hopes that Wendy might take a look at her ribs. Unfortunately there were too many others with worse injuries, so she had to wait a good long while.

Natsu leaned in and worriedly asked, "You doin' okay?" when she winced – this time from taking a too-deep breath.

"Yeah…my ribs just hurt a lot…" she mumbled, trying to get somewhat comfortable on her cot where she was now lying down.

"Here, maybe this'll help…" Natsu offered softly as he leaned in and rested his palm over hers, gently pushing it to the side so he could get to the most painful part.

Warmth suddenly flooded the area, which stung at first and made her tense up with a hissed breath…but after a moment all her sore muscles started to melt and relax, giving her blessed relief. Normally ice would be the better option for her injury, but apparently that rule didn't apply to Natsu's magic on her…probably because she was his mate. Right now she was thanking her lucky stars that she was, because the pain that had been radiating up and down her side was now quickly ebbing away.

Suddenly they were interrupted by a resounding boom, and the entire sky turned golden as a halo seemed to encircle the island. It slowly clenched tight, passing through all of them and centralizing somewhere off in the direction where Cana and Gildarts were.

"What in the heck was that?!"

"Fairy Glitter."

At the grunt, everyone turned to look at Master Makarov, who had apparently been woken up by the magic.

"It's one of Fairy Tail's three legendary spells…although as far as I knew, nobody could use it." he continued, and all eyes turned to the column of golden light that suddenly shot into the air. Even from this far away, the ground shook underfoot and the hairs on Lucy's arms rose.

"Well…I guess either Gildarts or Cana just learned how to, Old Man." Laxus grunted, looking a little sour about that. If Lucy had to guess, he'd wanted to be the one to discover the ancient lost magic.

"Now that it's been discovered, maybe you'll be able to learn it too." Lucy offered, and Laxus sent her a grimace…obviously not happy about being seen in a state of jealousy.

"I don't give a flying fuck about that damn sparkle spell." He snorted derisively. "They can have it as far as I'm concerned."

Makarov just gave a long-suffering sigh and closed his eyes, apparently deciding to rest some more. Or else he simply passed out again, that was also a distinct possibility.

A couple more explosions sounded from Erza's battle, and it sounded like it was picking up in intensity. With increasing frequency, the ground shook with concussions of magic fire-power and flashes of light came from that direction.

They all pretty much ignored it though.

Poor Wendy was starting to look a little frazzled, but was holding up impressively well under the strain of caring for so many people. She had finished bandaging Elfman and Evergreen, and was now heading back to Lucy, Natsu, and Laxus. Natsu and Lucy both waved her towards the lightning dragon slayer, who definitely looked worse off than them with all those still-bleeding cuts of his.

She healed the deepest and bandaged the rest before turning to them. Naturally, Natsu fended her off and insisted that she look at Lucy first this time.

Rolling her eyes at the dragon's insistence, Lucy pulled up her shirt on the side so Wendy could get to her bruised ribs. "The only real injury I have is here and on my back. It doesn't hurt as much now after Natsu soothed it with some of his fire, but it's still pretty tender."

When Wendy sucked in a sharp breath and Laxus let out a low – slightly impressed – whistle, she glanced down and was shocked to see the dark black and blue bruising already wrapped around her torso. It was much worse than she'd expected, and her eyebrows rose in shock at the sight. Natsu might have helped the pain, but his fire certainly hadn't helped the bruising any…. or if it had, then she didn't even _want_ to think about what she'd looked like before.

"Ouch Luce…was that where you hit the rock?"

"Yeah…"

Wendy immediately set about fixing her up again, and soon her bruises were much more normal looking and her ribs felt perfectly fine, if still a tiny bit sore. The rest of her nicks and scrapes she could take care of herself, so she set about bandaging it all up while Wendy finally finished checking out Natsu. Thankfully, his tough dragon hide had done a pretty good job of taking the damage, because while he was pretty badly bruised and scraped up all over, he didn't have any broken bones or internal damage. Wendy helped to heal the worst of his bruises, but let him go at that.

They were distracted as yet another explosion sounded… this time from the direction of where Juvia had sent up her SOS call. An enormous spigot of water rose above the trees, twisting and turning like it was alive. Soon to join it was a huge mountain of ice, which quickly blasted apart soon after forming. At least that showed them that Gray was still alive and kicking. There was no way to know if Bickslow had made it over there yet, but over the next few minutes, increasingly loud and intense explosions of magic resounded from that direction.

That was soon joined by even more blasts coming from the direction that Mira had disappeared off to. The sounds of battle changed tone over there, and if Lucy had to wager a guess, she'd say that the she-devil had just joined Erza's fight as the explosions and earthquakes originating from that direction increased exponentially.

Both battles seemed to be heating up, and the intensity only grew as time went on. Gray and Juvia's battle wrapped up first, when an enormous magic circle appeared in the sky over there, and suddenly dark clouds covered that portion of the island. The temperature dropped several degrees, and they watched in shocked awe as what looked like a snow storm erupted underneath the magic circle.

"I think they just did a unison raid…" Lucy murmured, and Levy nodded from next to her.

After that, Gray and Juvia's battle apparently concluded, because all signs of fighting abruptly stopped.

Meanwhile, Erza and Mira's conflict dragged on for at least ten more minutes. In fact, before the last few massive explosions sounded from that direction, Gildarts and Cana had already come limping back into camp. Neither of them were hurt too badly thankfully.

Right about that time, Gajeel had begun to wake up as well, and the only people still out cold were Elfman, Evergreen, and Happy. Carla had fitfully stirred already, but she was staying by Happy's side.

Right when Erza's fight seemed to draw to a close – or at least no more sounds of battle came from that direction – Gray and Juvia stumbled into camp, followed by a grinning Bickslow. He didn't waste time shouting, "Got there right as these two lovebirds were having a victory make-out!"

Gray groaned and rolled his eyes, but Juvia just flushed and grinned happily, mostly unembarrassed.

They immediately headed for the medical tent as well, and Wendy busied herself dealing with them, since she'd already handed over some bandages for Cana and Gildarts to patch themselves up with. Gray seemed to be the worse of the two, with a really nasty wound to the gut that he'd frozen over to keep from bleeding out, but thankfully Wendy was able to fix it after several intense minutes. Other than that though, Juvia and Gray mostly just patched themselves up with a lot of bandages so Wendy could save the rest of her energy for Erza and Mira… who were hopefully making their way to the camp now.

It was a good thing too, because only minutes after finishing with them, Erza and Mira did indeed limp into camp … with Erza doing most of the limping. She was truly bad off, with some seriously nasty injuries all over her body, including what looked like third degree burns and some broken bones.

Wendy and Lucy immediately rushed over to them and helped Erza make it onto a cot in the medical tent, where Wendy set about doing emergency healing. While the sky dragon slayer was busy with her, Lucy worked to patch up Mira – who also had some pretty nasty wounds to deal with.

But at the very least, everyone was now accounted for.

Once Erza had been made as comfortable as possible, Master Makarov took control and everyone assembled in the medical tent for a group discussion.

"Does anyone have any idea what might be going on?" Makarov asked, sounding tense and beyond exasperated. "I know for a fact that the leader of Grimoire Hearts would usually never do something like this. They're a dark guild, yes, but only because they're pursuing certain dark arts that aren't sanctioned by the Magic Council. They have done some unforgivable things, but one thing that they've never been accused of is attacking another guild – light or dark – unprovoked."

"It sounds like you know Grimoire Heart's guildmaster personally…" Laxus mumbled, eyeballing his grandfather slightly suspiciously.

With a grimace, Makarov sighed and confessed, "Unfortunately, yes. Very well in fact. You see…as difficult as it is to believe…he was the master of Fairy Tail before me."

This was followed by exclamations of surprise from everyone present, but they all hushed when the Third Master continued his explanation.

"He decided to pursue something called "the void," believing that it was the birthplace of magic. Unfortunately that line of exploration is forbidden to all mages, so he formed a guild that was unafraid of the dark arts and pursuing forbidden ancient magics…. all purely for the sake of gaining knowledge. However, in the process, they also gained tremendous power, which has made them one of the most feared dark guilds. However, normally Precht would never attack another guild without cause – much less Fairy Tail – so something has to have happened. When I fought him…"

"Wait, you fought him!?" Gray interrupted, sounding impressed.

Erza joined in, sounding skeptical. "The man I fought wasn't named Precht..."

"You're right Erza, I fought Precht before you arrived. He left with grave wounds, and it's lucky that you arrived when you did, because I doubt I would have won against my second attacker."

After a troubled sigh, he continued. "While we fought, Precht said some very concerning things. He mentioned an alliance with Tartarus – a truly evil dark guild that he would normally never associate with. And, even more troubling, he stated that his purpose for attacking Fairy Tail was to prove that he has found "true" magic…a magic more powerful than any other. It was like he was trying to convince himself that the path he chose was the right one…which is entirely unlike him. Precht is many things, but doubtful isn't one of them. He's single-minded in what he believes is the right path and never looks back. For him to have been shaken so badly – to the point of making such a rash and uncharacteristic decision as attacking Fairy Tail – something must have happened."

There was a long thick silence as everyone absorbed what the master had said, but then suddenly Natsu raised his hand. "I think I might have an idea what got to him."

All eyes turned to Lucy's pink-haired partner, including hers.

"Go on." Makarov prompted, and Natsu ran a hand through his messy hair, squinting and looking like he was trying to figure out what to say.

"Well…guess I better start with Juvia getting kidnapped by that little guild that fucked us over so good."

Everyone who had participated in that particular house of horrors cringed and grimaced in distaste.

"What's that got to do with this, Squinty-Eyes?"

"I'm getting there, ya Popsicle-Stick! Chill out!" Natsu snapped back, and for a second it looked like the two would get into a headbutting contest… up until Erza latched onto their necks and yanked them apart.

"Please continue Natsu."

He stiffened and got to the point under Erza's dark red eyes. "Right. Well, I happened to come across a … well sorta a friend of mine, more like a frenemy really, but anyways…. She's a demon, and I got some info outta her while I was there. Apparently that dark guild was under Tartarus's influence too."

Whispers sounded through the crowd, which were quickly hushed by a sharp glance from Titania.

Natsu quickly continued when she turned that gaze back onto him. "Uh, so that dark guild was after Lucy and her keys…Juvia was just the bait. Arachne told me that she was working for her bosses, the higher ups, meaning the new demon emperor. I dunno if I'm right, but my gut tells me that this dark guild "Tartarus" is just a front. They may have mages working for them, but I think it's really run by the demons."

A little shocked that Natsu hadn't ever said anything about this before, Lucy muttered, "And why haven't you said anything about demons before?"

He shrugged and grinned a little sheepishly. "Um…it slipped my mind?"

She scoffed, but was quickly interrupted.

"What the heck do these demons want with us!?" Gajeel spat, sitting up with a wince.

Natsu was all business again real quick and jerked his thumb at Lucy. "They want her. And me – but really, they just want my key, which will give them access to my magic. I dunno what they want with us specifically but…"

"Wait, if they just want me and my keys, then that means they want celestial magic for some reason…right?"

He blinked at her and grinned. "Yeah, good point Luce. You're probably right." Then, a few seconds later, his face suddenly did a 180 and went from smiling to serious, as if a nasty thought had just occurred to him. "Actually, you _**must**_ be right…and I'll bet you anything that _**he's**_ planning to make another attempt on the celestial realm."

"Explain please." Erza ordered.

"Well…it's complicated." he replied with a somewhat pained look. "The demon realm is pretty similar to the celestial realm. They've got low level demons, high level demons known as lords, and demons with the same kinda power as mythic keys that they call kings and queens. We've been going up against the kings and queens. But…above those…"

He grimaced and seemed to dry up for once, which shocked everyone. Natsu was nothing if not chatty, and to see him stall for words was like seeing a fire hydrant run out of water.

"What's wrong Natsu?" Lucy asked, sensing his deep discomfort. He cut her an uneasy glance and then lowered his gaze.

Amy – who had just returned from the celestial realm – stepped forwards when he remained silent. "Above the kings and queens are dragons…like Natsu. Dragons are a breed apart, unlike the rest of us celestial spirits…or demons for that matter. They're the most powerful creatures in this realm and the demon realm. But unlike the celestial dragons – who coexist peacefully with us – the demon dragons rule the demon realm, each one claiming territory and fighting to expand. They've fought over who will become the next emperor of the realm for hundreds of years since the last emperor died. Even the demon kings and queens all bow to the dragons, and if they don't … well, bad things happen to them."

Apparently that was the part Natsu was uncomfortable with, because he cleared his throat and took over again, ignoring the shocked looks he was getting from everyone as they absorbed the new and unexpected information about their comrade.

"So yeah, uh, demon dragons are douches basically. And like I said earlier, I found out from Arachne that a new emperor had taken the throne…but I had no idea that it was _**him**_ …not until the demon that I fought earlier used a lacrima to contact his boss, and I heard his voice." He paused to grit his teeth. "I'd never forget that voice…not after what he did…"

Natsu stalled out again, but this time for a different reason. His jaw clenched, and his eyes shifted to gold and practically spat fire as he glared at the ground, visibly trying to reign himself back under control.

Once again, Amy stepped in to help the fire dragon, sympathy deep in her voice as she quietly explained. "He killed Natsu's father – the King of the Celestial Dragons, Igneel – during his last attempt to take over the celestial realm. They went head to head in combat and were equally matched. However…"

"Acnologia fucking cheated is what happened. He laid a trap and offed my dad by stabbing him in the back when he wasn't looking." Natsu growled, heat escaping him in alarming waves. Everyone aside from Lucy cringed away from him, but she just laid a supportive hand on his arm. Slowly he began to unclench and the heat faded somewhat.

After taking a deep breath, he lifted his eyes and fixed them all with a hard and deadly serious stare. "Acnologia is a monster. And he's running this whole operation. I have no clue what exactly he plans to do with the celestial magic, but he'll probably use it somehow to attack the celestial realm again."

Then he sighed and turned to look at Makarov. "He's got all sorts of demon lords, kings, and queens under his control, and plenty have powers that'll twist your mind. That's probably what made Prat go nuts."

It took a second, but everyone quickly figured out that he meant 'Precht'. There was a mixture of eyerolls and snorts from everyone assembled, but it slid by without comment since this was such a serious situation.

"So that's what happened to Precht! Tartarus was merely using Grimoire Hearts as a smoke screen… a distraction to get to their real goal!" Makarov said, hitting his fist into his open palm with conviction.

"Yeah…but that's not the worst part." The tone in Natsu's voice caught everyone's attention. It was deep and hollow, full of rage and pain. "By now, Acnologia definitely knows that his demons were sent home with their tails between their legs. And that fucker isn't exactly known to take defeat well."

Chilling silence met this statement, and with a slightly hesitant and solemn voice, Levy asked what they were all thinking. "So what now Natsu?"

There was a brief pause, but one that felt like it lasted an eternity as Natsu took a deep breath and then blew it out with a sigh that almost sounded defeated.

"He's been sending his demons here somehow. They aren't contracted, so that means he's somehow got control of a gate he can open and close at will… and that means…" He paused again to swallow thickly. "He'll be coming. And he'll wipe us out. I…there's no way I can beat him, not after I've already been fighting and hurt. We've gotta run, like, _**now**_ if we have any hope of survival. If we can get off this island before he gets here, maybe we can outrun him. If we're lucky, there could be some sort of time limit to how long that gate can be opened."

This statement was met with ringing silence as everyone absorbed the fact that Natsu had just told them all to run for it. If _**he**_ was saying run, then…

They all shared looks of utter terror and panic.

Suddenly, a whirring mechanical sound interrupted them as it slowly got louder. Everyone quickly looked in that direction, to see the Grimoire Heart airship flying again. For a terrifying moment, Lucy worried that they had discovered Fairy Tail's base and were coming to attack directly, perhaps from a canon or something on board the ship. That concern abated though, when they turned and started flying away from the island instead, as if they'd come to their senses and were finally leaving.

However, any relief they might have felt was exceptionally short-lived, because only a moment later the ship blew apart in midair – assumedly taking every member of Grimoire Heart with it.

The ground shook, and a massive, ear-shattering boom resounded through the air. That was closely followed by the most horrendous sensation Lucy had ever had the misfortune to encounter…a cosmic ripping that felt for all the world like a gate had just literally been raped. It was a tearing sensation accompanied by a soundless screech that grated across every one of her magical senses.

Normally she couldn't feel gates opening or closing other than her own, but this one was such a massive gaping hole that she couldn't help but feel it…as much as she wished she couldn't. The sensation of a gate being split open with something that wouldn't fit, and then having that massive something shoved through anyways, was NOT pleasant.

Instead of the normal pop that she felt when a gate closed, like a satisfying click, there was a distinct crash and collapse that was almost painful in its intensity as she perceived the complete destruction of the insanely powerful gate.

It was an assault on her magic, and every magical sense she possessed screamed in pain, causing her to bend almost double and retch. She wasn't the only one to cringe either, Amy and Natsu did as well… but the rest of their comrades just watched with concern and fear written on their faces.

"Lucy? Natsu? What's happening? What are you…?" Levy started, but then stopped when a wave of magic practically plastered them all to the ground with all the subtlety of a bulldozer plowing them flat.

It felt like gravity had just been cranked up several hundred pounds, and everyone was knocked off balance to some extent…some more-so than others. Although, the positively terrifying roar that blasted their eardrums to bits and shook the soil probably would have put them on the ground by itself. Even the air trembled with shockwaves from the sound that rent the world asunder.

"Too late. He's here." Natsu hissed.

The only reason Lucy could think of for why she hadn't perceived such a massive magical gate before was probably because it hadn't been opened particularly wide…. but whatever had just shoved its way through was on a whole different level than the demons who had been kicking their asses so far.

"Quick! We have to -!" Natsu's frantic yell was interrupted by another monstrous roar… similar to the one he used in battle, but about a thousand times louder and more terrifying.

"- get out of here!" he finished after everyone had peeled their hands off their ears.

He certainly needn't have told them…. they could all see that quite plainly.

It didn't take any more convincing, they instantly abandoned camp. Thankfully everyone was awake – aside from Happy, who Lucy carried. Anyone who had injuries that slowed them down were propped up by others as they all ran through the trees in the opposite direction of an enormous crash that suggested the monster behind them had touched down on solid ground.

"Natsu…did you feel that ripping sensation too when he came through the gate?" Lucy panted as she ran alongside him.

He nodded. "Yeah, Acnologia just totaled whatever gate they've been using. Stupid bastard."

"Is impatience just a general trait in dragons?"

He sent her a chagrinned smile. "Not always…but it's common enough. Especially in us guys. But now's not really the time to joke around Luce."

After a second's pause to scramble over a ditch, she continued the first line of frantic on-the-run conversation. "So, if he ripped the gate, why is he still here? Shouldn't that have sent him straight back to the demon realm?"

"Nah. It's broken, but it hasn't collapsed yet…. He's using his magic to prop it up."

"So once his magic runs out, it'll fall apart and he'll be dragged back to the demon realm, right?" Lucy summarized.

"Yeah, but he's got plenty of magic to keep him here for a while… long enough to take us out and wipe this whole island off the planet at least. Then he'll probably run out and poof back to his world."

"Still, that means we don't have to defeat him in battle. We just have to stall or avoid him until his magic runs out." Erza wheezed from a little further up.

By this point the rest of their comrades had tuned in to what they were saying, and Lucy could almost see everyone's ears perking up in interest.

"Yeah." Natsu growled and skidded to a stop, a blood vessel pounding on his forehead.

"What are you doing Natsu?!"

"I'm gonna go make him use up all his magic. That'll get rid of him faster." he snarled, and spun around, running back the way they came. Before he ran off though, he paused and eyeballed Erza and Gray. "Keep Luce safe for me. This fucker is after her."

Erza solemnly nodded and Gray cussed.

They all watched him go with clenched jaws and then continued running. Soon, they reached a rocky overlook, which was luckily perforated with some shallow caves and tunnels that they could hide in for a little while. By this point, Wendy had to do a few touchups on some of the more injured parties, and the caves were a good place to park for a moment. It also provided a great place for Lucy to stay out of sight as she looked back down into the basin to try and eyeball Natsu. Many of her friends also gazed uneasily out of their shallow cover, obviously looking for the pink-haired idiot.

Lucy was the first to spot him of course. In the time it had taken them to get to the top of their ridge, he had doubled back across the entire basin and was now perched on a tall spire of rock. There were plenty of tall jagged outcroppings all over the island… and he was perched on the very tip of one that jutted from the rocky ridge opposite to theirs. From where they were, they could clearly make out his small form.

A blast of heat escaped him… one so massive that even _they_ could feel it despite the distance between them. His entire form rippled as he released an immense amount of magic, and all the trees close to him incinerated to ash within a second. They couldn't see the smaller differences in his body from this distance, but his wings were visible, and the enormous aura now hanging over him was impossible to ignore.

"I'm never gonna get used to that." Cana muttered, cringing back further into the shallow cave she was taking shelter in.

With a roar that still sounded somewhat human and small in his current form, a column of fire blasted straight up into the air… a calling card.

Then he bellowed, " _ **Acnologia**_!"

That was all he said, but he didn't need another word to communicate his pure rage. Every syllable was laced with deadly venom.

An answering roar sounded from the other side of Natsu's rocky outcropping… which was apparently hiding the monstrous being now hunting them. With an earth-quaking crunch, one massive paw landed on top of the ridge and then pressed down, crumbling it with as much effort it would take someone to squash a cupcake under their heel. Next came an equally massive and terrifying head as the other dragon easily lifted himself onto the same ridge as Natsu.

As their enemy rose into view, Lucy suddenly realized that what she had thought were particularly strange black pointy rocks were actually the spikes along his back… which had been plainly visible over the tall rocks. Everyone paled as they took in the creature's size. His shoulder was easily taller than a two-story building, and his wings and head rose much higher into the air as he arched his long neck to eyeball Natsu. A broad fangy grin split his jaw.

"Natsu Dragneel! It will be a pleasure to destroy you." Even his voice was enormous, and it made the rocks beneath their feet tremble.

A deep growl started up, and as it slowly grew in intensity and volume, everyone looked around to try and figure out if it was coming from Acnologia or some sort of mounting earthquake. After a moment though, it became clearly apparent that the vicious sound was actually originating from Natsu, and soon everyone's wide eyes were fixed on him.

Another blast of heat came from him and fire engulfed his body, this time so hot that the rock he was standing on started to glow and cracked. Even from this distance, a scorching wind smacked them in the face, as if an epic oven from hell had just been opened.

Slowly Natsu raised one fist and then deliberately planted it in his open palm. Despite the action being relatively slow and measured, a shockwave blasted out from him, and the ring of scorched foliage around him was burned yet another ten or twenty trees deep, while many more were simply knocked over.

"I promised myself…that one day I would kill you with my own two hands for what you did."

The words should have been quiet, but somehow the growl was projected clearly enough that even they could hear it, and the pure menace in it raised every hair on Lucy's body. What followed had every Fairy Tail member flinching back and taking cover behind anything they could find. The earlier blasts of heat were little sparks in comparison to what now felt like a volcano erupting right under their noses.

Magic suddenly exploded from him, and his entire form rippled as his aura basically ignited. It was like watching Master Makarov grow into a giant, only _stranger_. For the first time, even Lucy was a little scared of her boyfriend as he turned into something else entirely. In the span of a few seconds, he ceased to look human at all. Instead, in front of them was a dragon, equal in size to the one opposite, but instead of black scales and blue markings, he had crimson scales. His head was also more traditionally dragon-like, instead of the nearly alien snout their enemy sported.

The magic coming off him was so massive that it felt like ants were crawling all over her as every magical sense she possessed sparked with awareness. The very air was thick and heavy with magic, making it almost too dense to pull into her lungs, and the sheer heat coming from him made it even harder to breathe. Naturally, the rock spire he had been standing on crumbled away to nothing, dropping him down to stand on all fours halfway into the basin.

As soon as his transformation was complete, he inhaled a deep breath and then blasted the enemy with a roar that was just as loud and ferocious as the one that had sent them all to their knees before. The rocks shook, any trees left fell over and burnt to ash, and cracks appeared under his feet as he set the ground itself on fire. Thankfully though, it wasn't a true dragon roar… he didn't spout flames from his mouth. Instead, the enormous sound was actually just him yelling at his opponent really aggressively.

With a sound like thunder, his back claws spread and dug into the ground as he bunched up his powerful back legs, and then he propelled himself towards Acnologia. His jaw clamped down on the other dragon's throat, and then his wings snapped open and he was airborne, dragging their enemy up into the sky with him. Lucy could feel every member of Fairy Tail let out a communal sigh of relief that the battle was going to be taking place hundreds of feet above them instead of right on top of them.

Even so, when Acnologia managed to yank himself free and shoved away from Natsu's grip, everyone cowered at the roar that came out of the black dragon's mouth, spewing some sort of powerful magic at Natsu. Lucy had no idea what sort of dragon he was supposed to be – from what she understood, most dragons were affiliated with a specific element, but she couldn't place his off-hand. All she knew was that his roar took the form of a silvery laser, which quickly clashed with Natsu's fire. The repercussion of the two massive magics meeting in midair sent a blast down to the island and knocked everyone onto their butts. Wendy almost got flung right off the overlook and back down into the still smoking remains of what was once their camp, but Juvia managed to snag her with a water extended arm.

After that, everyone hunched down and took cover, huddling into the caves for some sort of protection. Really, they should probably all run for it while Natsu was buying them time…but aside from being simply frozen in place with shock and fear, the cataclysmic battle raging above was battering them with so much wind and magic that they could easily get tossed off a cliff or blasted by some stray ammunition if they weren't careful. There was every chance that the caves they were currently taking cover in might collapse under the stress, but it still seemed safer in there than out in the open.

Meanwhile…

As for Natsu, all he felt was pounding rage as he went at Acnologia with full force. He might have admitted to everyone just a little while ago that he probably wouldn't win this fight…but that didn't even cross his mind now. All he cared about was kicking his father's killer in the teeth and making him choke on them. Plus, the knowledge that this bastard was going after Lucy added another thick layer onto his wrath, and it wasn't long before all he could see was red.

He immediately went for the lunar dragon's throat, ripping and tearing at any piece of him he could get to. One clawed foot landed in his diaphragm and he was knocked back cartwheeling through the air, but he just twisted and roared at his opponent upside down…sending a blast of flame to cook him. Acnologia blocked it with another of his own roars, but Natsu had anticipated that and ducked under the combined explosions to come up from underneath him, getting a jawful of his tail and biting down hard. With a powerful crank of his neck and wings, he dragged the other dragon down and onto his back – which wasn't an easy position to fly in – and Acnologia started to flounder a little. That gave Natsu the perfect opportunity to kick his opponent in the face, making sure to dig his back claws in.

With an extra yank and twist, a good part of the black dragon's tail came off in Natsu's mouth, and they separated to both regain their respective air space and altitude. Natsu recovered faster of course, and mounted the air quickly, trying to get the higher position. Acnologia responded by shooting another of those lunar roars at him, but he just angled his wings and slid to the side…easily avoiding it.

As soon as he got high enough, he tucked his wings and made like an arrow straight down at Acnologia. Of course his enemy saw him coming and pulled up…meeting him with teeth and claws bared. Several sets of talons raked his belly, but he still clamped his jaw over Acnologia's head, digging his own front claws into the other's shoulders as he yanked, basically trying to pull his head off. When that didn't work, he sucked in air and geared up to cook the bastard's skull – but before he could, he was knocked back as Acnologia roared and hit him in the chest with a beam of magic.

Meanwhile…

As the truly horrific sounds of battle continued, intense forces continuously pounded the ground, and more than one of their caves collapsed. At that point, they weren't given much of a choice in the matter, and they all started inching down the other side of the ridge. Thankfully this part of the island was pretty mountainous and full of even more caves - as well as some deep valleys - that might provide protection from the fighting dragons.

As they made it to another cave and quickly ducked in to hide from yet another explosion, Bickslow muttered, "Damn Lucy. How much magic does it take to summon something like that anyways?"

She blinked at him, a bit shocked. "You mean Natsu?"

At his nod, she suddenly felt anger heat her blood. "He's not a _something_. He's your guildmate!" she hissed.

He rolled his eyes, unaffected by her mood. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I just meant… he's a _**goddamn dragon**_." He pointed, and when Lucy glanced up at Natsu – who was undeniably not human at the moment – she sort of saw his point.

Undeterred, Bickslow continued. "And _holy fuck_ is he powerful. It's gotta take some major magic to pull him outta the ol' magic bag."

"Only the first time, and I'm pretty sure it nearly killed me." she finally conceded, getting a few sucked-in breaths and shocked mutters from the others.

Most of her attention remained on Natsu however, and soon she was refocused entirely on him as she watched the battle from just inside their new protective cover. Though they were trading blows and he was holding his own, she could feel him starting to tire. Strangely, it was only now - as he started running low on power - that she felt just how intertwined their magic had become, and the sensation of his fire slowly dimming inside her was truly petrifying.

A warm nose nudged one hand, and she glanced down to see Amy standing by her side, also looking up at the spectacle with deep concern in her amber eyes. Happy was perched on her back and looked like he was going to start crying. He'd woken at the start of the battle and was now very much invested in the current goings-on.

"Lucy…Natsu's gonna be alright…right?" he sniffled.

"I don't know…" she whispered back, getting a whimper from her blue-furred partner. "But I believe in him."

"Aye sir."

For a long time they watched – still moving from shelter to shelter – but it quickly started going downhill for their fire dragon ally as he began to take more and more damaging hits from the black dragon. He was landing a good number of his own, but though they slowed his opponent down, none of the injuries Natsu inflicted seemed to incapacitate Acnologia in any way.

To her horror, there came a point where his magic actually dipped below hers, and in pure agonized fright she reached out with hers, lending every bit of magic she possessed to help him. Within seconds she couldn't stand upright. The drain was so intense that all her strength left, but she still propped him up to the best of her ability. For a terrifying moment it felt like she was Atlas holding up the world…a tiny insignificant speck propping up a mountain.

Tears streamed freely from her eyes, and she couldn't even hear her friend's concerned shouts through the despair she was wading through.

Then, all of a sudden, what felt like liquid sunlight flooded her. If magic had a taste, this was a clear mountain stream, crisp from a glacier and warmed by the sun, and full of the energy of nature…as if the earth and sky had combined to form a cocktail of life. With a gasp, her drooping head jerked up, and she found herself staring into a pair of golden lupine eyes…level with her own since she was currently on her hands and knees.

"…Amaterasu…you…" she gasped, breathless with shock.

"I may not be as free with my magic as Natsu, but I won't let my mage or my friend die." she calmly replied, then gently bumped her nose into Lucy's. "Now get up, you're scaring your friends."

Bolstered by Amy's magic – and what felt like the strength of the whole pack – that flooded through Lucy and freely into Natsu, his attacks picked up strength again and he managed to land several heavy blows on Acnologia. Over the next several tense minutes, the Fairy Tail mages continued to scramble from one shelter to another, running from the destruction that rained down on them, and Natsu continued to fight tooth and nail to protect them.

Even with Lucy and Amy's help though, he was starting to slow. The cumulative battering he had taken was draining him fast and weakened his tough hide…essentially tenderizing him and making it easier to land more devastating and deeper blows. He dodged to the best of his ability, and dished out as good as he got, but his previous fight was obviously starting to really wear him down as exhaustion dragged on his limbs and made him visibly sluggish.

Eventually, the inevitable happened, despite her and Amy's every attempt to prevent it. In a gut-wrenching move, Acnologia managed to drag his claws through the webbing of one of Natsu's wings, making him roar in agony, and hot blood pelted the ground. The dirt hissed and steam erupted as every bit of moisture was boiled away from both the blood and whatever it happened to land on. The Fairy Tail wizards watching had to take cover or risk being burned badly…all except Lucy, who stayed to watch. Her friends and family begged her to join them under an overhang of rock with urgent whispers and calls, but she ignored them.

When a large drop spattered across her shoulder, her flinch was not out of pain… at least not physical pain. However, it felt like it had burned her heart with agony, and her hand came up to touch the red stain on her shoulder as tears distorted her view of the struggling dragons. When she refused to come in of her own accord, Erza dashed out of hiding and grabbed her, yanking her back with a firm grapple around her neck and waist.

Lucy lunged against the hold, struggling to at least still be able to see the battle, nearly mindless with fear for her partner. Slowly Erza – and now Gray – eased out with her so they could all see what was going on, but they kept their grips on her – not that she really paid attention to why they might be doing that. She found out soon enough though.

The airborne wrestling match took a turn for the worse, and with a crippled wing Natsu had a lot of trouble evading the vicious attacks still pounding him. Acnologia grabbed onto that hurt wing again, and then his massive jaws latched onto her partner's neck and face, biting down hard until more blood spattered the ground. Natsu choked out a screeched roar of both fury and pain as he snapped at his opponent's head in vain. He managed to lock his teeth onto a spine that poked out of the black dragon's face, and he chomped down like a dog with a bone, shaking his head furiously to try and dislodge Acnologia's grip on his neck and jaw.

Both dragons reared up their hind legs and kicked at each other in a battle to get to the other's belly with sharp talons. The black dragon gained the upper hand – or foot in this case – when he cruelly twisted Natsu's hurt wing, causing him to stutter in pain, and Acnologia used the opening to carve his belly open with deadly claws.

Between the crippled wing, the torn throat, and the ripped belly, Natsu was taking _beyond_ critical damage…. it had easily gone into the realm of fatal. Lucy didn't even realize she was screaming until a hushing hand clamped tight over her mouth, silencing her screams for fear that she would attract the enemy's attention.

When Acnologia released him, Natsu attempted to stay airborne, but only managed to thrash his truly torn and now twisted wing and fell at a slightly slower rate than a true freefall. The wounds to his throat, wing, and belly sprayed copious amounts of hot blood through the air as he thrashed. Naturally, he also happened to be falling nearly on top of them, and they all suddenly had to scurry higher up the rocky terrain to try and avoid him, while also dodging the spattering blood.

One brilliantly gold eye shot towards them, and he urgently twisted and angled his body to avoid landing on them, which undoubtedly opened his already gaping wounds further. Lucy's heart clenched and she choked on a sob when she realized that he was hurting himself to spare them. Despite the slightly slower fall, he still hit the ground hard enough to create a small earthquake, and he roared once again as a tall spire of rock jabbed into his ribs and back in what had to be an incredibly painful way.

He still landed pretty close to them, on the floor of a forested ravine they were currently skirting, and he was certainly close enough that Lucy could reach him after a minute or two of full-out sprinting – which she instantly made to do. However, tight grips latched on and held her prisoner despite her violent thrashing, and the hand over her mouth stayed clamped tight. Gray grunted when she elbowed him hard in the stomach, but his hands stayed firm. Another couple of Fairy Tail members lent a hand in holding her back – because the black dragon was already descending towards Natsu's struggling form.

A rush of magic filled their newest rocky hideout, and suddenly furry bodies were flooding the narrow space as snarling wolves began to pour out. In the lead was Amaterasu, in full glowing glory as she charged into the air, running into the sky and meeting Acnologia head on. She was backed by her whole pack – which was even more numerous than Lucy had known – and they quickly converged on him.

At first, Lucy was terrified for them, thinking that surely they couldn't stand up to such a monster. They were the size of rats compared to him! But that fear quickly turned to awe as they deftly circled his massive body, darting in to nip at his tail or wing or flank whenever it was exposed – always aiming for the wounds that Natsu had inflicted – and then they darted away when he spun to snap at them. Based on his snarls and loud grunts, their teeth actually hurt – though they probably didn't amount to any true damage.

While he was thoroughly distracted, Lucy was able to break away from her guildmates, who hesitantly released their death-grip on her, and she ran headlong down the incline towards Natsu. The mad dash was spent halfway on her ass or a bloody knee as she skidded down the sharp drops, and a few times she ate dirt, only to roll back to her feet and spit it out. When she finally arrived near his landing site, she had to brave an ongoing forest fire and covered her nose with her shirt. Soot coated her feet and legs, and a burning branch seared her arm, but she just kept on running towards where she could feel Natsu's presence.

Finally, she skidded into a completely barren circle of land where the ground had turned to black rock… at the center of which was Natsu, still in his dragon form. His blood spattered the entire area in great puddles which steamed from the heat still coming off them.

As soon as she saw him, she grabbed Horologium's key and gasped out a summons, then desperately asked, "Please…give Natsu and me as much time as you can…."

He solemnly took in the situation and nodded, saying, "I can give you five minutes."

"…thank you so much…" she wheezed and instantly dashed towards the huge red form of her fallen boyfriend as everything around them wound down to an infinitesimal crawl through time.

Gasping for breath, she sprinted around his enormous body to reach his head, noting the way his ribs heaved and shuddered with every breath. For a brief moment, he tried to get to his feet, but slumped, barely staying propped up on his forelegs while his entire back half remained limp and splayed out on the ground. His nose dragged the blackened earth, and each heavy breath heated the rocks touching his lips, which curled in a pained growl to expose blood dripping from between his teeth…and she had the sinking feeling that it was his and not Acnologia's.

She finally skidded to a halt next to his enormous head, and one golden eye blinked open to look at her.

"Luce…. What the hell are you doin' down here? Get back to safety…" he wheezed. "Actually, you should've all gotten off the island while you had the chance…"

"No! I'm not leaving you to deal with him all on your own!"

He chuckled, the ground shaking with the deep sound. "Should'a known…"

Her eyes drifted over his enormous body, taking in the deep gashes, and she gritted her teeth as tears started to stream from her eyes. "Natsu…you should go back to the celestial realm. You have to heal. If you keep this up…."

His growl almost made her cringe, but she held firm.

"How can you say that right after saying you weren't gonna leave me to deal with him on my own?! It goes both ways, Idiot! Like hell am I gonna let him kill you!"

"We'll be fine, we always are!" Lucy said with fake bravado, which he saw right through.

"Yeah right. If I leave now, you guys are all gonna be killed. I'm not leaving."

"But if you stay, then _you'll_ be killed! Can you honestly tell me otherwise?"

"If I do kick the bucket, I'm takin' him with me!"

"No! Not good enough! I can't let you die!" she screamed back, and he glared, snorting a little smoke.

Then his eyes softened, and he bent his head forwards until his cheek and nose rested along her whole body. "No…If I'm gonna die… fine. I'll protect you with my life and happily die in your arms. That's a hundred times better than running away with my tail between my legs and having you die instead."

"Chances are we'll both die! What's the point then?! It's better for you to survive at least! You're a celestial spirit, you're not supposed to die! You're immortal! But I'm mortal! I'm gonna die _someday_!"

He flinched. "I don't care. And…if we both die, then at least we'll die together. I'd rather die here with you than go on living a meaningless existence."

By now she was bawling and had her arms wrapped around as much of his head as she could reach.

No matter his desire, she just couldn't accept the idea of him dying at all. As she'd said, he was an immortal celestial spirit…he shouldn't die here. He had a _long_ life left ahead of him, and she was sure that he would eventually get over her death and be happy again someday. He would probably even find another mate eventually…a hundred, two hundred, maybe three hundred years from now. He had _centuries_ to spend searching for happiness, and she couldn't stand to have that cut short just because of her.

The bottom line was simple. She loved him too much to let him die…not when there was still something she could do about it.

"I…can't let you do that…" she gasped, pressing her forehead to his scales and letting her tears drip down his face where they evaporated only moments later.

"You can't stop me."

"Actually…I can. I'm so sorry…"

Feeling like she was about to commit the worst kind of betrayal, she opened their link wide and latched onto the magic she had been feeding him. Reversing that abruptly – and cutting off Amy's link – she instead started to steal his magic. Her heart felt like it was being torn from her chest as she did it, because what she was doing was unthinkable. He would probably never forgive her…. She already knew that she wouldn't ever be able to forgive herself.

"Close! Gate of the Dragon! Dragneel!" she screamed, her voice breaking on a sob and shattering to bits by the end. All the magic she stole from him went to close his gate, but he pushed back with the little magic he still had remaining.

"Luce! What are you doing?!" he choked, sounding stunned and betrayed…as she had known he would.

She couldn't breathe thanks to the sobs seizing up her chest, but still managed to hoarsely whisper, "The only thing I can…I'm so… so… _so_ _**sorry**_ , Natsu…but you can't die. I love you too much…."

He fought back, keeping his gate open even as she drained his magic. He tried to cut off her access, but their trust had been so wide open and implicit that he couldn't reverse the bond between them – even as she shattered that connection with her betrayal. She drained him of every drop – feeling like a murderer almost…like a vampire sucking out the soul of the one she loved.

"Please…don't do this…" His broken whisper was almost enough to splinter her soul into a million tiny pieces.

Soon he didn't have enough magic to hold his dragon form any longer, and he shifted back to the much smaller version of himself. Pink hair landed in the crook of her arm as she wrapped her arms around his head and held him through the transformation…knowing she was the cause…that she was forcing him to do it against his will. He ended up cradled in her lap, his whole upper body in her arms and his face pressed against her chest.

Bleary golden eyes opened and stared up at her with an expression of utterly broken trust and agony. She couldn't stand looking at it, so she closed her eyes as she sucked the last of his magic out and used it to slam his gate closed behind him.

He disappeared with a burst of fire and smoke, even as he reached for her and brokenly whispered, "…stop…please…Lucy…why…?"

Suddenly she was holding empty air and her chest felt just as gaping…as if a massive hole had been punched through her very being. She curled into a ball, sobbing into the ground – knowing that she had just lost her best friend and soul mate forever. Even if she survived, he wouldn't want anything to do with her. He would break their contract, take his key, and that would be the end. She had just betrayed him in the worst possible way, and in doing so had completely destroyed everything they shared. Every promise between them, both implied and spoken, was now shattered, and there was no coming back from it.

Her moto had always been that she would rather die than betray a friend. In this case though, she was probably about to do both…. however, the rest of her guild was also likely to suffer the consequences.

She stayed balled up on the ground, willing to accept her own death and hoping it was enough to appease Acnologia. Maybe he would leave after capturing her, and the rest of her guild would be safe. However, instead of dragon claws wrapping around her, a warm hand gently landed on her shoulder.

She had been so wrapped up in her own grief that she hadn't even noticed when Horologium disappeared and the world resumed its normal speed.

"Lucy…. We have to go." Gray murmured.

"Just leave me Gray. Let him have me. The rest of you could escape."

"You know we'd never let that happen." Erza's voice joined in.

"But I…I sent Natsu back to the celestial realm. I just signed your death warrants. All of ours. He…" she started crying again as his hurt eyes shot through her memory. "He didn't want to…but I forced him to go…with his own magic…I stole it and…he'll never forgive me…"

It was doubtful that anything she was saying was actually understandable.

Erza's hand landed on the shoulder that Gray wasn't holding. "You did what you had to. He would have died Lucy, we could all see that. And don't count us out just yet…we're Fairy Tail after all. We'll all fight to the very end."

"Yeah, so pull yourself together. This fight ain't over yet." Gray added, squeezing her nearly painfully and then sliding his hand down to her elbow and yanking her to her feet. Erza assisted in the venture on her other side until she was left wobbling on her feet and wiping her dirty tear-stained face.

"Right…yeah, you're right." she hiccupped, nodding and doing her best to pull herself together.

And it was a good thing she did, because a sudden explosion had them all looking up. Acnologia had apparently lost his patience and started blasting indiscriminately, driving the wolves off. They scattered, unable to keep up with him, and more than one poofed in a flash of light and mist as he zapped them. It wasn't going to be long before Fairy Tail was dealing with him, and Erza, Gray and Lucy all ran at top speed back towards everyone else.

They dashed through the still-burning trees, not wanting to risk using Gray's magic and expose their position even a second sooner. Thankfully, they reached the rest of their guild relatively quickly, though they were all wheezing and coughing a bit by the time they made it. Then, as soon as they were all together again, everyone made a beeline for the thick jungles further into the deep ravine they were currently in. There was eventually a river running through it, which would help to mask Lucy's scent, and they could try to follow it underground into a series of deep caves…if they made it that far.

Crashes and booms suggested that they wouldn't even make it to the river though, and trees began to fall just from the earthquakes caused by Acnologia's pursuit. When it became apparent that they weren't going to be able to hide, they all scattered into the trees, ready to commence guerilla warfare tactics.

Lucy, Gray, and Erza kept running, but everyone else worked to distract the dragon by dashing out of the trees in small groups to hit him with all their firepower. Then, as soon as he turned in their direction, they dashed back into the trees while another group shot from the opposite direction. Basically they were mimicking what the wolves had done earlier.

Despite everything though, he just shrugged it off like they were a bunch of annoying gnats and managed to send more than one team flying with a few sweeps of his tail. Even when Master grew into his giant form and put Acnologia in a headlock, it didn't do much but slow him down for a moment. His eyes were locked onto Lucy and he was obviously single-mindedly pursuing her.

After he had knocked all their comrades off him, he came after Lucy, Erza, and Gray, who had managed to put a little distance between them and the dragon, but not much. Before they knew it, he was on top of them and had already sent Gray and Erza flying into the trees… leaving Lucy by herself to stare up at the monster in horror.

It was like looking down the barrel of a loaded magic canon. All of a sudden, every thought in her head flew right out, leaving her mind blank with terror as she looked up at him. He reached out, his talons sharp and catching the light, and she squeezed her eyes closed, expecting to be grabbed in that vicious grip any second. Instead though, nothing happened, and she slowly eased her eyes open after a second.

When a shield of green met her vision, both eyes slammed open wide in shock. "What the…"

Glancing to the side, she spied a spirit she hadn't seen in quite some time. He was facing away from her for some weird reason, but still spoke to her. "Seemed like you needed some help…"

"Bartolomeo! Thank you so much!"

By this point, everyone was already heading towards Lucy at top speed, undoubtedly intending to rescue her. Anybody who had been tossed around by Acnologia had apparently survived the experience so far, because she didn't notice anyone missing from the approaching mages, which made hope blossom in her chest.

"Hurry! Get inside the shield!" she called to them, and everyone put an extra oomph into their run.

She urged them on with wild gestures and shouts of encouragement. When the first bounced off though, she whirled towards Bartolomeo and urgently asked, "Please! Let my guildmates enter the shield too!"

With a longsuffering sigh, he grumbled, "…okay, fine."

Suddenly everyone was tumbling into the green bubble with her, doing their best to dodge the enraged dragon outside as they did. He was obviously beyond pissed, and now was bashing on the shield above them with claws, teeth, and blasts of his magic as he tried to break it in any way possible. The land started crumbling away at the edges, and the last few Fairy Tail mages had to jump the gap as well as dodge his attacks.

And yet, even though he wasn't leaving a scratch, he kept beating at them, getting visibly more and more agitated as Bart's shield rebuffed him every time.

The green-haired man snorted, sounding almost bored – but also kind of preoccupied in a weird way, as if his attention wasn't even on the dragon. "Like your attacks would hurt my impenetrable shield. Pfft."

This only riled Acnologia up further. Up till that point, he hadn't deigned to talk to them, as if they weren't worth it, but now he did. "Irritating turtle! Every shell cracks sometime!"

"Oh yeah?" the celestial spirit countered mildly, sticking one of his sharp claws into an ear and scratching it. "Not mine."

"You…!" the dragon roared, and even more ground fell away. By now, they were situated on a tall thin spire of rock.

"Er…this doesn't look too good…" Levy mumbled as she eyeballed their precarious perch.

"Bartolomeo? What's going to happen when Acnologia blasts away that last little bit of ground?" Lucy worriedly asked him.

He cleared his throat, and while still firmly facing away from her, he said, "Nothing really. We'll stay right where we are."

"Seriously? This shell-thing can fly?" Gajeel grumbled, still looking pretty skeptical.

The turtle spirit's head barely turned in his direction and he shot the iron dragon slayer a mild – slightly disinterested – glare. "If you don't like my shell, then get lost."

"What'd you say?!"

"Gajeel! Don't!" Levy yelped and jumped to stop him, ending up basically hugging his waist. "We can't start a fight in here!"

Surprisingly, the irritable mage stopped with a huff, and Lucy could swear she saw a very slight pink tinge to his cheeks. "Eh…fine. He wasn't worth my time anyways."

"You looooove her…." Happy mumbled from his place in Lucy's arms.

Gajeel sent the blue cat a look so nasty that Lucy could feel every hair on her cat's body stand up in a wave that passed from his ears to his tail. He promptly 'eeped' and hid as best as he could in her boobs – but the interaction hadn't gone unnoticed, and Lucy caught Laxus, Mira, Gildarts, and Cana all hiding smirks.

However, aside from that one mildly humorous moment, the rest of the situation was very much serious. Eventually, the ground did fall away from underneath them…leaving them floating in midair…but as Bart had promised, his green shell stayed put. Meanwhile, Acnologia continued attacking the shield with everything he had, completely tearing up the land, trees, and rocks within a huge radius.

He very quickly seemed to reach a boiling point though where his patience ran out. "Fine! If I can't collect the little celestial wizard, then you'll all sink to the bottom of the ocean!"

With that bellowed statement, his wings snapped open and he rose into the air…. Where he immediately started to suck in a deep, deep breath. They could all feel the magic accumulating, and hairs rose on everyone's necks.

"Even if we do have this shield, that blast is gonna wipe out Tenrou! We'll be stuck like a duck in the ocean!"

"It'll probably take us out too…" another muttered, trying to be too quiet for Bartolomeo to hear.

They all seemed to collapse in on themselves with fear…up until a few key voices spoke out.

"This isn't any time to be giving up! Come on! Pick yourselves up!" Laxus barked sounding irritated.

"We're mages of Fairy Tail…if we go out, let's go out standing!" Gray joined in, taking Juvia's hand in his and offering his other to Erza.

"That's right…because that's what we do! We stand together!" Makarov joined in, taking Erza's other hand and latching onto Laxus as well.

"Because we're a family!" Cana bellowed, taking her dad's hand as well as Juvia's.

Everyone looked at each other, a feeling of unity and faith building up within them.

"That's right. We're family…" Lucy smiled tearfully and offered her hand to Levy, and Levy took Gajeel's.

Eventually, almost without realizing it, they had made a perfect circle, all of them holding hands. All they could do was pray and wait for the incoming blast. The ties holding them together were powerful, and everyone's magic surged as they were each reminded that they were Fairy Tail wizards…and why they had all joined in the first place.

Lucy could feel a wave of warmth and comradery, so strong that it was like a physical presence among them, watching over them all and protecting them. Peace and tranquility flowed through her, and she closed her eyes, missing the golden glow that began to encompass them all.

" _We're all together, and that's what matters…"_ she thought to herself, and her heart pulsed, seeming to lock into a magical rhythm with the rest of her guild. She could feel them all around her, sense them clearly, and she let herself be carried away into that feeling.

A wave of light passed over them, brilliant and blinding, and then…nothing.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _For months, they slowly canvassed the sea, with Natsu flying out and searching the whole area around the boat for miles and returning to tell them that he found nothing. Warren's telepathy magic also proved invaluable as Natsu sent him messages while he was on the fly. They would then mark off that small area and move to the next._

 _The boat was slow, and nobody was surprised when Natsu lost patience with it and dragged it to each next section behind him – while everyone clung to the sides and hoped he didn't accidentally capsize the vessel._

 _Whenever they started to run out of food, or get sick of fish, Natsu would take the fish they had caught and would fly it to the nearest town, sell it, and then purchase food for everyone. He was so consumed with thoughts of finding Lucy that he wasn't distracted by the food himself. All he allowed himself was brief trips to the celestial realm where he downed ambrosia – the celestial realm's version of an energy drink and a complete nutrition drink. It kept him going but wasn't particularly filling._

 _He didn't care if he was full, didn't care if his wings felt like they would fall off or that one of them still occasionally cramped up and burned with pain, and didn't care if he couldn't sleep because of how badly his muscles hurt…not that he would have slept anyways. He basically passed out when his body demanded rest, and if he happened to be flying when he passed out…well, he woke up real quick when he hit the water._


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Note:**

It's Wednesday!I know you're all eager to see what happened after that last chapter, so here it is! Sorry it's later in the day...I usually try to post earlier but oh well. At least it's another double chapter (actually it's basically a triple-chapter, lol) so hopefully that makes up for it. ;D

As always, I want to say THANK YOU to all my fantastic, wonderful, amazing, beautiful reviewers. Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: RedFantasies, Lunar13, TheOldIronKing, thetrywriter, valerioux, ravenqueen162, Missy 63, kilatails, Syfenos U, Firefly9917, Elphaba818, Anna5949, stranger1999, Daisy73, loopymama, TheJSmooth, Alice, CelestialFireQueen, Lucinda, KitsuneLover05, WisdomDragon27, Lady La-sara, Donthedarkdragon26, moeruhoshi, Leomae2.0, and Wolves silver wind. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: SunnieDayss and TitaniumRaven.

Alright, and on with the show! Be sure to stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

In the celestial realm, a certain fire breathing dragon was in the midst of pitching a fit.

Natsu immediately attempted to struggle to his feet the instant he landed in his home courtyard – which was where he always got dumped after jumping through his gate – but with a groan he sunk back to his torn belly.

He just _**had**_ to land on the hard stone walkway that led to his front door didn't he? He couldn't have landed on the soft grass to either side of it…. nope, definitely not.

Even as the ambient magic of his home world washed over him and started to sooth his injuries, he continued to bleed out onto the misty tiles of his front porch. With injuries this bad, he might actually kick the bucket.

Unlike most celestial spirits – who could heal from any wound as long as they were in the celestial realm – dragons actually had corporeal bodies that could die…. if they were hurt bad enough. That was why he could eat, drink, sleep, and get hurt over in the mortal realm without automatically being poofed back to the celestial realm. If he chose to, he could stay there forever really.

In all honesty, dragons weren't truly celestial spirits at all…they were a different species altogether.

They lived in practically every realm, even in Earthland – though those were typically smaller and weaker and had been driven off by mages long ago. Dragons were very much connected to the world they lived in (whichever one that might be), because their magic was intertwined with the magic present in the air, earth, water, etc. of the world they called home. Such magic was known as Ether, and it was basically the lifeblood of both dragons and the worlds they lived in.

Their magic was also what kept them healthy, made them hard to hurt, and helped them heal quickly when they did get injured. It was nearly impossible to hurt a dragon deep enough to leave a scar…unless they happened to run out of magic…which generally could only happen outside of the world they had claimed as their own.

But Natsu was still up a creek, because even though he was back in the magic-rich world he called home, he could only reabsorb that magic so fast. His wounds were already starting to heal, but not nearly as fast as they should. It was going to take some time before he could get back enough of his fire to make any serious progress on them. He was definitely gonna have some new battle scars, that was for sure.

Worse than his wounds though, was the ache in his heart. He was literally heartbroken at Lucy's choice … that she had sucked every last ounce of his magic out and used it to force his gate closed. Not only had she sent him back against his will…but she had used his _own_ magic to do it. If it were anyone else, he would have wanted their head on a plate for doing this to him…but it was **Lucy** , and that just made it so much worse. It _**hurt.**_ He wanted to roar, wanted to cry, wanted to fucking do something other than lie here like a gory sack of useless potatoes and whimper into the ground. He couldn't even punch the ground, despite desperately wanting to.

He couldn't really blame her though. After all, he had been about to sacrifice his own life to save hers…or at least to try and save hers…so it wasn't like he could really stay mad at her for doing the same exact thing. He wasn't a hypocrite for fuck's sake. Didn't mean he could exactly forgive her either though.

Slowly the sound of rushed footsteps met his ears, and then a familiar scent hit his nose. It was Leo, probably coming to check on him when the lion felt his gate forced shut.

"Holy…. what the hell happened?!"

"Acnologia…" was all he said – growled really – and nothing else was needed for explanation.

"Oh…god. No wonder we've all been feeling danger signs up the ass." Leo cussed, squatting down near Natsu's face so he could make eye contact. "Even Aquarius is freaking out."

Like all of Lucy's spirits, Natsu could also feel the magical tingles up and down his spine that meant his mage was in deep shit. He paid close attention to those signals, waiting with dread for any sharp jab that would let him know that she'd been hurt.

But instead, another sensation rushed through the air as a gate opened. "Who's going?"

With a sigh of relief, Leo said, "It's Bartolomeo." Then after a pause he hesitantly asked, "Do you think Rooster's impenetrable barrier will work against Acnologia?"

"It's worked against everything I've thrown at it…" Natsu grumbled, but with a note of hope.

He'd made an uncanny friendship with the guy. The green-haired idiot was about as antisocial as someone could get, and basically went out of his way to piss people of – even going so far as to literally publicly piss on stuff. Of course he'd also successfully pissed off Natsu, and very easily too. All it took were some insults, and the dragon had been riled up and pounding on the turtle's shield (without making a dent of course.) But eventually, they'd had to form a truce.

When Natsu refused to keep a grudge against him, Bart had decided that Natsu was fun to mess with, and they ended up forming a friendship very similar to Gray and him, full of insults and – in this case – one-sided fighting. The only thing that continued to bug the hell out of him was the guy's shell and how he couldn't so much as scratch the thing no matter what he threw at it. He even went full dragon on him once, and though he physically shoved Bart around, he couldn't break the stupid shield. So there was every possibility that he could actually save Lucy.

After a while though, a crash suddenly sounded from the vicinity of Bartolomeo's gate as he got thrown back through.

Natsu wasn't overly concerned about the celestial turtle, he was much more distracted by how every one of his senses screamed at him that Lucy had just disappeared off the face of the earth. It almost felt like she was….

No.

There was no way she was dead. Natsu refused to believe that, not until he couldn't open his gate. He didn't feel Lucy, but he still felt the contract between them alive and strong. She couldn't be dead, not if their contract was still intact.

"Shit! What the hell happened!?" Leo cussed, recovering from the shock first for once.

Natsu wasn't far behind though.

"OI! What're you doin' back here, you good-for-nothing turtle!?" he roared across the celestial realm in the direction of Bart's place.

"IT WASN'T MY IDEA!" the turtle yelled back, sounding super pissed and upset.

"I'll go find out what happened." Leo muttered, wincing a little and covering his ears as he ran out to go talk to Bart.

Natsu kept up a stream of cusses and grunts as he did his best to lever himself up to at least a sitting position while Leo was off finding out what happened. By the time he got back though, all the fire dragon had managed was to roll over onto his back.

Leo's face – when it appeared in the starry sky over his – didn't promise good news. "Bart says that Acnologia fired directly on the island to take the whole thing out when he lost his temper. And Bart got tossed back through his gate."

That was not good.

"She's not dead." The new voice was female and wolfish as Amy padded over. "I can't summon to her, but I can still summon to her home."

Relief washed through Natsu at this. If the mythic keys could still open their gates, it definitely meant that their mage was alive and kicking…somewhere. The only explanation was that some sort of uber powerful magic was preventing them from sensing her. Exactly what that magic was, Natsu didn't have a clue, and he frankly didn't care … all he wanted was to get out there and start looking for her.

It took a ridiculously long time, but as soon as his wounds were healed enough for him to move around – and he'd regained enough magic to open his gate – he attempted to summon himself to Lucy. He couldn't find her though, no matter how he sniffed or hunted. There was no trace left and without some sort of magic signature to summon to, he couldn't do squat. So, he resorted to what Amy had done and summoned to Lucy's house. Any home, if enough time was spent there, absorbed the owner's magic imprint, much like it absorbed their scent.

After glancing around, he decided being here wasn't going to help him out any, so he poofed to the guildhall. After becoming an official member of the guild, it almost acted like another contract and made the guildhall a permanent summoning point for him. He kind of expected it to be busy as fuck with everyone rushing around trying to find their missing guildmates, but what he found instead was like a funeral.

Nobody even noticed him as he silently appeared in the middle of the guildhall with a poof of smoke and flame. They were all too busy staring into their cups and sitting around looking depressed.

"OI! What the hell is everyone doing?! Aren't you gonna go look for the others?!"

At his angry shout, everyone jerked and spun around, staring at him with shock and then growing excitement.

" _ **NATSU!?"**_ was the joint shout of all his guildmates, and he suddenly found himself getting mosh-pitted as everyone from Fairy Tail ran over to him.

"You're alive?!" "We thought-" "We've been looking for-" "What happened?!" "-weeks and nothing…" "How did you get here?!" "Where's-" "-you all got blown up!" "-everyone else?!"

A whole mess of questions flooded him, and he quickly lost his patience. "SHUT UP! One at a time! Geeze!"

Everyone took a few steps back as he started smoking and sparking out of irritation, and out of the crowd Macao stepped forwards. "Sorry, we were just so excited to see you."

"Yeah, I noticed. So what is going on? Why aren't you all looking for Lucy and the rest?"

The older fire wizard's face dropped. "Oh. So you don't know where they are either? We thought maybe you…"

"Nah, we all got tossed out as soon as that bastard fired on the island."

"Shit." Macao started pacing a little.

Wakaba spoke up then and answered Natsu's question. "We did look for them. For weeks. It's impossible to get an expert navigator or ship's crew to go out there after the magical disaster. They all think it's cursed water now. So we had to rent a boat and go out there ourselves. None of us are mariners mind you, so we did our best to find the island, but couldn't find a trace."

After that, Macao turned back to Natsu and fixed him with a serious expression. "What happened out there? Really? All we know is what the newspaper said… that a black dragon was spotted, and when the magic council sent out a boat to take a look, they saw Tenrou island get wiped off the face of the map."

"Sounds about right."

Everyone cringed. "So it's true…they're all dead…"

"Hey, I never said that." When someone tried to interrupt him with a _, 'but,'_ he just steamrolled right over them. "Lucy is still alive, and if she's alive the others probably are too."

"How do you…oh, right."

At the start of the question, Natsu had given Macao a look, and he'd realized the obvious answer. Of course Natsu would know if his master was alive or not.

"Alright! So, let's get a boat and go look for them!"

With a whoop, everyone cheered and set about finding a boat. And soon, Natsu found out for himself what they meant when they'd said that nobody who actually knew how to sail would take them there… which was frickin' annoying, but not exactly unexpected. Sailors were notoriously superstitious.

Making it even more difficult, Tenrou island wasn't on any official maps, so the guild had to try and find it through a method of charting and crossing off quadrants that they'd searched…but of course Natsu had no patience for that.

While the others hunted down a boat to rent, he simply flew off over the water in the direction that he thought was right. For days on end he flew over empty water, passing over the occasional boat which panicked upon seeing his flying form, but he returned home empty-handed every time. At first, he couldn't go nearly as far or as fast as he wanted, thanks to his still healing injuries, but with the help of his fellow mythic spirits – who fed him their own magic from the celestial realm to keep his healing rate up – he soon healed completely and could go much further every day. But he was still flying blindly, and never turned anything up.

By the time he was starting to run out of patience for that, the guild had finally managed to get a boat, and had prepared a whole series of charts that showed the entire sea and surrounding landmasses.

And so, the hunt for the other members of Fairy Tail began.

For months, they slowly canvassed the sea, with Natsu flying out and searching the whole area around the boat for miles and returning to tell them that he found nothing. Warren's telepathy magic also proved invaluable as Natsu sent him messages while he was on the fly. They would then mark off that small area and move to the next.

The boat was slow, and nobody was surprised when Natsu lost patience with it and dragged it to each next section behind him – while everyone clung to the sides and hoped he didn't accidentally capsize the vessel.

Whenever they started to run out of food, or get sick of fish, Natsu would take the fish they had caught and would fly it to the nearest town, sell it, and then purchase food for everyone. He was so consumed with thoughts of finding Lucy that he wasn't distracted by the food himself. All he allowed himself was brief trips to the celestial realm where he downed ambrosia – the celestial realm's version of an energy drink and a complete nutrition drink. It kept him going but wasn't particularly filling.

He didn't care if he was full, didn't care if his wings felt like they would fall off or that one of them still occasionally cramped up and burned with pain, and didn't care if he couldn't sleep because of how badly his muscles hurt…not that he would have slept anyways. He basically passed out when his body demanded rest, and if he happened to be flying when he passed out…well, he woke up real quick when he hit the water.

Every waking moment was spent thinking about Lucy – and the other guildmembers that were lost of course – but mainly Lucy. He had to find her, no matter the cost.

The guildmembers who were assisting him in the search – Max the sand mage, Warren the telepath, Wakaba the smoke mage, Alzack the gun mage (who was desperate to find Bisca of course), Jet and Droy (the leftover members of Shadow Gear), and Romeo – were just as eager to find their guildmates but were somewhat limited by their earthly bodies. Probably the three who were almost as crazy as him were Alzack, Jet, and Droy. All of them had lost a woman who they were devoted to – much as Natsu was driven to find Lucy.

The four of them stayed motivated longer than the others, who seemed to grow depressed as time wore on.

More months passed with no sign of them…

Then, one day, Natsu was flying over a completely empty space of ocean, scanning the waves for any sign of the island or their guildmates – though he wasn't entirely sure what exactly he was looking for – when suddenly something small caught his eye. There was something poking up from the water's surface, something he would've normally completely passed over if he wasn't paying such close attention. Wheeling through the air, he curved back around to get a closer look, only to pull up short and stare in confusion. Standing on the water was a small person, a young girl it looked like, with extremely long blond hair and a white robe.

Cocking his head, he flew closer, and the sight didn't change. She wasn't some sort of mirage, she was real … and really standing there – somehow – on the water. It was weird, but that was precisely the sort of thing Natsu had been looking for, and excitement built up in his gut, making every muscle tense in eagerness. He dove down and swooped to fly right in front of the girl.

"Oi! You! Have you seen an island or a group of people around here?"

Her eyes slowly blinked open, and she stared at Natsu with a purely peaceful and calm expression. After a moment, she smiled, and her hands rose into the air. When she didn't say anything, he geared up to ask more questions, but suddenly a golden glow underneath them shut him up.

"Hey! I said- woah! Holy shit!"

He jerked back as the glow spread out swiftly from a small circle right under her feet to several miles in every direction and then started to grow brighter. The light increased, and with it a massive wave of magic that drove him upwards into the air. He stared with wide stunned eyes as the light reached a brilliant glow that he couldn't even look at, but he continued to watch, even though his eyes stung and burned.

Massive waves crashed and fell off a golden dome that started to rise up out of the sea, and the water itself turned bright gold from the light of the magic barrier that slowly appeared. Through the somewhat see-through shield, he began to see the shape of a massive tree and a familiar island. As soon as it was fully out of the water, the magical dome hung around for another few breathless seconds and then popped with a shower of golden sparks that made him wince and pull back a little more.

Then, finally, there standing in front of him was Tenrou island, looking like nothing at all had happened.

After hanging in the air for a long moment and just gaping at the scene in front of him, a surge of energy shot through his veins and he dove down towards the small land mass. A flash of movement caught his attention, and he turned to see the same little girl from before staring up at him. As soon as she noticed him looking, she turned and purposefully walked into the island, as if expecting him to follow. Figuring she might know where the others were - and wanting to find them as fast as possible - he decided to follow.

She led him through the woods, and soon he started picking up on a familiar vanilla scent.

At that point, he ran past her - possibly through her - and followed his nose. He was in such a frenzy that his brain had gone completely blank, and he was operating on pure instinct. The flames left behind his heels were completely ignored by him, but the small girl who had been leading him now followed and put out the fires with a smile on her face.

He very nearly tripped over Lucy, but managed to skid to a halt at the last second as he saw the curve of her dusty body halfway buried in the sandy ground.

"Shit! Luce! Hey! Wake up!"

…

The sound of Natsu's voice filtered into Lucy's unconscious mind, and she felt herself start to wake up. The urgency and near panic in his tone hurried up the process as worry and confusion sparked in her, and she wondered just what he was so upset about. The sensation of hands patting and jostling her helped to drag her back to awareness even faster, and soon she was groaning and blinking open shockingly crusty eyes.

"Lucy!"

The gasp was followed by her body being turned, and suddenly her bleary eyes were staring up into Natsu's face as he leaned over her.

"Natsu? Wha-…what's going on?" she mumbled, her voice croaking alarmingly, which had her frowning and clearing her throat.

She didn't get a response right away, instead her face was smashed into Natsu's chest as he gathered her up into a hug that bordered on _too tight_. She could feel his chin tuck tight over her head for a moment, and then his head bent so he could burrow into her hair. His arms shook - frankly his whole body shook - against her as he started rocking her back and forth, and even more shocking, she could feel tears starting to wet her hair and drip onto her cheek. She was also pretty sure she heard some sobs get stuck in the chest she was smashed against.

Her mind was still fuzzy from just waking up from what felt like a coma – and then the shock of being grabbed up like this had left her even more confused – but eventually things started coming back to her in bits and pieces.

"Natsu! _**Natsu!**_ What happened to Acnologia?! And you?! Are you okay?!"

As the memory of him getting torn up drifted into her mind with the subtlety of a wrecking ball, she shoved him back as much as she could – which wasn't much – but she managed to gain enough space for her to slide her hands in between their stomachs and carefully ran them across his skin. Her fingers slid over only smooth skin though, encountering no open wounds, which shocked her.

"You were so badly hurt…how did…?"

"Uh…it's almost been a year, Luce. Of course I'm all healed up by now."

It took her a moment to process the words mumbled into her hair, but when she did, a caterwaul escaped from her throat in shock. "What?! A year?! What do you mean?!"

He winced a little from the screech in his ear but stayed wrapped around her. "Yeah, we've been looking for you guys for a year."

"How is that…what do you…what?!"

With a sigh, he finally pulled back enough to look her in the eye, though it seemed to be a struggle for him. "Honestly, I haven't got a clue. The only thing I know is that Acnologia blasted the island with enough force to destroy it, but somehow it didn't. You guys disappeared though, and when I finally found the spot where you…I dunno… _sank_ , there was this girl standing on the water and suddenly the whole island rose up out of the ocean covered in a huge golden bubble of magic. So some sort of shield popped up and protected you guys I guess, and you were just…asleep the whole time?"

His explanation was almost as full of questions as it was explanations, and he seemed about as confused as she was. All she really gathered was that somehow a magical shield had protected them from the blast, and then put them in stasis until a member of the guild came and found them. It seemed farfetched – even for Fairy Tail – but if that was what Natsu said happened, then she had to believe it. The guy didn't know how to lie. Didn't mean he got it right though either.

She obviously wasn't getting anything more out of him though, because no sooner had he finished his longwinded confusing explanation, than he had clutched her tight to him and had buried his face in her hair once again. But now she knew why he was reacting this way. She couldn't even imagine being separated from him for a whole year…a whole year of what must have been constant searching and wondering and hope and despair and loneliness and wishes and torture….

Now that her attention was brought to it, she also strangely felt like she hadn't seen him in forever – even though she'd apparently been in a coma – and it didn't take her long before she was gripping him back just as tightly.

As she was hugging him back though, suddenly the rest of her memory returned, and she abruptly found herself cringing.

Pushing him back once again, reluctantly this time, she took a deep breath and said what she knew she had to. "I…Natsu…I betrayed you. What I did was a breach of contract…and…so…I understand if you want to…sever our contract."

He frowned. "No way! What the hell Luce?! There's no way I'd ever wanna do that!"

Her eyes filled with tears that she couldn't suppress, and suddenly she found herself sobbing apology after apology into his soon very wet chest.

"Hey, hey…it's okay. I forgave you months ago for all that." There was a pause, and then he amended with, "On one condition though."

"Of course! Anything!"

"You're gonna have to become my mate. Officially. We'll both get mate-marked, and then I'll be able to stay here even if I completely run out of magic. You'll be my anchor to this world. Oh, and this is forever by the way…"

All of that was loaded in so many different ways that she couldn't even begin to decode or understand it in the state she was currently in. It didn't matter though, she already knew her answer.

"Yes! Yes, I'll do it! As long as you promise not to try and sacrifice yourself for me either. Deal?"

A wide grin was her answer. "Sounds fair to me!"

And then he was hugging her close again and their lips met in a scalding kiss. For all of a hot second.

"Oi…what's going on…?"

The loud groan caused Lucy to jerk, and she pulled back a little to peer over Natsu's shoulder, where a very bedraggled and dirty Gray was just peeling himself up off the ground – or rather, _**out**_ of the ground. Blinking, she glanced around to see that more members of the guild were beginning to stir, and they were all seemingly half buried, as if dust and dirt had continued to shift and settle while they were all out cold. Or maybe having the island sink under the sea and then reemerge caused an earthquake…. really, she couldn't imagine such a massive event to not cause a good amount of ground disturbance.

Sounds of grunting and spitting and huffing could be heard all around now as people started to come-to and realized they had dirt in their mouths, and several loud sneezes suggested that more than a few noses had been invaded as well. Glancing down, Lucy could see that she had apparently also been encrusted in the earth, judging by the dried shell of dirt that crossed her body. Thankfully it seemed that her face was mostly unmolested.

While the others woke up and groaned and stared around them in confusion, Natsu continued to cling to Lucy and seemed intent on ignoring absolutely everyone else. Questions started circulating, and quickly became louder and more concerned as memories started drifting back to everyone. Lucy was just about to peel Natsu off her and force him to give them all the same explanation he had offered her, when a new clear voice cut through the confusion.

"Hello. Please don't be alarmed."

Everyone's head turned towards the high female voice, and then they blinked in surprise when they saw what appeared to be a young girl with ultra-long blond hair and dressed in a robe or possibly a nightgown.

"Um…forgive me for asking, but who are you?" Makarov choked out on a slight cough as he ousted some of the last remnants of soil from his lungs.

She smiled. "I am Mavis. The founder and first master of Fairy Tail."

There was a long silence following this statement.

"Say what now?!" Gray finally sputtered, and more mutters of similar sentiments followed close behind.

"Yes, I know it's hard to believe. Perhaps I should clarify…I am a spirit."

"You mean you're a ghost?" Juvia asked, looking both a little frightened and a little intrigued. Next to her though, Wendy just looked scared as she cringed behind the blue-haired water mage.

"Well, yes, technically." the ghost said with a slightly disapproving expression, but that quickly smoothed out and was replaced once again by a beatific grin. "I woke when I felt all of your loyalty and love for one another."

She must have meant when they all held hands and presented a united front against Acnologia. Now that Lucy thought back to it, the moment _**had**_ seemed strangely powerful.

As if she had read Lucy's thoughts, the fairylike first master nodded with an even more peaceful and happy expression. "With that love, you were able to summon the third Fairy Tail spell…Fairy Shield. It allowed me to combine all of your powerful magic into an impenetrable shield that sunk this entire island beneath the sea for a time."

More whispers erupted, but quieted almost as soon as they started when Mavis continued. "You have all been in comas for approximately one year as your guildmates searched for you."

"What?! A whole year?!" Cana yelled, sounding incredulous and almost angry. Gildarts patted her on the shoulder – either in support or to reign her back in, Lucy couldn't tell.

Mavis nodded in response to the shout. "Yes. You have all been asleep for that long."

"So what finally made us surface and wake up again?" Makarov asked curiously and somewhat calmly compared to the other anxious and confused mumbles from everyone else.

"I was the key to waking the island. I, too, have been asleep, standing sentinel on the ocean's surface and waiting for a member of Fairy Tail to come. And today was that day." She grinned and gestured towards Natsu, who managed to lift an arm and wave while still hanging off Lucy like a loving barnacle.

There was a long pause as everyone turned their eyes on Natsu and Lucy. The blond flushed bright red at everyone's stare, while her dragon just continued to utterly ignore everything else going on.

"Well no wonder he's being so damn clingy…poor guy's been looking for Lucy a whole frickin' year…"

That low tone belonged to Gray and was more to himself than anyone else, but it was met with grunts of agreement and affection as their guildmates watched the dragon snuggle his girlfriend quite publicly.

"That's cause he's a REAL MAN." Elfman bellowed, spurring a few assorted groans and chuckles from the assembled group.

"So I'm guessing it's not just you who's been actively searching for us Natsu." Erza almost asked.

He started with a little jerk. "Oh! Right! I guess I better let them know I found ya."

Everyone experienced a unison sweat drop at his absentmindedness but remained silent as he touched his fingers to his temple and closed his eyes in concentration. They all recognized the gesture, and immediately knew the identity of one of the recue team.

After a moment he winced, probably because he was getting some sort of reprimand for not telling them right away, and then he dropped his fingers. "Right. They're on their way."

"Good." Erza nodded in a satisfied way.

"We thank you most deeply for your assistance First Master." Makarov then inserted, and everyone's attention refocused on the ghost who was still standing there plain as day.

"Of course!" she said with a perky smile.

…

It didn't take long for the others to arrive.

They must have used the oars and paddled with all their strength, because they arrived sweaty and out of breath…but with bright happy eyes. There were immediate, loud reunions…the most exuberant being those between Shadow Gear and Bisca and Alzack.

The later of the two was perhaps the most surprising though, because no sooner had Alzack laid eyes on Bisca, than he was swooping up the green-haired sniper and kissing her, much to everyone's catcalls and her shock. Those two had been tiptoeing around their massive crushes on each other for years. Apparently all they needed was for one of them to get put in a coma and hidden under the sea for a whole year and bam…romance.

At least something good had come of this whole incident.

Jet and Droy tried much the same - but were lip-blocked by a very cranky iron slayer, who was still rubbing grit out of his eyes and cussing like a sailor.

Once everyone had been thoroughly greeted by the search team, and everyone who had been in a coma was completely awake, they set off back to the boat with the others. Lucy must not have been the only one to feel that strange sense of being apart for a long time – despite the coma making it seem like everything had only happened yesterday – because all of her fellow Tenrou islanders were beyond eager to board the boat and return home to Fairy Tail.

The ride home was a noisy one as everyone continued to catch up on what had happened during the last year, but for Lucy it was spent relatively quietly. That was probably because she was too busy dealing with an extremely clingy dragon that refused to let her go for the entire ride home – even though being on a boat made him visibly green and queasy. She had to wonder how he had been part of the rescue team to begin with, considering his motion sickness … unless he had simply flown the whole time and/or swam.

Thankfully he didn't actually throw up on her, despite the spasms in his stomach that suggested he was fighting the urge to. The entire trip back was spent that way, until Natsu finally discovered that if he laid his head in her lap he could sort of sleep through it.

Several hours later found her gently shaking him awake and then flinching when he came-to with a violent heave. She gingerly helped him off the boat, slinging his arm over her shoulders and lugging him off to a chorus of snickers. She was used to the amused looks and muttered whispers though, because she'd been getting them the whole way home. It wasn't like she could blame them either… not when Natsu was doing his best impression of a scarf and wrapping around her in every possible way.

As soon as they disembarked, nobody needed to ask, 'what now?' As one, they turned and headed towards the guildhall. By the time they arrived at the large wooden doors, Natsu had recovered, and with a broad grin he kicked them open and bellowed, "We're back!"

His happy tone must have clued everyone in, because his entrance was met with first awed silence, and then a huge cheer that shook the rafters and made the floor quake. As they walked in, the whole group that had been lost for nearly a year was quickly surrounded by the rest of the guild. After an impromptu mosh pit where Lucy felt smothered for longer than she was comfortable with, the largest Fairy Tail celebration to date was started. Pounding music sounded through the entire guildhall – mostly the almost-Celtic music that seemed intrinsic to the Fairy Tail guildhall. Lucy had wondered for a long time if it was just tradition, or if it was Makarov's favorite style of music and he was the only one with access to the music lacrima.

Of course soon that was interspersed with live performances from Gajeel and Mirajane in their own unique styles, and as more people drank deeper into their cups, there were a few odder performances as the evening wore on…not that she stayed for too long. After only an hour or two of celebrations, Lucy could sense Natsu getting more and more antsy.

He never strayed far, and actually spent most of the night practically breathing down her neck. Though he stopped physically clinging to her once they got in the guildhall, he stayed close, and whenever she left her seat – which was naturally _**right**_ next to his – she could feel his eyes tracking her wherever she went. And if she didn't come right back, it wasn't long before he followed.

It took some getting used to, but she wasn't exactly opposed to it. If it had been her looking for him for a whole year, she honestly thought she would probably do the exact same thing.

As for Natsu… he was doing his very best to fight every instinct that was currently shouting at him to steal Lucy away and verify that she was real and not just one of his fevered dreams. In the past year, he couldn't count the number of times he had passed out and dreamt of finding Lucy.

His fingers itched to touch every inch of her skin and convince himself that she was really here, really warm and solid and not imaginary ... Not that he actually thought this was a dream, it was much too detailed to be one of his. But it was still incredibly hard to believe that it was real. He couldn't tear his eyes from her, and kept thinking to himself that he must have somehow forgotten just how beautiful and wonderful she was … either that, or she'd turned into an angel when his back was turned. It sent his guts into a flurry of making fluffy cotton candy that felt warm, sticky, and wiggly… like it was alive.

All he wanted was to drag her off to her apartment and kiss, touch, lick, bite, squeeze, stroke, poke, chew on, suck on, (and whatever else he could think of) to every inch of her. He couldn't stand even an inch of distance between them, though he was currently forcing himself to not hang off her like an overeager snake the way he'd been doing up till getting home.

It was driving him utterly mad.

Every square inch of his skin ached to be in contact with hers… his fingers and hands burned for her, his lips tingled, his belly clenched tight… even his fucking _**toes**_ were on fire and he didn't have a clue what they could want. And even worse was his tail, which simply wouldn't stay put. It wagged behind him like an overexcited dog's or else twined around whatever happened to be nearby – usually the leg of his chair or the table – and then he'd squeeze unconsciously until a creak let him know he was about to crush it.

Energy and fire flooded his body, making him fidgety in a way he'd never experience before … like he was covered in ants and just couldn't sit still no matter what he did. It was all he could do to control those flames, which were just beneath the surface of his skin. And that particular symptom was only getting worse as time dragged on and he kept himself from touching her the way he needed to.

For once he had to basically keep his mouth shut, because the few times someone had actually managed to catch his attention, he'd nearly lit them up when he spoke and fire accidentally spilled from his lips without his say-so. Like the rest of him, it wanted at Lucy… to be inside her and tie them together in the most intimate way a dragon knew how…or one of the ways anyways. Of course he wanted the other intimate stuff that happened between every mated pair of animals as well, not just the stuff unique to dragons.

He held out almost two hours before his control snapped.

At least he still had the presence of mind to grab Lucy's hand and pull her out of the guildhall, instead of just wrapping himself around her and going at it right in the middle of everyone. That probably wouldn't go over very well...

Meanwhile, Lucy wasn't stupid, she'd picked up on Natsu's vibes long before he actually made a move.

It wasn't lost on her how his temperature had slowly been palpably rising, to the point where she'd started sweating just sitting next to him. The way he watched her was intense, somehow both predatory and loving in a weird combination that sent thrills down her spine.

He'd been barely in control of himself for a good quarter hour before he snapped, so she wasn't surprised by the sudden grab and drag when his resolve finally broke. To be honest she'd been a little worried that he would pounce on her right there in the hall and she would have had to … Lucy Kick him or something. She wasn't exactly sure what she would have done, but undoubtedly he would have stopped if she had put up enough protest. It still would have been embarrassing though.

It was embarrassing enough the way their friends had noted his abnormal behavior, and many had undoubtedly figured out what was going on almost as easily as she had. Undeniable proof came when Cana grabbed Happy when he tried to follow them and told him that he'd be sleeping at her place for the next couple of nights…her tone amused. More than one chuckle from their other friends had followed the suggestion.

It was some comfort though to know that they weren't the only ones to have disappeared from the party – several of their group had split off in pairs driven by the same urges.

Lucy couldn't say she was immune either. That sense of being separated for a long time – as strange as it was – easily translated to _needing_ Natsu and wanting to be as close to him as physically possible. Knowing they would have the apartment all to themselves only spurred her on, and soon she was matching his urgent pace as they made quick time getting there. She didn't even have the mental capacity to wonder if she even still had an apartment, before they were crashing through the front door, up the stairs, and Natsu was unlocking her door with somewhat clumsy fingers.

Eventually Lucy had to grab the keys from him and do it herself, because she feared for the safety and integrity of her poor door – and the bills that she would have to pay to get it repaired after he burned it down or broke it. Her hands were thankfully steadier, and she managed to accomplish the task in record time.

Soon they were practically spilling through her open doorway – which was closed with a nearly violent kick and then relocked by Lucy, who was clearly the more mentally capable at the moment. Not for long though, because no sooner had she flicked the lock on the door than she was being pinned against it from behind. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions, but she wasn't going to complain…especially not with Natsu's body pressed close to hers and his hot breath burning her neck. At that point though, she started to wonder if it was even _safe_ to do this here…. His body temperature was blindingly hot and could very well start a fire if they weren't careful. Just because it didn't burn her didn't mean that her bed – or the door for that matter – was immune.

Thinking fast, she determined that the safest place to let off a little steam would be in the bathroom, probably under a cold shower. This thought was only reinforced when the wood under his hands began to smoke a little.

"Natsu! Woah! Hold on just a second, you're gonna burn down my apartment!" Lucy gasped, and pushed back, forcing him off the door before he could actually set it on fire. He hissed, and when his arms wrapped tight around her middle she wasn't sure he'd heard her.

However, her concern was mildly assuaged when he mumbled into her shoulder, "Sorry Luce…I dunno if I can help it…"

"Come on, let's at least get to a slightly safer and less flammable area okay?" she soothed in her best calming tone, and turned towards the bathroom.

He turned with her, and then walked with her as she made her way towards water and hopefully safety, but she still didn't relax until she'd managed to drag him into her standup shower and had turned on the water. She relaxed in one way, but very much did not in another as cold droplets suddenly assaulted her head. However, it was a small price to pay to keep her home intact. Besides, the water didn't stay cold for long, because as soon as it hit Natsu, it turned to hot steam...which very nearly made her laugh – after staring wide-eyed in shock of course.

Her amusement quickly faded though when she glanced up and saw Natsu's fire-hot golden eyes staring back down, and then basically every thought was wiped clean from her mind as blistering lips landed on hers. Even with her immunity to his fire, the heat of him was stark and made her gasp in shock, which only parted her lips and expanded his intrusion. A boiling tongue soon invaded her mouth, and for a brief second she almost pulled back…panicking at the sheer amount of heat and wondering if – even though she wouldn't burn – she could still get heatstroke. Suddenly the small amount of cold water that managed to land on her, instead of Natsu, was soothing instead of unpleasant as it helped to keep her temperature down. With the steam and the heat of him, beads of sweat instantly slicked her body and made her clothes stick to her even more than they already were from the shower.

After a second of enduring the sharp discomfort – and realizing that she wasn't going to spontaneously combust or pop a fever that liquefied her brain – her panic slowly melted into desire. It was still nerve-wracking, but she couldn't help but get swept up into the kiss. When his fire almost instantly followed his tongue and started licking at the insides of her mouth and then coated her throat, she moaned. As frightening as it could be, Lucy easily admitted that the sensation and taste of Natsu's fire was beyond addictive. It felt and tasted better than any alcohol in her book, and she loved the way it slid down her throat, warming her chest, and then pooled in her belly – where it started to slowly spread through the rest of her body.

Arousal hit her hard, almost as if fire was now an aphrodisiac for her – a thought which really should have disturbed her in all honesty – but she couldn't care at the moment. Her entire world was consumed by Natsu and how much she wanted him… body, heart, and soul … and how much she wanted to give herself completely to him in return. Alongside the sharp lust were also the softer feelings of love and adoration that she felt for her best friend and partner, and she was not only swamped with physical need, but also emotional need that rose to meet his own.

It was plain to her that he had suffered, and she wanted to erase this past year from his heart and completely heal all the pain he had felt and the resulting scars. She could feel an echo of it, the coldness creeping within the heat of his kiss that fueled that particular flavor of desperation. She could sense it in the way he desperately pressed himself to her … and in the way he ran his hands through her hair and then over every inch of her he could reach, clutching and grabbing and touching like he was trying to simultaneously rememorize and hold her to him so that she wouldn't disappear…and it made her heart ache.

He was frenzied and didn't seem capable of being still or even really thinking properly… at least not until her hands bracketed his face and she pulled her lips just a hair from his. A deep whine sounded from his throat at even that small distance, and he tried to close it immediately again, but she wouldn't let him. She needed to talk and needed her lips for that.

"Hey. Hey, it's okay…shh." she soothed, pressing her forehead to his and letting their noses and lips brush. "It's okay. I'm here…I'm not going anywhere…"

A full body shudder wracked his frame. "Luce…I still can't believe that you're real…"

"I am real. I promise. Would you be taking a cold shower by yourself?"

A slightly choked laugh came from trembling lips. "Yeah, no, prob'ly not."

She grinned back. "See? One hundred percent really me."

The lightheartedness lasted a second and then dimmed as he trembled against her and suddenly buried his face in her shoulder. "Promise me. Promise me you'll never leave me like that again. _Please._ "

"I promise," she whispered back into his wet pink hair and pressed a gentle kiss to his temple. "I'll always be right here with you."

For a long moment he held her like that, the frenzy slowly easing out of him. When he lifted his head again, his eyes were calmer, clearer, and shone with love and devotion. The twinkle had returned, making her realize just how dull his eyes had been before, and he stared down at her with a softer expression.

"Gods Luce…I love you so damn much. This last year has been murder…"

"I know…I'm so sorry you had to go through that." she murmured back. "I can't imagine how it must have been. If it was me…I don't know how I would have been able to go on without you for a whole year. I love you too much."

He gave her a small crooked grin. "I wouldn't recommend it. Not unless you enjoy loads of heartache." Then his expression grew a little more serious. "And I promise you won't ever have to. If we're gonna get stuck somewhere, we're gonna do it together."

"Deal."

Lucy didn't even realize she'd grown tearful until her last word came out a little thick, and Natsu's eyes softened as his hands reached up to cradle her face. With gentle fingers he brushed the moisture off her cheeks, and then dipped back in to kiss her again. This kiss started out much softer than the first, and she could feel how he whispered his love for her in every gentle movement of his lips against hers, and she reciprocated in kind. Soon though, need began to grow within them again, and the kiss deepened and grew more fervent as they both felt a sharp pang.

It wasn't until Lucy shivered that she realized his body temperature had dropped back to a normal level of crazy hot and the cold water wasn't being vaporized anymore. _He_ probably still couldn't feel it, but Lucy certainly could, now that it was drenching her from head to toe. The only thing that made it tolerable was having a dragon space heater pressed to her front, but her poor back was still slowly freezing to death. Fumbling behind her, she shut off the frigid water, and together they stumbled out of the shower, very nearly taking the curtain with them as they went – especially when they tripped over the bath rug. Thankfully they were able to catch themselves against the opposite wall with an ungraceful bang. Conveniently, that put them near the towel bars, which allowed Lucy to snag one.

Together they squirmed out of their wet clothing, attempting to do so while still kissing but quickly finding out that it resulted in bitten lips and clinked teeth. Eventually they did have to separate in order to get the last few articles off, and Lucy nearly tripped on her own underwear while Natsu similarly got his pants tangled around his ankles. Neither of them could quite remain serious during the debacle, and with Lucy's giggles and Natsu's chuckles, they worked together to rid themselves of the last two barriers between them. As soon as they were shed though, and their kiss had resumed, the laughter faded away.

They stumbled backwards through her bedroom and eventually made it to the bed somehow, though they bounced off plenty of furniture on the way… and several crashes told her that she would have a mess to clean up after. At the moment though she simple didn't care. All she really cared about was keeping her mouth connected to Natsu's and getting to the bed before she accumulated too many bruises from the corners of furniture.

When she tipped over backwards, a small shriek came from her, but it was quickly muffled when she landed on the mattress and realized they'd finally made it to the bed. Natsu landed on top of her, but she shoved him off for a moment so she could rearrange herself properly and not have her legs dangling off one side. He followed, and by the time her head met the pillow he had already crawled on top of her again.

What followed was a blur of fire and heat and kisses, and soon Lucy knew she was going to have to change her sheets thanks to the sweat she was once again producing. It was worth it though to experience the dragon's flames licking first inside her mouth then eventually down her neck and onto her chest when she couldn't breathe. When fiery lips attached to her nipples, she was beyond gone. The burn went straight to her center, where it stuck like a pool of molten wax, and the heat made her squirm beneath him and rub against the thigh that had been shoved between her own. His tail coiled around her leg and started up a rippling massage, which was just another sensation added to her growing list of unbearably pleasant things currently going on.

Natsu was obviously just as affected as her. It was impossible to not notice the heavy erection grinding into her hip… which was both arousing and uncomfortable, but she barely minded the discomfort. Burning fingertips dug into her hip, and she sucked in a sharp breath as her own fingers tangled in his hair. A pleasured shudder wracked him, and it came as no surprise when shiny black horns soon slid past her fingers. She latched on without thinking about it. The dragon pinning her to the mattress jerked above her and growled, his flames on her breast increasing in potency and making her whine and twist under him. It felt so good that she somewhat feverishly wondered if it was possible to orgasm just from breast stimulation alone.

Whether it was or not, she never found out, because Natsu didn't give her the chance. To her surprise, he sat up, leaving her panting and staring up at him in shock that he had stopped. Her hands had been pulled from his head of course, and after a second she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, unabashedly showing her disapproval. He chuckled as she halfheartedly glared up at him, but she soon forgot her annoyance as she glanced down his body and got her first good look at him. Her eyes widened, and the breath got stuck in her throat as she took in the sight of him kneeling over her, sitting back on his heels over one of her thighs.

She'd seen pretty much all of him before, and she knew just how beautiful he was, but seeing him completely nude and with his erection bobbing out in the open was a bit startling. He really was amazing, and for a brief moment she wondered just how she had managed to land such a stud. Then her fevered thoughts caught up with the more logical part of her brain, and she couldn't help but burst into laughter when she realized that she had just thought of her goofy, immature partner and best friend as a _stud_.

Unlike most guys, the laughter didn't make him feel self-conscious. Instead, he quirked a grin back at her with glittering eyes.

"What's so funny Luce?" he asked almost absentmindedly as his eyes drifted over her body as well.

Every bit of him rippled with lean muscle and her eyes couldn't quite settle anywhere for a long moment, but when they did it was only natural that they stuck to the part of him she hadn't seen before. So she was staring at his penis as she answered his question, which was probably a little awkward – especially with the slightly goofy grin she knew was splitting her lips – but she didn't really care.

"I was just wondering how I managed to get such a stud for a boyfriend. Then I realized that I had thought of you as a stud, and it just seemed really funny."

A bark of laughter escaped him, and he glanced up from where he'd been looking at her groin. "What's wrong with me being a stud?"

"Nothing really, I just normally don't think that word." she said, her hand reaching out towards him. "And plus, you're a dork, so it's funny to picture you as sexy sometimes."

His dark chuckle cut off on a choked groan as she reached her destination and wrapped her hand around his penis.

She'd touched him there once before, and she should have remembered that his body temperature elsewhere was nothing in comparison to his penis…but somehow the intense heat still shocked her. It almost made her nervous at the prospect of having it inside her, even though she knew it wouldn't hurt – at least not much. His fire still stung and burned, but in a pleasant way.

The more she thought about it though, the more she remembered how great his fire felt when he kissed her…and suddenly the heat in her palm caused more anticipation than fear. He seemed like the perfect size too, not monstrous and not tiny. He fit in her fist like he was made to be there, and she could only imagine that he would fit even better somewhere else.

She was somewhat distracted from her exploration when he hissed and groaned, "Shit Luce, that feels so good."

Her already warm face flushed even more with a happy and slightly embarrassed blush. Licking her lips, she glanced up at his face to see him staring down at her hand on him with glittering golden eyes… and the sight of his pink cheeks and dilated pupils sent another jolt of heat through her.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah…" he coughed a laugh that sounded like a moan as she experimentally tightened her fist and tried a few long strokes up and down his whole length. His body shuddered, and she watched with fascination as his abs rippled and tensed while his hips rolled forwards and thrust himself further into her palm.

He sucked in his breath through his nose, and then he tensed and a small gasp finished off the sharp inhale. His breath was released on a rather _loud_ groan, and then he inhaled again even deeper. Glittering gold eyes slit open and stared down at her neatly groomed blond pubic hair, and she squirmed under the heated stare.

His hand on her hip drifted inwards and his thumb brushed against the line between her hip and groin, making her jerk. She wondered what he was thinking to spark the extra burst of heat from his body and the glow in his eyes. He answered the unspoken question with another throaty groan.

"Fuck…you smell so amazing."

Her eyes widened and she flushed a little more, unsure how to feel about that comment. His eyes closed, and he sucked in another deep sniff – which only made her blush harder – and she stuttered something nonsensical between a thanks and a protest.

"U-um…thanks? B-but…uh…that's kinda…"

When his eyes opened again they were burning, and he promptly continued the slightly awkward and embarrassing line of conversation. "You smell fucking delicious…"

Her brain went blank, and she simply blinked up at him in shock.

Her senses came back online with all the subtlety of a foghorn though when his fingers slid further down and burrowed in between her folds. She jerked, and the leg that wasn't trapped between his clenched on his hand in surprise for a moment, but then fell to the side to give him room. The touch of his fingers was clumsy, and she could easily tell he had no idea what he was doing, but it still felt good as he gently ran impossibly hot fingertips up and down her lips, mapping out the territory.

After a second, he shifted, swinging his leg over hers and settling fully between her thighs. His knees pressed out as he sat on his heels, which forced her legs even further apart as he leaned back to watch his hand disappear in her private parts. At first, it was kind of embarrassing and made her self-conscious to have him _staring_ so intently at her bits, but that quickly melted away. His eyes glittered as he looked at her, and she watched with pleasure and amusement as a nearly giddy expression spread across his face.

"You're so wet!" he groaned enthusiastically after a second, seeming enthralled. "Holy shit Luce…you're so soft and squishy…it feels fucking amazing! How did you make so much of this slippery stuff?"

And there was her awkward dorky best friend rearing his head again. With a groan, she threw an arm over her eyes and cringed. "Could you not say stuff like that? It's kind of embarrassing and weird."

"What? Why? I'm just tellin' ya the truth. I can't get enough of this."

She could feel his fingers parting her lips to expose her fully, and she shivered in slight discomfort at the little draft. Then she groaned when he completely ignored her request to not make embarrassing observations.

"And you're so pretty too…all pink and frilly, like ruffles or somethin'. Although I dunno why people used to talk about it like it was some kinda flower…doesn't look anything like a plant."

She flushed even deeper but didn't say anything aside from a small squeak as she felt him tug on her inner lips curiously. At the very least he seemed to have calmed down from his previous fervor and was back to his old self, which was good, but she wished he wasn't quite so blunt and weird. Really though, she shouldn't have been surprised that he was chatty in bed. After all, he was a loudmouth every other time of day. She'd even predicted it before, but somehow still managed to be shocked. Stupid her.

She wasn't given much time to waste thinking about it though, because he was thoroughly distracting her by poking around and exploring. The tip of a finger dipped into her entrance and she sucked in her breath, but then expelled it somewhat disappointedly when he withdrew almost immediately… as if he was just verifying that it was indeed a hole. When he curiously poked at her clit and then lifted the hood to get a look at it, she tensed up again and peeked out from under her arm.

"What's this little thing…? It looks like a pink button." he asked, and then pressed it like it actually was a button.

The heat and pressure of his finger nearly sent her flying of the bed and she yelped, mainly because he'd poked too hard.

"Th-that's my clit!" she announced in a high-pitched voice. "Gentle!"

His hand jerked back, and he stared wide-eyed. "Sorry! Did I hurt you?"

"N-no…but it's _really_ delicate and sensitive…so…like I said, be gentle." she gasped, still recovering from the shock to her system.

"So I can touch it as long as I'm gentle…." he muttered to himself, and then very lightly tapped the tip of his finger to her again, getting a slight jerk of her hips in response.

A pink eyebrow cocked curiously, and he very delicately rubbed, which had her gasping and arching into his touch. She was already so aroused that even his clumsy touch felt amazing.

"Looks like this feels good. What's this clip thing for anyways?"

Leave it to Natsu to mispronounce clit.

"It's clit, not clip." she grumbled, and then sucked in a breath as he lightly rubbed it again. "And it's not _for_ anything except making me feel good…"

His eyes brightened. "So this is what you rubbed to get off last time?"

She nodded, and he grinned, showing some fang as his bright eager eyes grew heavy-lidded and lustful. "Awesome…I wanna make you come Luce."

She jerked at the blunt statement and gasped.

"I just rub it right?"

"U-um…yeah…" she answered weakly, and then flinched as he put words to actions. "But be gentle!"

He immediately lightened his touch but kept rubbing at her enthusiastically. It felt good, but Lucy's body was pretty specific about how it could get off, and there was no way for Natsu to know what she needed from moment to moment. Her clit was irritatingly indecisive, and something that felt good for a little while would suddenly be too hard, too soft, too fast, too slow, or not even in the right spot anymore. So, unless she gave him a constant play by play of how to touch her, there was no way in hell that he had a chance of figuring her out.

Of course Natsu, being Natsu, went at it with his usual enthusiasm and rubbed her in all sorts of interesting, weird, and spastic ways, which sometimes felt fantastic and sometimes…didn't. He also frequently left her clit entirely and started to explore other areas, because he had the attention span of a gnat and didn't really know how to focus. But Lucy was aroused, ridiculously so, and he managed to get her pretty close more than once…which left her squirming around and whining in a way that would normally be utterly humiliating. At the moment though, she couldn't care less how she appeared, because her body was positive that it was about to die – or something equally drastic and ridiculous – if she didn't get some sort of relief.

It was infuriating, but she didn't quite have the confidence yet to vocalize what she needed from him … because if she did, it would be so much instruction that she was pretty sure it would sound like a class. In all honesty though, she was thoroughly enjoying herself, and the last thing she wanted to do was make him feel like an idiot that didn't know what he was doing…even if that _was_ kind of how she felt about it from time to time.

It was hard to think about him as an inexperienced idiot though, when he was constantly saying things that made _her_ feel like a blushing virgin.

The whole time he touched her, he muttered low words that became more and more explicit as he got increasingly turned on. It almost sounded like a running commentary on whatever happened to be going through his mind… as if his brain-to-mouth filter – which was barely there to begin with – had become absolutely nonexistent.

"…. So pretty…. I love it when you make that sound, make it again Luce…. You're so hot squirming around like that…. Come on Luce, orgasm already. I wanna see you come apart…. Damn it, you're driving me insane…."

His heated words only ramped up her lust, although they also consistently shocked her, and every bold statement had her blushing with both embarrassment and arousal.

Then eventually on one of his adventures off her clit, one inquisitive finger once again dipped into her… but this time he slid it all the way home, making her gasp and thrust up into the penetration. She happened to have a dildo and knew how good it could feel, but she'd never had anything inside her as warm as his finger… and he wasn't even using his fire. It felt amazing, and she feverishly thought about his erection and how much she wanted that inside her.

He sucked in his breath and gasped, "Woah…. That's fucking amazing! Damn, I can't wait to feel you around my dick…. you're so slippery and hot here."

She choked out a laugh at the last comment. " _ **I'm**_ hot? Then what's your finger supposed to be?"

"Does it feel good?"

The question was deceptively innocent, but his grin and the way he curled his finger and wiggled it a little said he already knew the answer. She just moaned and bucked up into the touch, but made sure to also give him a glare for being a smartass. He laughed but let it go, instead thoroughly exploring her insides and slipping another finger in, making them both moan at the feeling.

After a minute of fingering her, he pulled his digits out and lifted them to take a look at the clear liquid dripping from them. She flushed, a bit embarrassed about him playing around with her natural lubricant, but it was also strangely exciting to see the proof of her arousal on his hand.

"Seriously…how do you produce so much of this stuff?" he asked, amazed, and then brought his fingers to his face and inhaled, shocking her so much that she gaped at him like a fish.

A deep groan that sounded more like a growl rumbled from his chest, and all semblance of lighthearted banter disappeared from his expression as his muscles tensed. When his eyes opened again, they were dark and heated and held something different from the playful gleam before. Now they shone with something like hunger.

Even his voice had changed, turning into a deeper growl as he looked at his fingers and said, "Fuck. Luce…you smell delicious…"

That statement tipped her off, and she wasn't particularly surprised when his fingers disappeared into his mouth, but she was still left helplessly wondering how she was going to deal with his mood shifts. Natsu had always been mercurial – happy and joking one minute, and fired up for a fight the next – so it shouldn't be particularly shocking that it would also translate to sex, but she was still left at a loss.

A deep moan ripped from his chest as he licked his fingers, and she shuddered at the sound, already able to predict what was probably about to happen. The thought filled her with anticipation and a little bit of anxiety as she wondered how she was going to handle it.

When his eyes slid open again, they were completely dilated, with a glowing ring of gold that felt like it burned her as he locked onto the space where his fingers had just been. Sliding his hand away from his mouth, he growled, "You _**are**_ delicious… that wasn't nearly enough. I've gotta taste you."

She sucked in her breath and flinched a little at his sudden move when he lunged. Hunching his powerful shoulders, he wedged himself firmly between her thighs and ducked his head to her pelvis. Lucy held her breath at the feel of hot breath touching her, and then couldn't hold back a moan when superheated lips touched her. Burning hands locked onto her hips and tilted her up to his mouth, which was lapping at her like a thirsty dog. On every pass of his tongue over her clit she bucked, the nerves seared in the best possible way under his scorching touch.

Her hands twisted into the covers to ground herself as her body twisted under his mouth. It was too much, and yet not enough, and she choked on a gasp, every part of her trembling. She desperately needed release, but he wasn't spending enough time on her clit for her to fall over that edge, so once again she was left writhing and shivering and almost crying.

"N-Natsu…please…" she whimpered, and thankfully he seemed to understand what she needed because his attention immediately shifted.

At first he lapped at her clit, and she would have probably come just from that, but then his lips wrapped around it and he did something that very nearly sent her off the bed. He breathed fire directly onto her, and a shocked cry escaped her as her body violently jumped under him. It was almost unbearable, the searing heat directly focused on her most sensitive part, and she automatically thrashed in an attempt to knock him off… but he wasn't having any of that. His hands clamped down hard on her hips to keep her still and she was forced to endure the sensation of fire licking at her clit, teasing it in an almost painful way. The burn soon settled into pure pleasure though, and within a few seconds she was thrown violently off the cliff and headfirst into an orgasm.

Her entire groin felt like it was on fire – which it technically was – and the burn settled inside, dragging out the sensation of her orgasm until she was gasping for breath and had nearly pulled a muscle in her back trying to twist up into a little ball. It was the most intense sensation she had ever experienced, and she wasn't in control of anything, her cries embarrassingly loud and her body spasming in a way that would have been mortifying in any other situation.

Eventually it grew too much as her clit over-sensitized, and she grabbed his horns and managed to shove him off, gasping, "S-stop! Too much!"

He reluctantly let her push him away, but stayed in between her thighs, eyeballing her v-zone and licking his lips. Then he flashed her a brilliant grin.

"I think I figured out how to make you orgasm. This'll be easy if all I've gotta do is blow fire on you."

Her body shuddered in a strong aftershock brought on by his words, and she stared down at him with wide wet eyes. She wasn't sure what to feel about that statement. On the one hand, heat settled once again in her gut, but on the other … dread made her shudder as she realized that he was right. If a little fire on her clit made her come that strongly, he could probably send her into a coma, and she resolved to put a limit on how many times she let him make her orgasm.

"I wanna do it again!" he announced, and she only just barely managed to snag his horns and stop him before he dove back in.

"Wait! I need a minute to recover at least!" she yelped.

"Why?" he whined, staring up at her with puppy dog eyes.

"I'm _way_ too sensitive right now, it'll just hurt if you mess with my clit right after I orgasm!"

He pouted but seemed to accept her explanation and shifted his mouth to her thigh instead. For a moment she relaxed and sighed, wondering how she was going to peel him off her and distract him from his goal. To be honest, she didn't know if she could handle another orgasm like that right after the first. Besides that, she had another need that was making itself known.

After catching her breath, a thought occurred to her, and she couldn't quite keep the smile off her lips. Putting thoughts to action, she sat up, and when Natsu jerked up a little in surprise, she grabbed hold of his horns and used that grip to pull him up too. He followed her when she fell back onto the bed, not given a choice since she had control of his head, and the sharp tug caused a loud groan to come from him as his eyes scrunched closed in pleasure. As soon as she had him laying over her, she wiggled around until their hips were aligned and then released one horn to reach down between them and grab his erection.

His eyes popped open and he stared down at her in shock as she used her grip on him to align his penis with her entrance, and the breath seemed to get stuck in his throat.

"Luce…are you sure?"

Her tight grip on his head loosened, and she slid her palm down to gently cup his cheek instead as a warm bubble swelled in her chest. Staring up into his eyes, she could see all the love, lust, surprise, and concern welling up within them. The realization that this was happening, that she was really making love with Natsu, hit her like a fluffy feather pillow full of sunshine, and she felt happiness bubble up within her and practically overflow. She felt like she was glowing.

Still, she couldn't resist teasing him, and – in a joking tone laced with affection – she whispered, "Stupid. Should I ask if you're ready?"

He blinked and flushed. "Oh…I thought this was your first time, so…"

"It is."

"Then won't it hurt?"

She rolled her eyes, touched by his concern. "No. It won't. I took care of that when I was a teenager."

It seemed to take him a long moment to figure out what she meant by that – the confusion obvious in his eyes – but then the concern and confusion slowly melted away to be replaced by mirth and lust.

"Oh really? That's awesome Luce…you'll have to tell me all about it sometime."

She chuckled, which turned throaty as he wedged the tip of himself inside her… easily, thanks to her hand guiding him. The first touch was mind-numbing as the heat of him once again assaulted her. It wasn't as hot as his fire, but his penis was still warmer than anything she'd put into herself and was warmer than his fingers for sure. As he slowly slid in, it felt like she was being lit on fire from the inside out, as if her stomach should be glowing, and she arched into him with a moan. It felt amazing.

Another unexpected benefit was that the heat also helped her muscles to relax – which was good since he was still significantly bigger than the small dildo she had been using for years. As she'd told him, it didn't hurt, but there was still a slight stretch as she got used to his size. However, she could hardly concentrate on any discomfort through the pleasure and heat.

When he was fully seated he stopped, and the pause made her open eyes that she hadn't realized were closed. She looked up at him curiously, wondering why he wasn't moving. Instantly she was ensnared by the intense stare he was giving her, and their eyes locked. As soon as they made eye contact he slowly began to move, and she was helpless but to hold his gaze, even as her eyes tried to flutter closed again. His jaw clenched as he gritted his teeth, and his eyes tightened with concentration and heat, probably from forcing himself to go slow.

Giving him a grin, she wrapped her legs around his hips and bucked up to meet him, letting him know wordlessly that he could go faster. The response was instantaneous. His eyes lit with fire, his nose flared, heat blasted from him, and his hips snapped forwards to meet hers in a thrust that nearly drove the breath from her lungs. Though she'd asked for it, the sudden increase in speed took her senses by storm, and she gasped as his hips started up a rhythm that made every nerve scream with pleasure. He seemed to be enjoying it as much as her, based on the loud moans that spilled from his lips.

Naturally, moans weren't the only thing that came from him as he made love to her so thoroughly that she lost track of time, space, and the danger of waking her neighbors. Words tumbled from his mouth in disjointed phrases that were uttered as moans and growls.

"Luce…damn…you feel so good…every bit of you surrounding me…shit…so tight…and soft…god I think I'm gonna lose my mind…never wanna stop…"

By now she was expecting the strange sexual verbal vomit, and it no longer weirded her out or flustered her. Instead, it just turned her on and she moaned in response and met his frantic thrusts.

When she tilted her hips in a certain way, he slammed into her at an angle that sent a burst of sensation through her, and fire melted through her veins with pleasure. Her insides lit up like fireworks had literally been set off in her vagina. The shock of pleasure fried her system and caused a sharp cry to come from her throat, which Natsu picked up instantly as a cue. His frenetic and slightly uncoordinated thrusting slowed just a hair and grew controlled as glittering eyes stared down at her.

"Like this?" he asked and thrusted, but missed the spot. He still ground down into a very sensitive and pleasurable place where he bottomed out inside her, but it wasn't quite the same as before.

She shook her head breathlessly and tilted her hips again, trying to find the angle that felt so good. When she did, her back arched and she hissed as he ground into her in a way that hit all the best places inside her… as if their bodies were built to fit together like that. At her reaction, a sharp-toothed grin spread across his lips, and he grabbed onto her hips to feel the angle she was tilted at.

"Got it…" he growled happily, and lifted her hips even more, making him rub even harder against the places that felt so good. She moaned and arched, flexing her hips in his grip and grinding up into him as he picked up his pace again.

A coil of heat started to tighten in her gut, and she never wanted it to end, even as her insides started to feel a little raw from the rough friction. That might have just been the burn from his penis though as he started to increase in temperature. The closer he got, the hotter he got, and soon it felt like she was being fucked by a furnace… but in a good way.

"Fuck Luce…I'm gonna…" he growled, his hips snapping so hard against her that it almost hurt. "I'm gonna come…fuck you feel so good…can't stop…"

At that point Lucy actually spared a thought to be worried if he would catch the bed on fire with the heat coming off him in blistering waves, but any worries were wiped from her mind as his mouth landed over hers and he orgasmed. It was impossible to miss, considering that he roared into her mouth and she had to swallow a massive amount of fire – which thankfully he poured into her and not into the room – and then she felt his hips tighten and press against her as he came. That same blast of heat that she remembered from last time assaulted her, and she yelped as flames abruptly caressed her skin…flames that were particularly potent where they were connected. They licked her inside and out, and she was helpless but to get tossed headfirst into her own orgasm, which took her so completely by surprise that she let out an embarrassingly loud sound and gripped him tight with legs and arms.

They locked together for a long moment as they rode out their waves of spasms and pleasure, and then they both went limp at the same time and Natsu nearly smothered her. He collapsed on top of her but didn't withdraw from inside…. instead, he just snuggled into her neck and kissed her, much weaker flames already licking her skin.

The scent of smoke made her groan though, and she mumbled, "Natsu…you better put out whatever you set on fire."

With a huff, he pushed himself up, and started patting vigorously at various spots on the bed – all without detaching from her somehow – and then when he was done he flopped back down on top of her.

For a long moment they lay there intertwined, catching their breath, and Lucy was just about ready to shove him off and attempt to sleep when a slow thrust startled her into sucking in a deep breath. Blinking open bleary eyes, she stared up at him as he pushed himself back up.

"What are you doing?"

He grinned. "Ready for round two?"

It took her a long moment to process the question. "But you just came!"

"So? I'm a dragon, I can choose when to get an erection. I can keep it up as long as I want."

Once again she was left gaping at him and wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

* * *

 **Author's Note and Sneak Peek:**

Yes, that really did just happen. ;D

I hope everyone enjoyed it and that it made up for all the heartache last chapter. I know it made me feel better. *smirk*

Anyways, here's your sneak peek (I just couldn't resist commenting after a scene like that, lol)

 **Sneak Peek**

 _When his hand started sneaking over her belly, aiming downwards, she instantly grabbed his wrist in a tight grip. "No sir. No hanky-panky this morning. I need a little more time to recover."_

 _He whined and nipped at her, but let his hand go limp against her stomach. After a long pause that made her think that he might have gone back to sleep – he suddenly sat up with bright eyes. "Okay then… if you're too tired to do that right now, how about we do the mating ceremony instead?"_


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's Note:**

Another double-chapter! Yay! And yes, I did post at night again. My bad. *sad face*

Anyways, as always, a HUGE MEGA-MASSIVE, thanks to all my fantastic wonderful lovely reviewers out there. Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Missy 63, Syfenos U, stranger1999, Anna5949, WisdomDragon27, TheJSmooth, Ksta, Alice, Firefly9917, FantasyDreamer06, valerioux, loopymama, Wolves silver wind, Lucinda, ravenqueen162, KitsuneLover05, Leomae2.0, thetrywriter, Daisy73, Lady La-sara, SunnieDayss, TitaniumRaven, and Serika2001! Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: quidditchChick6 and Surfy!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter just as much as the last. ;D So on with the show! And stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter!

* * *

For hours, Lucy and Natsu made love.

They took turns being on top and flipped around into all sorts of interesting positions…some of which simply did not work. After the first couple of rounds though, Natsu ended up on top and pretty much stayed that way…since Lucy had already burned through all her energy and plainly told him that if he wanted to continue, he was doing all the work. That suited him just fine of course.

Somewhere along the line, she started to wonder if he wasn't a damn bunny instead of a dragon, because certainly he had the energy of one.

He kept at it, alternating between a slow sweet rhythm and a hard fast pounding as he made love to her in every way possible, while Lucy was mainly dragged along for the – extremely enjoyable, if exhausting – ride. It was also an incredibly noisy ride, because Natsu was never silent. It was almost humorous in a way, and certainly had its awkward moments thanks to her boyfriend's utter lack of tact. However, once she got accustomed to it, Lucy mostly just enjoyed his commentary as it followed the tempo of his hips… going from sweet and loving to heated and almost harsh.

Every time he orgasmed, it sent her into one, and by the end she had lost count and was so completely worn out that she couldn't even move. He only stopped because she couldn't take any more…which she told him in no uncertain terms and threatened to banish him to the couch if he didn't cease and desist. By that point, even _he_ was somewhat satisfied, so he didn't fight her on it and happily cuddled instead.

It was already past dawn when she called it quits, and so they ended up sleeping late into the next day. When she finally woke, she was sore in ways she didn't even know she _could_ be sore and was absolutely ravenous.

Natsu was predictably wrapped around her in every way possible. Judging by the way he was nuzzling her neck, she suspected that he was awake, and murmured, "Good morning…" in an exceptionally croaky voice.

He hummed, confirming her suspicion, and responded with, "Mornin' Luce."

When his hand started sneaking over her belly, aiming downwards, she instantly grabbed his wrist in a tight grip. "No sir. No hanky-panky this morning. I need a little more time to recover."

He whined and nipped at her, but let his hand go limp against her stomach. After a long pause that made her think that he might have gone back to sleep – he suddenly sat up with bright eyes. "Okay then… if you're too tired to do that right now, how about we do the mating ceremony instead?"

She blinked up at him, startled by his sudden enthusiasm. "Um…can we have breakfast first?"

"Sure! And then I'll go get the stuff."

As they tumbled out of bed, she asked, "Stuff?"

"Yeah, there are some relics that we need to complete the ceremony."

"Oh…okay then."

With Natsu's eagerness, it wasn't surprising that breakfast was a whirlwind of food – leaving a pretty amazing mess for her to clean up later. She got started on it while Natsu poofed back to the celestial realm to get this "stuff" that he needed for the mating ceremony. To be honest, she still wasn't sure what all went into the mating ceremony, or what it would mean for them after it had been completed, and she had some important questions that needed to be asked before they started. She had wanted to ask during breakfast, but he'd been so busy stuffing his mouth that she hadn't had a chance.

So, when he reappeared with a wisp of smoke and sparks – a small ancient-looking box in hand – she immediately zeroed in.

"So, uh…what exactly is this mating thing that we're going to be doing? I know you said it will help you stay in this world even if you run out of magic by using me as your anchor…but how does it work exactly?"

"Being able to stick around without magic is only a neat side effect." he responded with a broad grin.

"Um, a side effect of what exactly? You haven't really told me what becoming 'official mates' means. I thought I was already a dragon's mate?"

"You are. But you aren't technically _**my**_ mate yet, because we aren't officially bonded. This is kinda like… marriage I guess? Till death do you part and all that?"

"Wait, wait, wait…so this is the dragon version of getting _**married**_?!"

"Yeah…. duh." He gave her a look that said he thought she was a little slow.

It took her a long moment to wrap her mind around that. Sure, she had thought about the possibility of getting married someday, but she'd never once thought that it would happen like this. Or…did it even count as them getting married? If it was the _dragon_ version of marriage, would that mean that she should consider them as married after? Or could she still think of him as her boyfriend? Would Natsu think of them as married? How would that change their relationship? So many questions bounced around in her head that she didn't even know where to begin.

"Okay…um…and yesterday you said it was forever?" she finally asked weakly.

"Yep. After this, we'll be tied together for the rest of our lives!"

Her head suddenly got a little dizzy, and she almost felt like she needed to lie down. This was going so fast…way too fast. Was she ready to make a commitment like this? To get married basically, but with absolutely no way out? Not that she'd ever _want_ a divorce or anything like that, but still…the idea of not having that option was kind of scary.

Anxiety coiled in her stomach, almost making her feel nauseous, but then her eyes latched onto Natsu – who was busy fussing with his ancient box. The opening mechanism was some sort of puzzle, with latches and sliders all over the place, and he wasn't making very quick headway against it. In fact, she was mildly shocked that the box wasn't broken yet after all the yanking, twisting, and clawing that it was currently enduring. He was obviously getting aggravated with it, based off the vibrant language he was spitting under his breath and the little curls of flame that sparked from his nose every now and then.

Strangely, the sight was soothing, reminding her that this was Natsu…the silly, dorky, impatient, caring, and loyal man that she'd fallen in love with. Her heart cranked tight and then melted, answering her previous question. Yes, she was ready. Natsu was her best friend, the love of her life, and - in all honesty - she was positive that he was her soul mate. It might be cheesy as hell, but she truly believed that it was true. She just couldn't imagine her life without him, and frankly didn't want to.

That didn't mean she wasn't still a little nervous about it all, or that she wasn't going to ask more questions though.

"So…after we do this, are you going to consider us married?"

"Huh?" He glanced up from the box and shot her a confused look. "I guess…why?"

"I'm just wondering how this is going to change our relationship. I mean…I honestly don't know if I'm ready to think of you as my husband…it just feels a little weird."

When he frowned, she hurried to say, "Not that I don't want to get married someday! I do! But…it just feels so soon you know? I mean…we've only been dating for a few months…"

"Technically it's been a lot longer than that, but you were in a coma for most of it so…" He said it in a joking tone, but the words were laced with a lot more than just light-hearted banter.

"Oh. True."

There was a slightly tense pause, but then Natsu perked up. "You worry too much Luce! Nothing's gonna change. I've been thinking of you as my mate from the start. Hell, probably even longer than that. The ceremonial shit just makes it official."

"But…that "ceremonial shit" seems pretty important to you." Lucy pointed out, air-quoting his words back at him.

"Well sure. I've been wanting to do it since I first realized I loved you. It permanently ties us together and means I can always be with you. But it's not gonna change the way I feel about you… or anything else really."

He was giving her that look again…the one that said he wasn't sure what the problem was and that this should all be obvious.

"So is it okay if I still think of you as my boyfriend?"

"Sure. Boyfriend, mate, partner, whatever. I don't care. And whenever you're ready to get married, we can do that too."

He shot her a brilliant smile, and any lingering doubts she may have had melted away. After this, she knew that their relationship would be different, but different in a good way. Stronger. And like he said, it didn't have to affect the way they thought and felt about each other. So, she watched quietly as he returned to figuring out how to open the box. Nerves settled in the pit of her stomach, but they were happy nerves… like lots of joyful caffeinated butterflies had taken up residence inside her.

After a little wrangling, he finally managed to break into the box and pulled out a necklace. Then he turned to her with bright excited eyes, and his enthusiasm was contagious.

"You ready?"

"Yeah. I am." she said back with a smile, one which he returned with just as much love and affection.

"Alright then! First…" he held out the necklace, which was just a rope really, upon which dangled a large stone. She ducked her head so he could slip it onto her neck.

"There, that will let you come to the celestial realm with me."

"Wait, wha-"

She didn't get to finish the sentence, because he was already wrapping his arms around her, and then fire suddenly filled her vision. It felt strange, like she was being squeezed through a very tiny tube, and then the pressure released with a pop.

She gasped and wobbled, feeling a little dizzy and weak. Her legs gave out and he grabbed her, lifting her bridal style into his arms.

"Woah, easy there. Come on, let's get you inside."

Through blurry eyes, she noticed the courtyard they were in, and then he was carrying her through the front door of a beautiful stony cottage that was growing out of a huge tree. He laid her on a hammock, and then turned to start fiddling with something he had set up in the middle of the floor.

Once her head stopped spinning, she gingerly lifted up onto her elbows to test it, and when the dizziness stayed away, she risked looking around at her surroundings. She was in a large room and didn't notice any doors that would indicate other rooms branching off this one. A big round window perched above the door they had entered through, and several large square windows perforated the walls, letting in lots of light. They appeared sunken into the walls, but a closer look at the nearest one showed that there was also a deep lip of rock on the outside, which suggested that the walls had to be at least a couple feet thick.

The thick stone walls and stone floors might have given the room a claustrophobic or prison-like feel, but it was actually homey and cozy instead. A cushy looking couch sat across from her against the opposite wall, a small table parked in the middle of the room, and the fish-shaped welcome mat that Happy had given him for Christmas was displayed proudly just inside the door.

What really caught her attention though, was the tree that had completely taken over one wall, somehow growing into, around, and out of the stone. It almost looked like the tree had _eaten_ that wall. Where any stone survived, it was cracked and held together by the plant that had broken it, but very little had survived and that side of the room was mostly walled by rippling black bark. It was beautiful actually, glossy and shiny… almost like glass or melted rock. Just based off the look of it, she got the distinct feeling that this tree was probably fire-proof.

Roots from the tree spread throughout the room, crawling in between the cobblestones of the floor, creeping across the ribbed ceiling, and decorating the walls with coils and curlicues. Some hung from the ceiling and had been wrangled into rough baskets and nets that held various things. A single thick branch had poked through the ceiling and then out the other side, which was what Lucy's hammock was hanging from, and smaller branches coming off it sported shiny green leaves.

It was actually beautiful and really made the room seem magical…like something from a fairy tale.

However, the room itself was also incredibly messy. Clutter piled up in the corners, seemingly shoved there absentmindedly to be forgotten. Clothes also lay in heaps and strewn across the room, and Lucy could easily see that a lot of the clothes were pairs of familiar trousers and vests. She also recognized a few other garments that Natsu had worn from time to time – usually when she suggested it. A roughhewn candelabra – made out of what looked like an old carriage wheel – had a pair of boots dangling from it that she was positive were the ones he had worn on their double date with Gray. But the majority of the presumably dirty clothes were copies of the outfit he seemed most fond of.

This was very obviously Natsu's house, and somehow she wasn't even the tiniest bit surprised that it looked like a disaster zone.

"You need a maid." she joked as she sat up fully in the hammock.

He turned at the sound of her voice and shot her a grin. "If you're offering, I wouldn't turn ya down."

She snorted. "Be careful what you wish for."

After a moment of thinking and staring around at the mess, she conceded. "But if you plan on inviting me here a lot, then I probably will have to tidy it up. Because holy shit, did a bomb go off in here or something?"

"Nope. Just me." he replied with an innocent grin, and she burst out laughing.

"Well that's plenty. Even worse than a bomb actually."

Once she'd stopped chuckling, he grinned happily and asked, "So, I guess you're feeling better?"

She nodded. "Yeah, my head's stopped spinning."

"Then why're you still over there? Com'ere!"

She carefully got to her feet – waiting to see if the dizziness returned – and when it didn't, she padded over to see what he was doing. He had set up a very complicated looking magic circle on the floor and gestured for her to come sit with him in the center.

"You ready to continue?"

She nodded again and said, "Sure. What's first?"

"First we gotta make our mate mark."

"What's a mate mark?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "You're gonna be asking questions the whole time aren't ya?"

"Unless you want to explain it all up front." she answered with a beatific grin.

With a sigh, he picked up an orb that had been sitting next to him on the ground. "Alright, here's the deal. We're both gonna hold onto this thing, then we're gonna kiss and I'm gonna give you a bunch of fire. The ball will absorb magic from both of us and use my fire as fuel to make a seal. Then you and I will use the seal to make a mate mark on our bodies, wherever we want it, and the ceremony will be complete. The mate mark is a magic circle that'll combine our magic and bind us together forever. Sound good?"

She blinked at the fast and somewhat rough explanation, but thought she'd pretty much gotten the gist of it. "Uh, yeah, I think I got it."

"Cool! Alright. You hold it, and I'll put my hands over yours, kay?"

She nodded and accepted the orb from him, cupping it in her palms, and his hands covered hers so that they were both holding it.

"Great! Now, I've just gotta kiss you. You ready?"

She looked up from the globe and met his glittering eyes with a smile. "Yeah."

He leaned in and sealed his mouth over hers, kissing her gently for a moment, but quickly deepened the contact and started to feed her his fire. It was a slow burn that gradually increased in intensity, but soon Lucy felt like she was melting – in a good way – as the fire built up inside her. The sensation was certainly familiar, especially after all the flames she had swallowed last night, but somehow it grew even more blistering than she remembered it ever being before. Perhaps the orb was affecting his fire somehow, or he was intentionally using a more potent flame…. but whatever the case, she soon felt like she was going to spontaneously combust.

She groaned into his mouth, panting heavily through her nose as his flames seemed to reach all new heights within her. The heat was so intense that she tried to pull back for a moment, just to catch her breath, but his tail snuck around her body and held her to him tightly. At that, she whined a little, squirming to try and ease her discomfort…feeling both way too hot and also way too aroused.

The experience certainly wasn't unpleasant…just incredibly intense and a little overwhelming. After last night, she felt extremely sensitive to his fire – even more than usual, which was saying a lot – and with this much flowing through her she could feel her body becoming very _receptive_. A lot of that heat had settled low in her belly and was causing all sorts of interesting reactions even lower…making her thighs press together in a way that really didn't do much of anything, but still relieved some of the building tension.

She almost forgot what they were doing, but when her hands tried to move from the orb – intending to grab him and pull him closer – his hands kept hers in place.

Eventually the flames and magic seemed to reach some kind of peak, and with a gasp on both of their parts, they separated. Lucy mindlessly followed his gaze to look down at the sphere in their hands and watched in amazement as it swirled bright with fire. The blaze within it seemed to be moving, morphing, until it eventually settled into one shape. It looked like a medallion of some sort and slowly floated up through the sphere – which seemed to turn into jelly at the top to allow it to emerge. Natsu released the globe and plucked the medallion out of the top. Once it was removed, the sphere rehardened, and Natsu took it out of her hands and placed it into a box that he sealed.

"So, what's that?" she panted, gesturing at the medallion he was still holding.

"This? This is the seal that'll give us our mate marks. See?"

He flipped it so that she could see the other side, and she immediately noted a raised symbol that prominently took up the entire circular surface. It was a magic circle… a very fancy one made of flames that had a stylized dragon's face in the center. Celestial symbols marked it at regular intervals around the edges, and interwoven with everything was the star that always appeared in her summoning spells. It perfectly combined their magic, and she didn't think she'd ever seen a more beautiful magic circle in all her time as a mage.

"It's beautiful…"

He grinned and seemed to puff up a little with pride. "Yeah…it sure is."

"So, uh…what do we do with it?"

"Pick where you want our mate marks to be. Then I'll 'brand' you with the seal and –" At her horrified look, he quickly amended. "Not like that! It's not gonna hurt! It'll just be like when you got your guildmark!"

"Oh, okay…" she breathed with a sigh of relief.

"Anyways, like I was saying before you got all freaked out…" She rolled her eyes at his pointed pause, and he grinned. "…you pick where you want it, and I'll fix it to you. A matching mark will appear on me in the same place."

She contemplated it for a moment. Considering the importance of the symbol, she figured it should be somewhere visible…like their guildmarks. Speaking of, she decided it would be good to have their mate mark in a place that would complement their guildmarks, considering that the two magical tattoos would probably be coexisting on their bodies for the rest of their lives. So that meant… either their left arm or the left side of their neck. Both those places were visible and complimented the mark on Natsu's right shoulder and Lucy's right hand.

"What do you think about our left shoulder?"

A brilliant grin lit his face. "Sounds good to me!"

So saying, he turned her so that her left shoulder was facing him, and then pressed the medallion to her skin. There was a tingle, and then suddenly it felt like all the fire that he'd just pumped into her had been channeled into her shoulder, which started to burn viciously – but not hurt. She yelped, and Natsu hissed as he assumedly felt the same sensation on his shoulder. It only lasted for a few moments, and then the medallion disappeared in a flash of fire. When she looked down to where it had been pressed, a glowing tattoo remained behind.

That wasn't the only thing left behind though. Lucy could clearly feel how their magics were intertwining within her, and somehow knew that the same thing was happening in Natsu's body. It was like she could sense him in a whole new way…as if his scent had suddenly become a thousand times stronger, and she was smelling him loud and clear for the first time. Only, it wasn't his smell that she was picking up, and it wasn't her nose that was doing the sensing. It was something much more integral to him… as if their very essences were tangling and letting her feel him soul to soul.

It was intoxicating.

A deep shuddering breath and blast of heat from her partner was the only warning she got before he pounced on her. She huffed as she fell backwards under his weight, and the back of her skull slapped into his palm as he stopped it from hitting the floor.

Heated lips brushed hers as he muttered, "Sorry Luce, I know you're still sore, but…"

"…it's okay." she whispered back and didn't hesitate to grab his head and pull him closer.

Fire once again spilled down her throat, and she sighed into it, feeling pleasure akin to drinking water after being thirsty for what felt like forever. The kiss was bruising, and his tongue was unapologetic as it set up shop in her mouth, which she welcomed wholeheartedly.

Clothes came off in a flurry, but she couldn't be worried about potentially losing hers amongst his mess. Getting down to skin contact was much more important and consumed all her thoughts as she gasped into his mouth. She barely even protested when her bra met a fiery end… not when that same fire licked her breasts.

It was less than a minute before Natsu's hips had wedged between her thighs and he was already sliding inside. Thanks to the scorching kiss that had created their mate mark, she was plenty wet and the entry was easy. Her insides still twinged with leftover soreness from last night though, and so she winced a little as he slammed home.

"Sorry…" he hissed, noting her pained response with a flinch of his own. "I'll be more gentle."

"Yeah. Good idea…" she huffed back, but laughter threaded her tone.

They shared a grin, but it was broken on a groan as he started to move. The pace he set was gentle and slow, which drove them both a little nuts, but was necessary.

As for Natsu, he could barely restrain himself from fucking her senseless.

He'd known the mating process would combine their magic and connect them in some sort of intense way…but he'd never expected it to feel like _this._ It was like their magic…no, even deeper than that…. it felt like their _souls_ were having sex. Literally. A piece of him was permanently inside of her now, and a piece of Lucy was now part of him.

The feeling was nearly enough to drive him up the wall crazy, so keeping a slow pace was almost impossible. But he'd seen her reaction to his first thrust and knew she must still be sore from last night. To be fair, it was possible he'd overdone it a little…but he'd just been so damn excited about making love to her for the first time that he couldn't stop. _Especially_ after being parted for so long.

This new connection between them was the perfect medicine for that though, because the aching loneliness that had made him feel cold inside – which was NOT a fun feeling for a fire dragon – was now completely washed away by the warmth of Lucy. It was like the part of her that had entered him perfectly filled that empty spot, and now he felt whole and happy.

He had unexpectedly lied to her, because his feelings _had_ changed after the mating ceremony. There was no way in hell he'd ever thought he could love her more, but that's precisely what had happened. Go figure. He kinda didn't think she'd mind too much though, or at least he _hoped_ she wouldn't mind…but Lucy did sometimes think some pretty weird things from time to time. Still, even if she did get mad at him for it, he couldn't help himself. It just felt too awesome.

Even going slow ended up being kinda nice, because it forced him to feel every little sensation, and was almost more intense than mindlessly pounding away at her. Soon he was enjoying the insane tension winding tight between them, and definitely loved the way that Lucy was grinding her teeth and digging her nails into his back. It was obvious she wanted a harder pace too, and that she was frustrated by her own body holding them back. Maybe it was a little mean of him to enjoy the fiery look in her eyes driven by frustration and need, but he just couldn't help himself. It was too sexy and funny at the same time.

"Damnit Luce…you're so fucking hot when you get like this…so damn cute and funny too…I love watching you… _sh-shit_ …" He stuttered a little and moaned when she twisted her hips.

She growled, impressing him with the sound, and then snarled, " _Natsu_ …"

It was a demand, plain and simple. He'd heard her plenty last night, and by now he knew when she was asking for more, but he couldn't resist playing with her.

"Yeah… just like that… all angry and needy… it makes me wanna fuck you so bad…"

She choked, flushing the way she still did when he said something that surprised her a little, but he could tell that she was turned on by it too. Which was good, cause he sure as hell couldn't control what came out of his mouth when he was having sex with her. If she didn't like it, they'd have a serious problem.

"Then do it! Fuck me already!"

Lust stung him in the butt and shot up his spine, making him shudder. It had taken a while, but she'd started to talk back – a little – late last night. It never failed to turn him on, to a ridiculous degree, and he had a hell of a time keeping himself under control.

" _Luuuce_ …" he groaned back, not ashamed at all by the whiny, nearly begging, note in his voice. "You're the one who's sore…and I don't wanna hurt ya."

She sighed and her eyes softened. "I know…"

At that point, things shifted between them, and he was happy to go slow and gentle. She seemed happier with it too, as they switched from nearly fucking – at an enragingly slow pace – to making love. He liked both ways, and last night he'd shifted between them more times than he could count. Fucking felt amazing, hard and fast the way he always liked things, and it was the best way to burn off his never-ending lust for her…. but making love was just as amazing. Above and beyond everything else, he loved her…and thoroughly enjoyed showing her just how much.

The touches got a lot softer, but the intensity stayed the same. His fire burned just as hot as it spilled out of his mouth into hers, and her moans were just as arousing. The way she sounded when he made love to her was almost pretty…or at least a lot prettier than the noises he got when he fucked her. She switched from being demanding, bossy, and loud to humming quietly into his mouth. Even when he pulled louder sounds from her, they were still sweet somehow…higher pitched and full of a lot of cooing and sighing.

Of course, he loved any sound of pleasure that came from her.

And naturally, his mouth didn't stop running either, but what came out of it was a lot nicer too. As always, what he said came directly from what he was thinking, and when he made love to her he was generally thinking a lot of loving things.

"How'd I ever get someone like you…?...damnit Luce…you're so perfect…love you so much…too much…never gonna let you go…. you're my life, ya know?... shit… Luce…feels amazing…. never wanna stop…."

Aaaaand his brain was quickly turning to jelly.

After a while, he just stopped thinking completely. And naturally, the stuff he was saying also changed, shifting to whatever his body was feeling – which meant there was a lot of, "…so soft…silky…feels so good…" and stuff like that.

Which was true. Everything about her was soft and silky, and he just couldn't get enough of it. He was drunk on her and sure as hell never wanted to sober up. Everything about her was perfect…the way she gripped him with her soft thighs, the way her arms wrapped tight around his neck to keep him right where she wanted him, the way her insides felt wrapped around him like a silk glove, the way her lips clung to his…. he was a goner.

He tried to make it last, mainly because it felt amazing and he never wanted it to end…but a dick was a dick, and it could only take so much. So, once he felt that familiar tightening in the balls and tingling in the spine, he figured there was no going back. Even Lucy seemed to know it was coming, because she arched up and clamped tight – in a way that said she wanted him to finish. With a full-body shudder, he obeyed her silent demand and fell headfirst into an orgasm.

Unlike last night, he didn't have to worry about setting anything on fire – not that he'd been the one worrying about it anyways – but still, he'd held back a little. Now though, he let the fires out completely, and Lucy moaned even loader than usual through her own orgasm as she was bathed in it. Natsu moaned too. He'd never get over how beautiful she looked covered in the flickering red, gold, and orange lights of his flames, and the sight sent him into some pretty intense aftershocks.

Her orgasms always seemed to last longer than his – based off how long he could feel her contracting around him – but feeling, seeing, and hearing her cumming never failed to give him waves of pleasure long after the first burst. Her squeezing always led to him pulsing, and it went back and forth and back and forth in some kinda weird amazing thing…. up until they both collapsed.

Doing this with her always felt magical – not that he generally thought those sorts of sappy thoughts, but in this case it felt warranted. It was always mind-blowing, no matter how many times they did it, and every time seemed somehow better than the last.

…

After, they lay curled up together, though they had relocated to the couch since the floor turned out to be rather hard.

As they rested, Lucy absentmindedly ran her fingers across the new marks on Natsu's body…having already grown familiar with them after all the time spent naked together within the past 24 hours. His fight with Acnologia had left him with a jagged mark crawling up from his neck, over his jaw, and across his right cheek a ways. He also now sported a set of claw marks crisscrossed in the shape of an X low on his abdomen above his left hip.

After a while of tracing the scars she could see, she asked, "How's your wing? Did it heal up okay?"

He was partially asleep but cracked open one eye at her question. Then he grunted and shifted under her, rolling first one way and then the other as his wings popped out for examination. For once, he was apparently not in the mood to talk.

The wing that hadn't been injured curled over her in an alien hug, but the one she'd asked about stretched out so she could look at it. She partially sat up and grabbed his wing, manipulating it gently so she could see the webbing that had been ripped so badly. To her relief, it had completely healed up, but several pale scars now marred the red leather. Her fingers gently traced the marks, just as they had done across the rest of his body, almost in a silent apology.

With a sigh, she lay back down – to the sound of a contented purr-like rumble from Natsu – and both his wings tucked in and cuddled up against her, holding her like a second pair of arms. The unaccustomed texture felt a little strange on her bare skin, but it was so oddly adorable that she quickly acclimated. Plus, his wings were deliciously warm, and as she'd already noted, when his fire wasn't turning her on, it was incredibly relaxing and soothing.

Lazily, she petted another pale scar she noticed on the 'arm' of his wing, and then smoothed her fingers up it until she reached his shoulder. From there, she trailed her fingers back up his neck. His new scars certainly did nothing to diminish his attractiveness in Lucy's eyes, though she did have somewhat conflicted feelings about them. On the one hand, they reminded her of how hard he had fought to protect her and the rest of their guild, and in that sense they inspired pride and awe. However, they also reminded her of how much pain he had gone through.

As she traced the one over his cheek, she ran into the older scar that crossed his neck. That was still a mark that she knew little to nothing about, and her fingers lightly trailed over it curiously. It was pretty long, wrapping around from the back to the front, and suddenly she wondered what could have possibly made it. Now that she knew what it took to make a scar on his body, she realized that it must have very nearly been lethal.

It also brought up another question that she'd been meaning to ask him for a very long time – because she was sure the scar was somehow connected. "Hey Natsu? Why were you sealed away in the celestial realm?"

She could feel his body tensing under her, and for a moment worried that maybe she shouldn't pry, but then he relaxed and blew out a deep sigh. "It's a long story Luce…you sure you wanna hear it?"

"Yes…. But only if you don't mind telling it."

"Well…it's not fun to remember. But I wouldn't mind telling _you_. Really, it's probably something you should know about anyways." He huffed another sigh and paused for a moment, seeming to collect his thoughts. "Shit, I dunno where to start really. I guess I'll just get into it. Uh…my last mage pissed off this big organization called the church of Zentopia. They were a bunch of idiots who thought that magic was evil or something stupid like that."

When he paused again, Lucy interjected, "I've read about them in the history books. They were really powerful…up until they mysteriously disappeared several hundred years ago. The general consensus is that the Black Wizard Zeref wiped them out. Or else they wiped each other out, since Zeref kind of dropped off the map about that time too."

He snorted. "That's pretty true actually. 'Cept I'm the one who did the wiping."

Her mind went blank as she tried to absorb that information and figure out what it meant. "Sorry…what?"

"That's why I was sealed away. I did way too much damage and…probably killed a _lot_ of people. I kinda didn't notice exactly whether they lived or died at the time."

"Okay, back up. Start over please, I'm totally lost."

"Right, so…like I said, Zeref pissed off Zentopia and-"

"Wait…Zeref? What does Zeref have to do with anything?"

He blinked at her like _he_ was the one who was lost. "Um…he was my mage?"

At that, Lucy's mind once again went blank. "What?! ZEREF was your last mage?! The BLACK WIZARD?! _**That**_ Zeref?!"

"Yeah, well… I never could figure out why people started calling him that but…what's the problem?"

"What's the problem?! You were contracted to the evilest, darkest mage of all time! Of course that's a problem!"

There was a long moment while Lucy partially sat up and stared at him aghast, and then Natsu busted out laughing. "Evil? Zeref? That's a good one Luce!"

"What the…? Why are you laughing? This isn't a joke Natsu, Zeref really was one of the worst mages in history. He caused a huge amount of death and destruction during his life… and his evil creations _still_ cause death and destruction whenever one is unearthed."

His laughter slowly tapered off, and then he started to frown. "Damn…is that really what everyone thinks?"

Lucy nodded.

"Well it's not true. Zeref wasn't evil."

"Then how do you explain all of the terrible things he did?"

"Mostly it was by accident. He wasn't some sort of evil dark mage, he was just an inventor. Mind you, he was also a klutz, and a lot of his inventions didn't work the way he thought they would…but he never meant for them to go haywire and run around destroying stuff. Plenty of his creations did turn out right though! Like, he was the first one to come up with talking through lacrima crystals. And he made a spell to seal things up tight for years. And he…"

For a while he listed off various things that Zeref apparently did, and most of them Lucy recognized as accomplishments claimed by researchers affiliated with the Magic Council. Eventually, she just had to point that out.

"Um…most of that stuff was invented by people who work with the Magic Council."

He huffed. "Not surprised they'd take all the credit. Zeref worked for the Magic Council as one of their researchers, but they eventually fired him for causing too much trouble. And when he _kept_ causing trouble, they labeled him a dark mage and he had to go into hiding…. But they still bought all his successful inventions."

Lucy could totally believe that. She'd seen some of the stupid bureaucracy present in the Magic Council and how corrupt and two-faced they could be at times.

"Anyways, so, he did make a bunch of stuff that worked…but whatever didn't work seemed to do it in a really BIG way. Part of what I did for him was take out whatever went AWOL."

Somehow, she had the feeling that Natsu probably did about as much damage as whatever it was that he was trying to stop. No wonder Zeref was supposedly responsible for so much chaos….

"But then he caught Zentopia's attention, and they were somehow _convinced_ that he was some sort of demon. I mean, he did dabble in some demon magic from time to time, but nothing really _bad._ But anyways…they decided he was evil. So, one day they attacked…"

He paused again and his teeth audibly ground together as he tensed up. "I still dunno how they did it, but they had this weird magic that nullified all other kinds of magic. It took us by surprise, and they managed to capture him. They took me too, but the magic canceling spell eventually forced me back to the celestial realm. By the time I could open my gate again…Zeref was gone, and I couldn't summon to him thanks to that _**damn**_ spell."

There was another break in his monologue as he took a deep shuddering breath. At this point, she could already see some similarities between this story and how she'd disappeared, and abruptly realized that he had probably suffered even more than she had imagined. It had to have brought up bad memories.

When he continued, his voice was even tighter. "I…went crazy. I couldn't sense him, but I knew he was alive somewhere…so…I went on a rampage. I transformed fully and hunted down every Zentopian church I could find, tearing each one apart looking for him, and when he wasn't there I would burn it to the ground. I…I don't even really remember how many people I hurt or…killed. I went through a lot of churches…probably took out most of them. Eventually I did find him, but it was nearly too late."

Another shaky breath wracked his frame, and Lucy hurried to hold him, curling back up on top of him and wrapping her arms around his back. "You don't have to tell me any more…it's okay."

"No I…I want to. It feels good to get it off my chest. And you should probably know what I'm capable of." He responded hoarsely, his arms wrapping around her tightly to lock her in place. His chin settled on top of her head, and she heard the rough note deep in his chest as he continued. "They'd… 'exorcised' him. Or at least that's what they said they were doing…but I dunno what the hell that was supposed to mean. As far as I could tell, it just looked like they'd tortured him to within an inch of his life. They'd also poisoned him with something that was sapping his magic. It would've killed him."

"How did you get past that magic canceling spell?"

"It wasn't easy. That's how I got this scar…" he touched the one on his neck that had sparked the conversation. "The guy who could use it drained me pretty good and then tried to lop my head off. Thankfully, I got him first."

She winced at the idea of someone trying to cut his head off and the mental picture of how bad a wound it must have been. "So then what happened?"

"I got Zeref home and found him a doctor that managed to cure the poison." He paused once again and heaved yet another long sigh – but this one sounded mournful. "When he woke up and found out what I'd done, he was _horrified._ He blamed himself, said it was just like one of his experiments gone bad, and vowed that he would never use magic again. But before he went into permanent hiding and stopped using magic, he sealed up all of his inventions that he hadn't already sold. And then…he sealed my gate shut."

"So _that's_ how it got sealed…. But couldn't the Celestial King undo it?"

"He could've, but he decided that I'd caused too much trouble. It acted like a fail-safe… 'cause anyone who wasn't strong enough to open the seal probably couldn't keep me under control either."

"Oh." Lucy couldn't think of anything else to say about what she'd just found out.

For a long moment there was just silence between them, until she eventually found some appropriate words. "I'm so sorry Natsu. It … sounds like you really cared for him. I can't imagine how hard that all must have been for you."

"Yeah…. He was like a brother to me honestly."

"I can tell." she responded softly, almost able to taste the hurt and sadness in his tone.

They stayed curled up together for a long time after that as Lucy lent him silent support. Eventually though, he perked back up.

"So what do ya wanna do now?"

"Well…you could give me a tour of your home." she suggested after a moment of contemplation.

"Alright! Sounds like fun to me! I'm all fired up! Come on Luce!"

She was unsurprisingly yanked off the couch, and hastily managed to grab a random orange t-shirt to put on over her nakedness. It smelled like the ocean and Natsu's sweat, and she remembered when he'd worn it to the beach before they went to Tenrou Island. Of course it also smelled like a year's worth of dust.

"When was the last time you did laundry Natsu?!"

"Uh…." he trailed off as he tugged her to the back of the room. "I dunno."

"Oh for the love of…hold up Natsu." She tugged her hand out of his and looked around the room with her hands on her hips. "This just isn't going to do."

He watched with a cocked head as she started bustling around the room, gathering up all the clothing that cluttered every available space. She dumped it all into one HUGE pile, and then started to tackle the rest of his incredibly random mess.

"We're cleaning up this nonsense, or at least tidying a bit."

"We are? Right now?"

"Yes! Now pick up that dresser and put it back upright! We'll put all your clothes in there after they're clean."

He heaved a sigh, but obediently did what she demanded and lifted up the poor capsized furniture and propped it back up against the wall. For the next hour or so, Lucy sorted through the debris that had piled up, finding all sorts of crazy things like a training dummy with a picture of Erza taped to it, a seat made out of a rocking horse and a giant spring, what looked like possibly a voodoo doll, a bunch of random gears and cogs, old bags of food that he'd stolen from her house, and some really HUGE weights.

However, most of the clutter was just trash – which Natsu promptly disposed of with fire-coated hands. Then it was simply a matter of sweeping the ash out the door.

It took a little while, but eventually the small house was much tidier. Even Natsu was impressed.

"Wow Luce…" he said as they stood back and looked at their handiwork. "It looks really good! I'll have to bring you here more often."

She just snorted and shook her head at him in amusement.

After a minute of admiring the room, Natsu turned and pulled her with him to the back, where she'd noticed a set of stairs disappearing down into the floor.

"Where are we going?"

"Well, you wanted a tour right? Come on, let me show you the rest of my house."

"I hope it's cleaner than this room…" she grumbled to herself as she followed him.

The stone stairs went down into a steep hole-like hallway, and soon they had gone deep enough for the light to grow dim. Natsu spat little balls of fire to light torches along the walls as they descended. Soon they were emerging into a large underground room that was at _least_ twice the size of the room above.

The tree had done a lot of redecorating down here too… mostly in the form of roots that lined the walls and hung from the ceiling. One entire wall was just composed of shelves that actually seemed to be made of roots, as if they had been wrestled, tied into knots, and forced into the shape. In that area, a lot of the hanging roots had also been braided and tied into baskets and nets. In fact, it looked like Natsu had taken objection to the roots entirely and had waged war on them, tying them up and wrangling them into enormous strands that Lucy had thought were pillars at first. The ceiling was high enough and the room was large enough that pillars wouldn't have been out of place. In fact, it was a pretty magnificent space, totally at odds with the cozy tiny room above.

The only furniture down here were hanging chairs that had been made out of roots just like everything else. They were pretty though and looked really comfortable. There was one large one that Lucy was pretty sure acted more like a hammock, but the others were smaller and basket-like.

Just like above, one wall had been completely taken over by roots – the one with all the root-shelves – and then they slowly thinned until they pretty much disappeared on the opposite side. That side was just stone, with what looked like large niches in the rock wall. Each niche was a different size and shape, as if Natsu had carved every space out specially to hold the item displayed inside. They each held something rather large and interesting looking: an entire suit of armor, a statue, a rack that held a series of fascinating weapons, a monstrously huge fang, a giant chunk of shimmering crystal, a carved log that looked like a totem pole, and other fascinating items that sparked Lucy's curiosity.

She was stunned by how neat and organized it all looked. The items were even labeled…a feat which she had thought impossible for her boyfriend.

Then her eyes traveled to the back of the room, and she stopped and stared. In the far back corner was a large sunken area, at least five steps down from the rest of the floor, and in the center of that space was a big circular pool of bright red bubbling liquid. For a long moment she gaped at the glowing pool and suddenly wondered just how different her perception of this room was from someone who wasn't a fire dragon's mate. If that really was what she thought it was…then this room should feel unbearably hot, and she should be in some serious discomfort and pain – if not dead. Instead, it just felt really comfortable…if maybe just a tad too warm.

"Hey Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that a pool of lava over there?"

"Oh! Yeah! Remember, I told you I took baths in lava? It's awesome, you should really try it."

"Uh…I don't think so."

Cringing a little, she turned away from the molten rock and focused on the shelves, nooks, pedestals, and hanging nets strewn throughout the whole room. Like with his niches, all the things on them and in them were neatly organized and carefully laid out. There were also pieces of paper tacked to the walls, again seeming neatly organized and put into some sort of order.

She approached the nearest shelf area and took a closer look. This one seemed dedicated to a very strange collection of extremely old looking artifacts. There was no discernable rhyme or rhythm to what got put here. Extremely valuable artifacts made of precious materials were put next to what looked like worthless junk. A jeweled goblet had been placed next to a broken bowl full of dirt. A delicate and impeccably crafted tapestry was tacked to the back of the shelf behind what looked like a necklace made of fangs. Some sort of ancient looking pottery was set next to a pile of rusty gears. Each item had a label though, so she read them hoping for some kind of insight.

Most of the labels had a location or some other random piece of information. Sometimes they were full-on notes to himself, but other times they were just a single word or name – like a big snake-skin that was simply labeled, " _Zirconis_." The tags told her that these things all had some sort of meaning, but not much about them. Still, they were fascinating, and she perused the shelves, admiring some of the prettier or intriguing things, wondering at some of the weirder things, and frowning at some of the incomprehensible things.

When she leaned in to look closer at a sapphire necklace, Natsu hurried to warn her, "Don't touch that, it's cursed."

She was quick to jerk back and was a lot more careful from then on about her proximity to the various items.

The first few shelves had labels that she wasn't at all familiar with, but as she traveled further down, she started to recognize some of the locations and names. By that point, if she had to wager a guess, she'd say that he had organized the items by date of acquisition, which she found quite interesting.

Eventually, she hit a very large section that seemed mostly dedicated to Zeref, which she naturally paid much closer attention to. A lot of the stuff looked broken and had weird labels. There was a shattered bottle that was labeled as, " _Teeth Whitening…DON'T TOUCH_ ," and a blackened crystal that said, " _speaking lacrima trial #54 - still need to get that shard out of my shoulder_." A broken flute said, " _this was a terrible idea_ ," and a pile of bricks was tagged as, " _Hargeon. making a self-driving ship was stupid_."

Pieces of paper lined the shelf-walls… what looked like requests, formulas, and loose notes, and several shelves were just taken up by stacked notebooks. She was awestruck by the amount of information here on such a historical figure, and her fingers almost itched to take notes. If only she could write a story about what really happened…but she'd probably be thrown in jail for publishing something so blasphemous. Especially since it would expose the Magic Council as part of a massive cover-up.

The shelves after those were almost sad in comparison. One shelf was empty except for a series of scratched marks defacing every available surface within it. None overlapped, but they weren't exactly neat either.

"Hey Natsu…what are these?"

"Oh…I decided to count the years I got stuck here." he said with a shrug, as if it was nothing.

Shocked, Lucy turned back to the shelf and started counting. Even skimming, she lost count around a hundred, and her stomach turned in sympathy.

There were still items of interest though, but they all seemed to be objects from the celestial realm. A hunk of golden orange hair was labeled, " _Leo lost our bet_." A golden bangle Lucy recognized as Aquarius's said, " _she's gonna kill me_ " …. In fact, most of those items were mementos from other celestial spirits – some of which Lucy could recognize even without a name on the label. A pink wooly bra that was obviously Ares's just said, " _strip poker_." A pair of shackles simply said, " _never again_." Lucy was pretty sure they were Virgo's but she had a lot of questions about that one.

After perusing those shelves for a while, she finally got to a section in which she could pretty much identify every object. While the other shelves had been fascinating, these were downright amazing, surprisingly touching, and absolutely hysterical at times.

The very first item was a piece of Phantom Lord's walking castle, and she snorted with laughter at the label - " _where I first met Looney_!" She'd completely forgotten that it took him a while to remember her name.

Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of mementos from various missions. One of the first was a pillow stolen from the spa resort where they had apprehended the weird pervert twins. It must have been one of the causalities of their monster pillow fight, because it was totally smashed. Then there were some dried thorny roses labeled, " _the lizard lady's house_ ," …. although it took her a while to realize he probably meant the Gothicized mansion that Gekko Moriah had taken over. On the other hand, she didn't need any time at all to recognize the big chunk of broken lacrima that simply said, " _Nirvana._ "

There were some items that could have been collected any time. Like the black pair of boxers labeled, " _Ice Princess's stripping habit_." However, most of the items were from a specific incident.

She was a tiny bit creeped out by the little pile of soil labeled, " _Karen's grave dirt_ ," even though she figured it was probably to commemorate when they freed Leo. She was also a bit disturbed by the two bloody studs labeled, " _the piercings that got stuck in my knuckles…dumb metalhead_ " – which she could only assume must have been when Gajeel and he duked it out.

A pile of games took up so much space that Lucy was shocked he'd kept them, but she melted when she read the label, which said, " _the games we played when Luce was sick_." She suddenly felt all warm and fuzzy…remembering the time he had cared for her while she missed the Cherry Blossom Festival. Unsurprisingly, there were also a few items from the Summertime Games Fair, and one was a red scarf that additionally said, " _she looked like fire_!" After a second of thinking hard, she figured it must have been from the costume she wore in the Fairy Tail Pageant. Come to think of it…she _had_ wondered why one side was missing a scarf the last time she took it out. There were also a couple of items from the Autumn Festival… like the baton from the relay race and a sock she had given up in the strip poker game.

Then there was the creepy note that had told them Juvia had been kidnapped. That one didn't need a label. Actually, it wasn't the only piece of paper up there. All the available space on the backs and sides of the shelves had been plastered with scraps of paper. They were all of the missions he'd been on, and several had notes pinned to them as well – like the one that had, " _first mission as an official member of Fairy Tail!_ " scribbled on it.

Then she got to a section seemingly dedicated to her. There, she found the orange dress she'd worn on their first double date, all folded up, and she contemplated whether she should be angry that he'd stolen an article of clothing. After that was yet another pillow, and she started to wonder if she should tell him that it's generally not encouraged to take hotel pillows. That one was labeled, " _where we said 'I love you' for the first time_!" So she had to assume it was from the hotel they'd stayed at during that burlesque waiter/waitress gig.

She wasn't surprised in the least that he had pinned up the list he had written about how human relationships were supposed to proceed. He had also included a rainbow-stained paper cone from a shaved ice they'd shared on their first date. She was also unsurprised to see that he had nicked a crispy spa robe from the hot spring resort they had trained at for the S-Class Trials, though she couldn't tell if it was his or hers.

A movement to her side distracted her from looking at his collection, and she turned to watch as he pulled out a pair of undies from his pocket and carefully arranged them on a shelf. He grabbed a label from a nearby root basket and wrote something before putting the card on top of the panties. Curious, and pretty sure what it was he'd just done, she looked closer to see that he had indeed stolen the panties she had been wearing last night and labeled them, " _from the first night we did it_!"

Rolling her eyes, she gave him a look. "Really?"

He pursed his lips. "What?" When she just raised an eyebrow, he glanced back down at the stolen goods, before smiling in a way that said he'd just had a lightbulb moment. Reaching for the label, he scratched something out and rewrote it. After placing it back carefully on the scrap of silk, he grinned and turned to her. "Better?"

She glanced over to see that he had scratched out " _did it_ " and replaced it with " _made love_." That really hadn't been her point…rather, she'd been contemplating whether or not to scold him for stealing her stuff, but after his alteration she had to admit that she found it more heartwarming.

"Okay fine…you can have them." she said with a chuckle and a sigh. "But how about from now on, if you want a piece of my clothing for your collection, _ask_ me first."

He chuckled. "No promises."

She snorted in mildly exasperated amusement, before absentmindedly looked around, still amazed and shocked by everything she had seen. "This really is amazing you know…I had no idea you were so sentimental."

"I'm glad you like it." He sounded happy and relieved, and when she looked at him, the notion was confirmed by his bright eyes and smile. His expression also showed some deeper emotions that she couldn't quite identify, but she abruptly got the feeling that this was a much bigger deal to Natsu than she'd previously thought.

"What's up? You look like you were worried I wouldn't like it or something…"

He chuckled and flushed a little before awkwardly ruffling his hair. "Uh yeah…I guess I was a little. Nobody's ever seen this room before…so I had no idea how you'd react."

"Seriously? Nobody's ever been in here before?!"

"Nope. I'm pretty laid back for a dragon, but this is one place that I'm insanely territorial about. Of course, all dragons are super protective of their hoard."

"Hoard? You mean…like a treasure room?" she was momentarily surprised by the term, having read it before in books about dragons, but never really thinking that Natsu would have something like that.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Huh…no kidding. So, do you generally let people in your house upstairs? Or are you territorial about that too?"

"I'm fine with friends coming into my house." He shrugged and grinned. "It's just down here that I'm weird about."

She nodded and made a humming sound in fascination. Now that she knew what this place really was, it suddenly made sense why everything was so much more organized and cared for, and she looked around again with a fresh perspective. It had been obvious that everything in here was important to him somehow, but it was even more blatantly apparent to her now. Plus, after seeing all the random things he kept from his time with her, she now understood why the previous shelves had been so mismatched. The piles of dirt were just as important to him as the gold and silver, because each item was valued as a precious memory.

All of a sudden, she felt incredibly honored and touched that he'd let her come in here. This room held hundreds of years of memories… almost like an oversized diary. As the owner of a very carefully guarded diary herself, she could sort of understand what he must be feeling. To think that he cared so deeply about her and trusted her so much made her heart squeeze nearly painfully in her chest.

"…thank you Natsu…" she whispered, almost feeling a little tearful now.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, you're welcome!" he replied with a brilliant grin, and as usual, his sunny energy rubbed off on her.

Clearing her throat a little and wiping her eyes, she turned and looked around some more, even more curious about what this room held now. A section of wall that had been taken over by what looked like a map and tons of paper caught her eye, and she made her way towards it.

Noting where she was heading, Natsu suddenly started and said, "Oh right! I need to take that down now." He made a beeline for the wall and she followed, intrigued about what could have possibly taken up so much space in his treasured hoard.

As soon as they got within a certain distance of it though, Lucy abruptly realized what she was looking at and stopped dead in her tracks. All the feel-good emotions inside her drained away as she took in the sight of an enormous map, and coldness numbed her fingers.

It was the chart he had used while trying to find her and everyone else on Tenrou island.

The chart itself was massive, showing a blown-up view of just the sea where Tenrou Island was located and the shoreline of surrounding landmasses. From what she could tell, he'd kept it in sync with the chart she'd seen on the ship after being rescued, but this one was much more cluttered with information. It had markings all over it, and pieces of paper had been tacked up with notes and pictures.

He was already in the process of taking it down – probably to fold up and put on a shelf with a label – but she stopped him with a silent hand on his arm. He paused and glanced at her questioningly, but she just shook her head, and he backed off a little to let her look.

Looking at it was heartbreaking. She could easily see all of Natsu's pain, sadness, loneliness, desperation, and conviction to find her. Even his handwriting was different from the scribbles on all his labels… it was messier, more aggressive, and she could see where the tip of his pen had torn the paper more than once. Each section they had searched was crossed out, just like on the other chart, but his chart was much more beat up. Just from looking at the marks, she could read a progression of emotions. The early markings were just simple Xs crossing out the spots, but as they edged further out into the waters, the Xs turned into scratch marks. Those scratch marks got more and more aggressive as time went on, completely obliterating the searched areas much further out, and eventually they got so violent that the paper had started ripping. Then it seemed he had given up entirely on the pen, because at a certain point each spot that had turned up nothing was wiped off the map with a scorch mark, sometimes burning a hole all the way through the paper.

Very gently, she reached up and ran her fingers across the battered piece of paper, tracing all the violent marks… the lifted, torn up, shredded parchment, the crusty edges of scorch marks. Her palms and fingers felt all the physical representations of Natsu's pain, wishing she could somehow erase it.

Then she turned and looked at all the notes and other papers tacked up.

He'd kept things like the receipts for boat rentals and pamphlets to hire boat crews – most of which were scratched out and had notes scribbled across them like, " _They wouldn't sail us out there either, the idiots_!" and, " _Why are sailors so damn superstitious_?!"

He'd also tacked up news clippings. There were stories on Tenrou Island's disappearance, follow up stories on the ongoing investigation, and – much to her shock – articles about Jellal's release from prison. There were a lot of clippings about that…and by glancing at them, she could see that he had apparently blackmailed the Council into letting him go. Most of the stories portrayed him as evil and corrupt, but of course Natsu's notes on top of them showed Jellal's real motive.

One read, " _Jellal contacted us, he's searching on land. No news so far_."

No doubt he had forced his release to try and find Erza, despite knowing that it would permanently vilify him in the public's eye.

Then Lucy moved on from the newspaper clippings and focused more on Natsu's handwritten notes. They were mostly a log of anything interesting or new leads, which were then covered by notes saying it had been a dead end. Again, she could easily tell the early notes from the ones he wrote later on. The early ones were written in his normal handwriting, and they said things like, " _found a promising lead today, a passing fishing boat said they saw a flash on the horizon at 12 oclock_." And, " _fish prices were good today, I got a good deal and restocked the ship's supplies for at least two weeks_."

The later notes were all torn up, barely legible, and sometimes had stains that she wasn't sure she wanted to know the source of. The term 'blood, sweat, and tears' was perfectly applicable in this case it seemed. Some of the notes were barely holding together and looked like they'd been burned.

Mostly they read, " _Another dead end_." " _Where the fuck are they_?" " _It's been months…what the hell is going on_?" " _How are they still alive_?" " _Why can't I sense her? We have to be getting close_." Shreds of paper left on the wall showed places where notes had been ripped violently off, and glancing down, she could see a pile of them at the base of the wall. Squatting, she could see these were in even worse shape. Some were desperate pleas or prayers, like " _Please, let me find her in time_." Others were just simple statements of Natsu's condition. " _I'm going fucking insane_."

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered after a long moment.

"Geez Luce, don't cry…" Natsu said back just as softly, and turned her around so he could wipe her face. "It's all over now, and there's no way it can ever happen again now that we're mates."

"Yeah…" she sniffled, and let him pull her into a hug. His warmth helped to sooth her, and she cuddled into his embrace, sighing. "Everything's okay now."

"Mm-hm…" he hummed back and nuzzled her hair.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _When they finally did return to the guildhall though, thankfully the teasing was minimal. That was probably because everyone was still too busy catching up to waste time on old news like Lucy and Natsu. If anyone was teased, it was the new couple, Bisca and Alzack._

 _It took several weeks for everyone to get up to speed on all the news and everything that had happened in their absence. There was so much information to absorb and so many things to do, that it kept them quite busy._

 **(Next chapter is such a mixed bag of stuff, this was literally the best summery I could find, lol. Sooooo, I'll give you an extra sneak peek into ONE of the things that happens)**

 _In their absence, the leftover members of Fairy Tail had attempted to find out as much as they could about Tartarus. They'd managed to lay a groundwork of informants across the nation, but so far it had been incredibly quiet._

 _Of course now that Lucy was back, Natsu could do some more in-depth investigation into the matter using his contacts in the celestial world._


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's Note:**

And here's the next chapter! Yay!

As always, a huge heartfelt thanks to all my fantabulous reviewers! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: quidditchChick6, Donthedarkdragon26, WisdomDragon27, TheJSmooth, Lucinda, Alice, Ksta, valerioux, Anna5949, loopymama, thetrywriter, Leomae2.0, SunnieDayss, Firefly9917, Daisy73, ravenqueen162, TheAvatarShadow, stranger1999, Ikrani, Lady La-sara, and Wolves silver wind.

I don't have anything else to say, so on with the show! And stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

Once they'd returned from the celestial realm, they spent the next couple of days stuck at Lucy's apartment as Natsu continued to burn off all the pent-up feelings he had accumulated during her absence and the overflow of emotions after being mated. Of course they had to stock up on food periodically, but otherwise didn't leave the property.

After a few days of that though, Lucy needed a day of rest… so that she could walk normally when they returned to the guild. She could just picture all the terrible teasing they would endure if she went back while still limping along like a novice bull rider after nonstop training. Although, that _was_ kind of how she felt after several solid days of Natsu and not much else.

When they finally did return to the guildhall though, thankfully the teasing was minimal. That was probably because everyone was still too busy catching up to waste time on old news like Lucy and Natsu. If anyone was teased, it was the new couple, Bisca and Alzack.

It took several weeks for everyone to get up to speed on all the news and everything that had happened in their absence.

For Lucy, that especially meant catching up with her spirits and revalidating her contracts with all of them after her yearlong hiatus. It was a long and grueling process… more-so for some that others. Aquarius took more than half a day to pacify, though in a way Lucy was touched. The mermaid's pure rage was really just her way of expressing how worried about Lucy she'd been. Still…it was exhausting. Thankfully, the rest of her spirits were much more forgiving.

As for her mythic spirits, Amy once again took to popping in quite often for random visits, and even Bartolomeo dropped by every now and then – which was a big surprise. Leo also summoned himself more often, partially to spend some time catching up with the rest of the guild, since he was a member too, and partially to pester her as usual.

Though, thankfully nobody summoned themselves when Natsu was spending the night for more than sleep. After asking him about it one time, he'd explained that he basically put up a ' _do not disturb_ ' sign on his gate whenever they got busy…which was embarrassing, but undeniably useful.

She was also grateful that he somehow managed to easily convince Happy to spend the night elsewhere every couple of nights… as if they'd had a man-to-man talk and came to some sort of understanding. She honestly didn't want to know about the details though.

Although, it probably also had something to do with the way her blue cat was getting along so much better with a certain white feline that he liked so much. He was spending a great deal of time at Wendy's lately, and apparently Carla wasn't as resisting to his advances anymore, which Lucy was very happy about – for more than one reason.

Aside from that, naturally she also spent a great deal of time at the guildhall catching up with everyone that had been left behind. The first big piece of news that caught everyone off guard was the fact that Jellal was already out of prison.

When it was mentioned in passing within their first couple of days back, Erza had immediately latched on and asked for further details with a fervor that obviously terrified her informants. Thankfully they retained enough sense to remember everything they knew about it and were able to lay it all out for Erza in a thorough manner that satisfied her urgent curiosity. Of course Lucy already knew he was out thanks to Natsu, but she was interested in hearing the details as well.

As it turned out, shortly after the news spread that they had all gone missing, Jellal managed to get himself another hearing – requesting early probation. It was unheard of really, but not necessarily surprising considering that he had actually been a council member for quite a few years before exposing his "true" colors. There were apparently plenty of favors that he could call in, and had done so… along with utilizing blackmail, coercion, and other various unsavory methods.

The general populace was unhappy that he was out, and even though he was technically a legal citizen again, people still considered him a criminal. In fact, his reputation had only gotten worse after finagling an early release, and now he was practically considered a criminal mastermind that had cheated the legal system. He was technically untouchable, but that hadn't stopped people from attacking him in back alleys. There were even a few entire guilds that had gone after him.

To everyone who didn't know him, he was now the scum of the earth. However, every member of Fairy Tail knew good and well that he wouldn't have done any of that if Erza hadn't needed his help. He had gone searching for her on his own though… to keep any animosity that was directed at him away from Fairy Tail.

Apparently he had taken a different route by boat, hitting it from the opposite direction and sending them regular updates. Of course now that Tenrou Island had been found, they had sent him a message letting him know that the search was over. Aside from sending him messages though, nobody knew how to find him. They could contact him through a speech lacrima – although they generally had to leave a message and couldn't talk to him directly – but nobody knew where he was. It was even doubtful that he would come and visit the newly returned members, thanks to the distance he kept from everyone these days. It was obvious he was doing his best to keep Fairy Tail's reputation from being dragged through the dirt alongside his.

Naturally, as soon as Erza heard all of this, she wanted to head out and look for him herself, but certain situations required that she remain in Magnolia. There were a number of debts that had to be paid.

The girls who rented rooms in the Fairy Hills dormitory – Erza included – found out that they all owed huge amounts on their rent. Lucy also ended up in a similar situation, since her landlord had held her apartment for her and was now demanding the backed-up rent. Alongside that, there were other bills that hadn't been paid, so any and all overdue fees needed to be tended to… for individuals as well as the guildhall itself.

Basically, everyone abruptly found themselves deep in a monetary hole, and there was a sudden scramble for jobs.

What didn't help was the fact that the job board was rather bare. That was thanks to the fact that Fairy Tail had been short on mages for a whole year, which had resulted in less people commissioning them… especially as jobs went unattended for long periods of time. Consequentially, Fairy Tail's reputation had also taken a pretty bad nosedive. People tended to get irritable if their job wasn't responded to within a couple month of posting, and when mages arrived beyond that, they were often met with angry patrons who said they'd had to find help elsewhere.

All of this was bad and left everyone in a bit of a tizzy as they suddenly scrambled for work. Of course, Lucy had her backup plan – the adult venue that had gifted her with an outstanding invitation to come back. Thankfully it was up and running, and the same owner was in charge.

She had also told her friends about it – the closest ones only, since she didn't really want to bandy around the fact that she sometimes worked there. At first the idea was scoffed off as ridiculous, but soon several of their team had to resort to that, much to Natsu and Lucy's amusement. In particular, they thought it was only fair that Gray had to work there for a short while.

Silvester had been more than happy to extend his invitation to Lucy and Natsu's friends. In fact, he was downright delighted to have them – though they all asked not to be introduced as Fair Tail wizards, since it would probably only damage the reputation of their guild at the moment.

As for Erza, it actually didn't take her long at all to accept Lucy's suggestion. In fact, she leapt at the opportunity and had very little trouble with the job itself… aside from having to somewhat overcome her stage fright. As it turned out though, her stage fright mostly involved speaking, and soon she had discovered that dancing didn't prove much of a problem for her.

After that, she embraced the job and the hefty pay that went with it. Alongside her and Gray, Levy and Gajeel also ended up working there for a short time. And they all soon crawled out of debt before anyone else.

Erza did so in record time though, thanks to also taking on a night job, and nobody had to ask why she was double shifting.

It came as no surprise that she disappeared as soon as all her debts were paid… only telling the master that she was going to take a "vacation." After she left, they made sure to send Jellal a message, telling him that he was probably about to be hunted down by a certain redheaded warrior. That way he wouldn't come looking for her at the guild.

For the rest of them though, there was another pressing situation that needed tending to.

In their absence, the leftover members of Fairy Tail had attempted to find out as much as they could about Tartarus. They'd managed to lay a groundwork of informants across the nation, but so far it had been incredibly quiet.

Of course now that Lucy was back, Natsu could do some more in-depth investigation into the matter using his contacts in the celestial world. After all, if they were right and Tartarus was run by demons, going through human channels wouldn't turn up very much. Therefore, he assigned himself the task of hunting them down…. And he took his new job very seriously.

Tartarus had hurt his mage, and like hell were they gonna get away with it if he had anything to say about it.

Of course, Natsu wasn't exactly a spy by any means…. nor was he a sleuth. He was more of a bulldozer really than an information gatherer. But in this case he decided to make an exception. Of course, he still went about it differently than most people might have…. there was very little subtlety to his tactics and absolutely no subterfuge.

"Oi! Stash-face! We've got a problem!" he bellowed as he threw open the massive doors that led into the Celestial King's grand hall.

A deep rumbling sigh echoed through the space, sounding like the embodiment of long-suffering exasperation. Part of that was probably Natsu's adoption of Lucy's nickname for the ruler of the celestial realm, which – for some reason – only she could use without the ginormous samurai growing irritable.

"Dragneel…" He paused, as if considering whether or not to scold him for his disrespect, but in the end he just produced another long sigh and said, "Since you have obviously returned, I assume that you located Lucy. Congratulations. Now…. what is this problem that you appear to be so concerned about?"

"We've gotta do something about Acnologia. He's getting a foothold in the human realm by using a dark guild as a moniker. He calls it Tartarus. So I'm gonna go get some info on him."

"All right. And what do you want me to do about it?"

"Oh come on, you know what I want. Open me up a gate to Asphodel so I can go take a peek."

There was a long pause as the Celestial King gave him a look. "No."

"Oh come on! Why not?!"

"You would start a war. You know this as well as I do."

All Natsu could really say to that was pout, since he was probably right. Then he perked up as a thought came to him. "How about I send Rogue then? Nobody would look twice at him. He could just say he was visiting his dad."

The dragon that Natsu had mentioned was actually half demon. His mother was a celestial dragon, while his dad – Skiadrum – was a demon king.

The giant mustache that had given Stash-face his hilarious nickname twitched in consideration. After a long moment, he finally said, "Very well. But don't even think of sneaking through with him."

He had sort of been thinking that very thing and scowled. "Fine."

Turning on his heel, he stomped out of the palace without so much as a thank you, and heard the Celestial King give yet another sigh behind him.

Hunting down the shadow demon dragon was easy, he was hanging out silently with a book in his mother's courtyard while she gardened her orchard. As a light dragon, she could provide plenty of sunshine to grow all sorts of plants super well, and her courtyard was probably the lushest of any celestial spirit by far.

"Yo! Rogue!" he called to his longtime friend, and the other dragon's ears perked as he raised his head to great Natsu with a gentle smile.

"Hello Natsu. It's good to see you back. You found your mage then?"

"Yeah! Lucy's back and better than ever."

"Good." Rogue said with a genuinely happy twinkle in his black eyes, and he closed his book with a soft click. "So what can I do for you today?"

They were suddenly interrupted by his mother as she came out of a starfruit orchard carrying a basket full of the glittering yellow fruit. "Oh hello Natsu! It's wonderful to see you!"

As always, the peaceful kind female dragon radiated warmth and light, which prompted a happy smile from Natsu. "Hey Weisslogia! It's good to see you too. I was just stopping by to ask Rogue for an important favor."

"Ah, of course. I'll let you two converse." She smiled again and turned to head towards her large airy home past the courtyard.

"So, you wanted to ask me for a favor?"

"Yep." Natsu said, and then his expression grew more solemn as he thought about what this social call was really about. "Remember the incident a year ago?"

"Of course. It's the reason you weren't seen in the celestial realm for months at a time."

"Yeah, so my guild has been looking into Tartarus. Since you joined Sabertooth with your mage, you've probably heard about them, right?"

Rogue nodded. "Yes, we've heard of Tartarus… everyone has. What about them? Do you think they have something to do with Acnologia?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. As far as I can tell, Tartarus is run by Acnologia and his top demons. They probably have some human mages in Earthland to work for them…. I mean they have to, otherwise how the hell did they make a gate?"

"A gate? So _that's_ how they came to the human realm…I thought perhaps a powerful summoner had been responsible for the attack."

"Nope, they all came through without their keys being used – or at least not used by a summoner. They may have still used them on the gate somehow though…. But anyways, here's the kicker. They're after celestial mages and our keys. So whatever they're up to, it can't be good."

Rogue frowned and a dark look passed over his normally peaceful face. "My father hasn't been able to visit for several years now, though we can still communicate through our keys of course. Apparently he isn't privy to any of Acnologia's plans, but he has said that they're building something that's taking a huge amount of power. He's been able to stay out of it so far thanks to his rank as a demon king, but even the kings and queens are starting to get dragged into it. He also mentioned that some of the lower-level demons have been enslaved."

" _Enslaved?"_ Natsu repeated, mildly shocked.

Rogue nodded solemnly. "Father didn't know a lot about it, but he did tell me that Acnologia is taking their keys and forcing them to work for him. After what you just told me, I highly suspect he's making them build a gate to the human realm."

Natsu winced, cringing at the thought of what those demons were going through. Though the celestial realm and the demon realm were generally at odds with each other, they weren't necessarily enemies, and he knew there were plenty of non-malicious demons.

To be enslaved through their key was a horrible prospect for any spirit – celestial or demon. And to be enslaved by another spirit was just…. well it was beyond breaking the law for one thing, and it was taboo in about every way possible. It made horrible sense though. If he was enslaving them, Acnologia could make them do anything he wanted.

At the thought of it all, Natsu could feel rage building in his gut, just adding to the already overflowing volcano of hate directed at Acnologia.

"And that's probably what he wants to do to us as well…" Natsu growled.

Rogue nodded somberly.

"Well…maybe it'd be better if you didn't go then. It might be too dangerous." He was starting to reconsider his request. Sure, _**he**_ was still willing to go, but he wasn't enthused about sending his friend into such a hellhole.

Rogue just shrugged, and then his dark eyes lit up. "Wait! I don't have to go there myself, I can just contact my father. He might not know anything specific, but I'm sure he knows some demons who do know."

Natsu instantly perked up. "That's a good idea! Let me know whenever you find out anything."

"Of course."

With a nod, Natsu headed off to tell his guild the news.

Naturally, none of them were happy about what he'd found out, and they were all even more determined to bring down Tartarus.

….

When Natsu checked in with Rogue a few days later, he had news from his father.

As they'd thought, Acnologia _had_ constructed a gate between Earthland and Asphodel, but it hadn't been completely finished when he shoved his big butt through it on Tenrou Island. And of course he'd completely destroyed it. So, the demons had spent the last year rebuilding, but they hadn't made as much progress as the new emperor wanted, which had made him extra irritable, demanding, and stupid.

According to Rogue's father, the situation was much worse than they'd thought. Acnologia had stolen almost _everyone's_ key. The least powerful demons were being used as little more than building materials, their gates and magic becoming the bricks and cement for the gate. He was actually _**melting down**_ their keys to make the gate…. which made Natsu's stomach turn and actually had him thinking about throwing up for a second.

Something like that was…. It was unthinkable. A spirit's key was connected to their gate, which was connected to their magic and practically their soul. So first of all, having their keys melted down probably hurt like a bitch. Then, pouring those melted keys into the Frankenstein gate basically meant that all of _their_ gates got crunched up and shoved into it. It was like smashing up a bunch of small houses and then making a bigger house out of the rubble. Even worse though, having their gates used in such a horrible way would mean that they were connected to the thing too…so it would suck out all their magic as well.

Rogue confirmed that when he said, "All of those demons have become little more than vegetables that Acnologia's piled up in cells. But, all the lords were simply enslaved. Apparently, he's draining their magic periodically to help build the gate, but their keys aren't being put into it unless they rebel in some way. He hasn't gone after the kings or queens yet, though a handful are working for him as generals and the like. But it's only a matter of time before he goes after anyone who isn't affiliating with him. Father and all the other queens and kings who don't want anything to do with it are already making escape plans."

"Shit…that fucker is crazy. He's lost his goddamn marbles." Natsu cussed, pacing in fury and horror.

"It gets worse…"

" _ **How?!**_ How the hell does it get worse than that?!"

"He's rushing the gate building process, and it's causing dimensional instabilities." Rogue said gravely, and Natsu stared at him with a flapping jaw.

"Tell me what you mean by ' _dimensional instabilities'_ … cause it doesn't sound good."

"It's not. Father believes that rushing to build the gate is weakening the borders between worlds in unexpected ways. Asphodel has already experienced a few small dimensional tears…. And occasionally a demon will even get sucked into one of these tears. He asked me to warn you that the same might happen in Earthland."

"Oh…great."

"He's hoping that after a certain point in the building process, the worlds will re-stabilize… but until then the tears might get worse, particularly between worlds that are already physically connected. Oddly, it doesn't seem like any of the rifts are happening between Earthland and Asphodel. Rather, it seems like the dimensional tears in the demon realm are with the world that is physically closest to them.

Of course, Natsu had hurriedly thanked Rogue for the information and took it straight back to the guild to tell everyone.

…

After Natsu relayed the message, naturally Fairy Tail looked into it.

With some hunting, they found quite a few clues that pointed towards some strange incidents going on throughout Fiore. Here and there people and places had gone missing. When it was just people, nobody really thought too much about it – just believing that there was a rash of kidnappings. But when buildings started to randomly disappear, it stirred up some interest.

The most disturbing thing about it was that the incidents seemed to be growing in scale…. the last occurrence had caused an entire small village to go poof. Of course naturally the Magic Council was keeping the whole thing under wraps, which was why they hadn't already known about it.

The final proof came from a very unexpected source and during a conference they were holding about the disappearances.

Lucy was just in the middle of leaning forwards to point at a spot on the map, saying, "This is the first place that was hit … then it was here, here, here, here, and here. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to it at all."

"There is actually." Everyone jumped at the new – extremely quiet – voice, which most of them had never even heard before.

When they turned, there stood Mystogen … in his robes, hood, and masked face that covered everything but a slit showing blue eyes. Most only knew what he looked like thanks to Makarov's description of his appearance.

"Mystogen?" Makarov almost sputtered, seeming as shocked as the rest of them, but covered it up much better.

The very quiet man nodded and stepped up to join them at the table, hunching and trying to keep as much distance between them as possible though. "I heard that you were looking into Anima…"

"The what now?"

"Anima. It's what my…people call the disruptions between worlds that you have been seeing." He tapped on the map where all the disappearances had been marked with little red pins. "What you see here is an abnormal amount of supernaturally large Anima. Normally Anima are imperceptible, just trickles of magic from one world to another that don't carry an entire form with them. To have so many strangely large ones means that the worlds have somehow gone out of balance."

Everyone just stared at him, mouths gaping and minds somewhat blank with surprise.

He cleared his throat and looked around the table, before almost whispering, "By any chance, do you know what's causing these disturbances? I assume that you must have an idea, to be looking into them."

Natsu, as usual, was the first to recover. "Look, you…whoever you are, I don't know if I can trust you, so…"

"He can be trusted." Makarov interrupted.

Natsu eyed him with a raised eyebrow. Then he shrugged. "Okay. Then, yeah, we know what's causing them. A year ago Acnologia came through a gate that he made between Earthland and the demon realm, but it wasn't ready for his big butt, and he basically busted it. So now they're building a new one. He's an impatient bastard – which is why he busted the gate to begin with – and they're doing it double-time…which is throwing the demon realm out of whack. They've been getting some dimensional problems there too."

Mystogan didn't say anything, but a slight movement in his head cloth suggested that he might have raised an eyebrow. "Strange. Dimensional shifts in the demon realm should not affect Edolas…"

"Edo-who?" Natsu grunted, scowling and crossing his arms.

Gray punched him in the shoulder. "Let him finish Pyrobutt."

"You want me to finish _**you**_?!"

Lucy and Juvia quickly split them up.

"Please continue, sorry about that." Juvia said sweetly while petting Gray's hair… which was now attached to a flushing face that was being held to her chest.

There was a slight pause, a nearly inaudible chuckle, and then Mystogan continued. "In answer to your question, Edolas is the other world that we have been losing people and places to."

"How do you even know this Edolas place is involved?"

"I've gone to some of the sites shortly after, and there's a certain Anima signature that tells where the other end is located."

"Alright…so what does Edolas have to do with the demon realm? Are they connected somehow?" Mira wondered, pinching her chin thoughtfully between fingers.

"That's what I find so strange. A disruption in the demon realm would likely affect their dimensional wall…not ours. Although, they _are_ constructing a gate from there to here, so perhaps they have reached a stage in construction that has started to affect our world now as well."

Natsu interjected. "Well, Rogue did say that his dad thought the world they were being affected by was the one they were closest to physically…whatever the hell that means. So maybe it's the same for us?"

After a moment, Levy gingerly spoke up. "I've been doing some research into dimensions. One theory that I've come across multiple times is that the walls between certain worlds are much thinner than others. Perhaps that's what he meant by 'physically close?'"

"There are probably more worlds than just Edolas that has a thin wall between us and them, but perhaps they have the thinnest. I do know that they are relatively close to Earthland and have always received small amounts of magic through natural Anima from here to there." Mystogan seemed to agree and pondered it for a second. "It could also be pure coincidence that Edolas was involved. Dimensional walls are strange things, and trying to create a gate improperly could have any number of unknown and random consequences depending on millions of factors."

"How do you know so much about this anyways?" Laxus asked, looking relatively grumpy as usual. He had been leaning against a nearby wall, and almost seemed asleep for the majority of the meeting.

Mystogen stared at him for a long moment, and then glanced at the master, who silently nodded.

Makarov spoke up, and shocked them all by saying, "Mystogen is from another world. I never knew the name of it, but I suspect it's Edolas, correct?"

Mystogen nodded.

That left everyone reeling for a long moment.

"Okay…so now what? Just cause we know where people are getting sent to doesn't really help us fix whatever Acnologia broke. We've gotta stop these animal-whoosits from popping up." Natsu grumbled.

"Unfortunately, we don't know what's prompting the continued disruptions. It could be Acnologia, or it could be a natural imbalance between the magic of Edolas and Earthland that's been aggravated. It could even be that someone in Edolas is capitalizing on Acnologia's disruptions and making them worse…" The way his voice tightened just a hair suggested that he knew more than he was letting on, but his eyes were so flat that nobody felt the need to prompt him on it.

"Riiiight….so how do we _**fix**_ it?" Natsu asked again, looking at Mystogen like he was an idiot… which was hilarious.

Mystogen fixed a similar almost-glare on Natsu. His quiet voice took on a decidedly irritated tone. "I don't know if we _can_ fix it. And even if we can, we don't have enough information to formulate a plan."

"Wait…what did you mean earlier, when you said there was a pattern?" Erza questioned, entering the conversation.

"It's magic that's being taken. All the people who disappeared were mages, and the village that vanished had a small magic guild in it. It started with lower classed mages, and then each subsequent disappearance took more magic than the last. Likely it will continue to increase, and quite rapidly. I've been able to stop the last few, thanks to the pattern that's been established, but each Anima is larger than the last. Eventually I won't be able to prevent it from attacking."

"Wait, you've been able to prevent the last few? Where were they?"

Wordlessly Mystogen took a handful of the pins, used magic to change their color, and then placed them on the locations where he had been able to stop the Anima. It was a significant amount, which surprised and worried them all, but even more disturbing was the fact that Anima had been attempting to hit towns with good-sized mage guilds in them.

"Is there any way to travel to Edolas and see if they're doing something to aggravate the problem?" Erza eventually asked.

"…perhaps. If we caught an Anima before it disappeared, we could use it as a gate. But it would be dangerous, and we couldn't use it until after it was diffused."

"Diffused?"

"If you go through when it's actively transporting things from this world to the next, you could be killed or turned into magic energy. To use it as a gate, we would have to go through when it was inactive."

"So, we wait for the next Anima." Laxus summarized with a grunt.

"Seems like." His grandfather agreed.

And that was the end of the discussion.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _A couple of weeks after having Mystogen randomly drop in, the unthinkable happened._

 _It was a solemn rainy day, positively pouring cats and dogs, and the guild was relatively quiet. There were plenty of people there, but all of them were made quiet and sleepy by the weather. The peaceful moment was interrupted though by Natsu snorting awake and going on a rampage. Apparently someone had decided to draw on his slumbering face, which Lucy had to admit was pretty funny._

 _Of course the person that had drawn on Natsu's face was Gray, and soon the guildhall was no longer quiet in the least as a battle broke out between the two hotheads. The racket those two made as they tore into each other was probably why they didn't hear the shrill screams of warning from just outside the guildhall doors._


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Note:**

Hello everyone! Sorry it's so late, I've been super busy all day and didn't get to post till midnight. Sheesh!

Anyways, as always I am super-deluxe-unquantifiably-combusto-thankful to all my wonderful fantastic reviewers out there! Thank you all so, so, so, so much! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: ThatOneAnimeGirl08, TheJSmooth, Lucinda, Kowareta1468, WisdomDragon27, valerioux, stranger1999, KitsuneLover05, Leomae2.0, Lady La-sara, ravenqueen162, loopymama, thetrywriter, Firefly9917, SunnieDayss, Wolves silver wind, Daisy73, and Elphaba818. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Cassi I1 and The Age of Awesomeness.

Alrighty, on with the show! Be sure to stay till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

A couple of weeks after having Mystogen randomly drop in, the unthinkable happened.

It was a solemn rainy day, positively pouring cats and dogs, and the guild was relatively quiet. There were plenty of people there, but all of them were made quiet and sleepy by the weather.

It might have been quieter than usual simply because Mira was gone from the bar, and therefore nobody could get drinks or food for the time being. Everyone was always rowdier with the presence of booze. Or it could have just been the influence of the rain. Lucy always found that rain tended to make her sleepy, and she ended up lazily staring out the rain-soaked window with glassy eyes. The peaceful moment was interrupted though by Natsu snorting awake and going on a rampage. Apparently someone had decided to draw on his slumbering face, which Lucy had to admit was pretty funny.

Of course the person that had drawn on Natsu's face was Gray, and soon the guildhall was no longer quiet in the least as a battle broke out between the two hotheads. The racket those two made as they tore into each other was probably why they didn't hear the shrill screams of warning from just outside the guildhall doors.

Without that warning, it was a complete shock when the world suddenly began to twist and warp in a truly horrific and stomach turning way. Everyone screamed, and then those screams cut off into an echoing void as the world went black and ripped out from under their feet.

Lucy screamed right along with everyone else. It felt like she was being sucked up into a cosmic vacuum of some sort, and it was far from pleasant. Distantly, through the echoing space, she heard a dragon's roar and then a flood of heat as Natsu latched onto her with his magic and yanked her back to him. The last thing she felt before she blacked out was the sensation of her left shoulder lighting on fire.

When she came to, it was to a mouthful of powdery dirt, which she promptly spat out disgustedly. Sitting up, she stared in shock at the unreal surroundings she found herself thrust into.

She was in a completely blank white plain that was smudged at the edges, like she was surrounded by mist. If she stared hard enough, she could see what appeared to be the edges of Magnolia through the obscuring mist, but the entire center had been erased. Wherever she was seemed to still be in the middle of some sort of transition, almost like the eye of a tornado. The only thing that she could clearly see was the space around her, which was a field of eerie white sand…. And of course above that was a disturbingly black sky. Looking directly up, she could see a vicious looking spiral of dark clouds, and at the very center was an inky black hole.

Even more mystifying perhaps, were the small bubbles of sand that continued to drift upwards from the ground to the sky, creating a truly alien landscape. And strangely enough, all the currently available light seemed to come from the ground, not the sky.

Given the nothingness surrounding her, it took mere seconds to notice the other figures there with her.

"Lucy!" Wendy sobbed, immediately running over and throwing herself into the celestial wizard's arms.

"Wendy?! What happened? Where is everyone? Where's the guildhall…where's…" She stalled out as she observed the solemn blue eyes of a man she didn't recognize.

For a second she'd thought it was Jellal, simply because of his blue hair and eyes, but quickly realized that it wasn't. They looked very similar, but this new man had a different face. It was only when she took in his familiar clothing and the mess of magic staffs on his back that she recognized him as Mystogen.

His presence suggested a sobering reality…one that she didn't really want to consider.

"It was the anima! It came and took most of Magnolia… and Fairy Tail with it!" Wendy cried into Lucy's lap.

Happy and Carla flew over. "It's true! We saw it happen!"

"What I'm curious about is how you managed to stay behind Lucy." Mystogen finally said timidly, walking over to them but keeping some distance.

"I…I think Natsu somehow yanked me back." She instantly started looked around, knowing he had to be here. "He's here too somewhere…"

"We haven't seen him yet. Perhaps he's still-" Carla was interrupted by a blast of flame and a monstrous sounding sneeze.

"Ack! What the hell was _**that**_?!"

"Natsu!"

Wendy took a step back so Lucy could rush over to her boyfriend/mate and nearly choke him to death with a vigorously frantic hug. "I'm so glad you're here too…"

Mystogen was just staring, looking contemplative. "Perhaps dragon magic is immune to the anima somehow…"

This theory was strengthened when – a few seconds later – coughing, cussing, and a bushy black mane spewed out from the sand nearby. "Holy hell…that was a trip."

Almost before anyone could say anything, another body exploded from the sand in a burst of sparks and almost as much cussing as Gajeel. Laxus shook himself off disgustedly and looked around while keeping a stony expression firmly on his face. Lucy could see concern zip through his eyes and tighten them significantly though as he took in their new surroundings.

"What's going on here?"

It didn't take them long to all get on the same page. All that needed to be said was that a massive anima had taken Magnolia, and though he'd tried, Mystogen hadn't been able to diffuse it.

The only problem now was how to get their town back, and everyone turned to Mystogan for answers.

"The anima is still here, as you can see." He nodded up, and they all glanced at the sky, where that terrifying spiral of clouds was still slowly turning. "We are currently in the eye, and we have a very brief window of opportunity to get to Edolas. As Exceeds, Carla and Happy can get there easily. But as for the rest of us…."

"Wait…Exceeds?" Carla questioned.

"Yes…you both come from Edolas. There, we call your kind 'Exceeds.'" At everyone's shocked stare, he sighed and glanced up, as if to judge whether they had time for more explanations. "It's complicated, but suffice it to say that I was part of a plan to transport multiple Exceed eggs to Earthland…for preservation reasons. We really don't have time for me to explain further. The anima will close soon, and then Fairy Tail will be lost to you….forever."

"Alright then! I've got a fire in my belly! All we've gotta do is fly up into the eye of that thing right?" Natsu asked, seeming to get impatient. When Mystogen nodded, he grinned and shot a glance at Laxus and Gajeel. "You two are gonna have to find your own rides. We're going on ahead."

Without another word, his wings popped out, he had scooped up Lucy, and they were already soaring up into the sky.

"Wait! Natsu! Lucy! I'm coming too!" Wendy called out after them and turned to Carla, "Hurry Carla! We have to go too! I'm too scared to fly through on my own!"

Carla would have protested, but with her mage's tearful eyes pleading with her and her blue almost-boyfriend urging her on with a paw grabbing onto hers, she sighed and scooped Wendy up, flying after the other two. Happy flew alongside his white kitty paramour, while the three left behind started shouting after them.

Carla sent a glance back, looking concerned, "Are you sure we have all the information we need…?"

"Sure!" Happy chirped.

…

Back on the ground, Mystogan groaned and shook his head while pinching his nose in exasperation. "…dragons are apparently impossible to work with…"

"What'd you just say?" Gajeel spat, taking offense.

The mysterious Edolian flinched back and quietly said, "They took off before I could give them these." He produced a jar that held little red pills. "Here, you two take them at least, and then take some for your friends. It will allow you to use magic in Edolas."

The two dragon slayers each took one of the little round pills and swallowed them, before each accepting a small jar with more pills for the others to take.

"So how are _**we**_ gonna get there?" Laxus asked, eyeballing Mystogen.

"I'll just have to send you. However, portal magic is very unstable and can be extremely uncomfortable and dangerous, so it's your decision. I can only do it while the anima is open though, so you will have to make your choice soon."

Neither slayer had to think about it, they both volunteered to get hurled through space and the walls between worlds with one of Mystogen's spells.

…

Meanwhile, Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Carla, and Happy ended up popping into Edolas in a completely different place from the other two Fairy Tail members.

After flying at top speed and nearly getting blinded by flashing lights, plus enduring a sensation like being squeezed through a tiny magical hole, they were flying above the forests of an alien world. Floating islands and even rivers drifted through the sky around them in a truly fantastic and magical display. Everything was colored differently, the trees were blue and purple and even the sky was sort of a pinkish color. Sparkling blue lacrima crystals stuck out of everything – especially the floating islands – and weird creatures surrounded them. They passed a feathered jewel-toned fish that was swimming through one of the floating rivers, a flock of winged lizard-things flew by, and a giant fat bird waddled to the edge of one passing island and squawked at them.

"Woah…this place is crazy beautiful!" Natsu gasped, his wide black eyes taking it all in like the rest of them.

Unfortunately, their awe was short lived – Natsu's in particular – as he felt his ability to access magic draining away. Scrambling desperately, he yelped and started losing altitude as his wings warped, like they were having trouble staying out.

"Shit…Happy, grab Lucy!"

He tossed her to the blue cat, much to her distress, and she shrieked in displeasure. But of course Happy easily snatched her out of midair, while Natsu continued a death spiral towards the ground.

Carla, Wendy, Lucy, and Happy followed close behind – staying out of the way of thrashing limbs though to avoid being knocked out of the sky as he went down in a very violent manner. Thankfully he landed on some sort of giant soft mushroom, which very nearly swallowed him whole when he made a huge indent in the cushy cap.

There was enough room on the giant fungal-looking vegetation, and they all landed as Natsu clawed his way out of the sunken center.

His wings had dispersed with a shower of sparks, and he lay on the soft surface beneath him, wheezing and wincing like he was fighting the drain of his magic. When his whole form flickered, Lucy grew even more alarmed.

"Natsu! What's going on?!"

"I dunno, I'm losing control of my magic somehow! It's like I can't tap into it anymore!" he yelped, looking pretty frantic.

Thinking fast, she realized what was about to happen, and some of the tension eased from her body. "Don't worry, you won't be dragged back to the celestial plain. Not unless you want to go. Remember?"

For a long moment, he just stared at her with wide panicky uncomprehending eyes, but then a lightbulb flicked on and he gasped a sigh of relief, then groaned. "Oh…right. Can't believe I forgot about that…"

No sooner had Lucy pointed it out than the mark on their shoulders flared to show it had kicked in, and she felt the tension of the spell locking him to her. Thankfully this sort of magic still seemed to work in this world, which really didn't surprise her since it was so ancient and primal. It linked their souls together after all. Something that powerful couldn't just be turned off by a seemingly magicless world.

After a long moment where Natsu caught his breath from the fall and his short-lived panic attack, he groaned. "Well shit. I still can't access my fire at all though."

"But at least you aren't being dragged back to the celestial realm."

He pouted but conceded. "True." Then he almost instantly perked back up, in that mercurial way of his. "Well anyway, no use sitting around. Let's go find the others."

And with that, he was jumping off the mushroom and landing down on the ground below. Lucy and Wendy followed more gracefully with the help of their Exceeds, who still apparently had full access to their magic. It made sense though, if they were actually born here as Mystogen had said.

Natsu led the way through the strange forest, and they all stared in awe at the unnatural trees and plants and shrubs and flowers and … well, everything. It was a truly alien place and left them all amazed and just a little freaked out as the fact that they were really in another world began to sink in.

Soon Natsu's stomach let out an almighty growl and he grimaced. "Wonder if any of these plants are edible…"

"I wouldn't risk it." Lucy interjected and highjacked his hand as it made towards a strange-looking fruit.

He pouted but left it behind.

Eventually they ran across a path, much to their relief, but that was only after wandering around for most of the day and getting chased by some very large and strange looking monsters – which they couldn't really fight without anyone having access to their magic. So as soon as they ran across the path, they eagerly hopped on and set off at a brisk pace, hoping to run into a town where they could find food, a place to rest, and some information to help them figure out where their guild went.

"Alright! A road! Maybe we can get some food!" Natsu exclaimed, his stomach echoing the sentiment almost louder than his words.

Wendy added, "And a place to rest for the night. It's getting dark…"

"Personally, I'm hoping we can get some info on what happened to our guild. Someone must have noticed a bunch of buildings and people suddenly showing up…right? It should make the news."

"I certainly hope so." Carla said in her snooty way. But despite her stuck up nose, her ears were droopy, exposing how concerned she really was about it all.

Happy must have noticed too, because he started walking closer to her and twined their tails together. Lucy was pleasantly surprised when Carla seemed to welcome the contact and figured that Happy must have almost won her over. Finally.

"We'll get them back! No worries." Natsu overrode all their concerns in his violently cheerful way.

And so, they continued down the road, serenaded by Natsu's stomach and pathetic groans, which prompted choruses of scolding from Carla who apparently took offense to a growling stomach. They had been walking for several hours – and were in the middle of one of these arguments – when they came across other people on the road.

"Can you PLEASE stop making such obscenely loud noises?!" Carla protested for the hundredth time at a particularly loud snarl that emitted from the starving dragon's belly.

Her protest was somewhat underwritten when her own sort-of-boyfriend's stomach growled next to her, and she shot him a shocked and offended expression. He gave her puppy-dog eyes. "Sorry Carla…but I'm really hungry too…"

And then they all paused when a soft grumble sounded from her stomach as well.

"HAH! See! We're not the only ones!" Natsu laughed loudly, pointing at her, and she flushed a little.

Meanwhile, Lucy had glanced up the road, and started when she saw other travelers approaching. "Oh! Excuse me!" she immediately called and trotted ahead of her companions to try and get some information about their location. "Excuse me! Could you tell us if there's a town up ahead? We've gotten sort of lost."

She gave them her best 'lost puppy' eyes that generally got her directions without fail. It involved big eyes and a hint of wobbly chin with slightly puckered lips … and if they were guys, sometimes a little subtle cleavage. These three traveling merchants were no different. They took one look at her and nearly melted.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that." The older grandfatherly gentleman said, while his two sons ogled her somewhat shamelessly.

"Yeah…that's a shame…" one son said while cocking his head and looking her up and down.

At the extra attention she was getting from the two sons, she straightened up and felt absolutely no need to try and appear more attractive … she'd rather not get the wrong sort of attention here.

Still, she gave a slight eyelash flutter to help prompt them along as she asked again, "It's been rough. We're all very tired…. So, I was hoping the next town would be coming up soon."

"Yes actually it's just -" Suddenly the other son cut off as his eyes widened and looked past her. With a gasp, he staggered back a little. "E-Exceed!"

The other two instantly looked towards where he was pointing at Happy and Carla, and then similarly panicked expressions took over their faces. With sharp cries, they stumbled off the path and ran into the woods helter-skelter…looking for all the world like they were running from Lucy's flying feline companions.

She stared after them with shock, wondering just what the hell was going on here.

"Yo Luce…didja scare away the locals with your boobs again?"

She shot a nasty look towards a laughing Natsu, who was familiar with her mild seduction tactics to get information.

"Thank you for that. And accusing _**me**_ of scaring the locals is awfully funny coming from a giant fire-breathing lizard." She sniffed and felt a little justified when Happy and Wendy giggled at her comeback. Which reminded her… "Actually, they freaked out as soon as they saw Happy and Carla. One shouted, 'Exceeds,' and they all ran off like they'd seen a ghost."

"Isn't that what Mystogen called us?" Carla asked with a contemplative and concerned expression on her furry face.

"Yeah, I think so…" her semi-boyfriend answered, looking more worried than her.

"Well…they also said a town was coming up. So maybe you two should stay out here until we find accommodations, and then we can smuggle you in through the window or something. Since you apparently get a lot of attention, you're probably gonna have to lay low. We can't risk drawing that much attention right off the bat."

Happy whined, but Carla seemed to understand. "Oh hush, Tomcat. Do you want to fail in our mission to bring back our friends? No? Then you'll just have to stay with me while our comrades procure accommodations for the night."

He instantly cheered up. "Aye Sir! I don't mind waiting as long as I'm with you Carla…"

The white cat surprisingly flushed ever so slightly and fidgeted under his doting attention.

And so, when they finally came upon a town – which was larger than Lucy had expected, much to her delight – the two cats took shelter in the woods, in a spot that they could easily find. The sun was just started to set, so Lucy, Natsu, and Wendy set off quickly to find a hotel where they could plan their next step. Thankfully it didn't take too long to find, and with the help of a few coins from a purse that one of those merchants had dropped in their haste to get away, they were able to procure a room. After that, Natsu left to go and grab their cat friends and returned via the window only a few minutes later.

Once they were all assembled, their next job was to get some food for Natsu so he wouldn't wake any occupants in the adjoining rooms with his roaring stomach, which sounded more like an angry dragon than a hungry one at this point. So, Wendy and the newly dubbed Exceeds stayed in the room while Lucy and Natsu set out to find sustenance – and possibly some information while they were at it.

And so, they soon found themselves walking through the alien streets, looking at all the vendors selling strange things. Everyone seemed to be excited, more-so than they should be so late in the evening, and Lucy could just smell information on the breeze. So, when they came across a restaurant with a bar, her sleuthing instincts tingled and she grinned.

"There, let's eat at the bar. Whenever something big has happened, people will be talking about it freely where alcohol is involved."

Natsu quirked an eyebrow at her and flashed a grin. "Smart thinking Luce. I'm all fired up! Let's get some grub!"

She rolled her eyes but tried to keep up as he made a beeline for the place she had pointed out. He still got there first, and she ended up joining him at the bar a few moments later, breathing a tad heavier from the short jog she'd just had to make. He had already ordered of course, and Lucy just hoped what they had left of that merchant's coin would cover it.

As she'd predicted, there were plenty of excited patrons all talking in loud voices, but none of the disjointed conversations she caught made much sense. Something about a giant lacrima and the king and the capitol…

So, when the barkeep dropped some plates of food in front of Natsu and her, she grinned and flagged him down with 'come-hither' eyes. He answered the call, like most men, and she hurried to ask in a sweet tone, "Everyone sure is excited! Has something happened?"

His eyes widened a little. "You haven't heard?"

She shook her head 'no.' "I've been out in the backwoods doing an archeological dig for the past few years, so I'm afraid I'm out of the loop." She hoped that excuse would work here as well as it worked back in Earthland.

Thankfully he seemed to buy it. "Oh wow, sounds interesting!" he complimented and then continued with the answer to her question. "Yeah, you're way out of the loop. I guess you don't know that the king's head scientist developed the lacri-maker, and that they've been creating lacrima, huh?"

"Creating lacrima? You mean magic crystals?"

"Yep. About a year ago, Dr. Byro developed a machine that makes lacrima."

At the slight pause, Lucy inserted the appropriate eager, "oooooh," sound and fluttered her eyelashes to encourage him to continue.

He did so enthusiastically. "Yeah! Cool right? The first was just fist-sized, but then they got bigger and bigger with each one! But, a couple months ago, the lacri-maker suddenly stopped working, and everyone freaked out."

"Oh no!" she gasped with fake horror.

"Don't worry, Dr. Byro fixed it! That's what everyone's so happy about – the lacri-maker is back in business and just produced the most massive lacrima it's ever made! It's absolutely huge! Bigger than a house! They have it in the palace courtyard on display, and there's gonna be a big celebration tomorrow! Maybe magic will become legal again! That would be so cool!"

Dread settled in Lucy's stomach, but she forced a fake smile on her lips. She was glad though when he had to rush off to help some other customers, so she could drop the act. The coincidence was just too strong…. but if she was right, it meant their friends had somehow been transformed into a giant crystal.

How were they supposed to save their friends if they were just magical rocks?

…

Meanwhile, unlike Lucy, Wendy, Natsu, Happy, and Carla, the other two dragon slayers and Mystogen were sent right to the capitol. They knew that their guild was there, since the magic Mystogen had used would put them within a certain radius of where the original animus had connected the two worlds…. unlike the others who had been spat out who-knows-where. Both Laxus and Gajeel felt that it served the others right for heading off without them and didn't feel sorry for them at all. If anything, they both gloated at the fact that they were closer to the original site and would probably solve this whole thing by the time the others caught up.

That initial gloating and ego boosted optimism soon drained away though when they found out that nobody had heard about a huge guildhall suddenly being plunked down somewhere random – which was what they had been hoping to hear. Instead, they found out that there was gonna be a big celebration about the creation of some sort of huge lacrima crystal.

After hunting down more information, everything they found out about it suggested that their friends had not been transported to this realm as humans…. instead, they had somehow been transformed into a big-ass lacrima.

"Well, now what the fuck are we supposed to do?" Gajeel cussed as they all lingered in the shadows across from the front of the royal palace, where they could clearly see the courtyard that housed an enormous blue lacrima.

"Beats me." Laxus responded, his voice tense. "Are they even still alive?"

This question was directed at Mystogen, but Gajeel snorted. "How? D'you really think they could survive being turned into a giant lacrima?!"

Laxus grabbed his collar and snarled into his face, not wanting to hear that particular brand of sarcastic dark humor at the moment.

They were about to get into a spat, when Mystogen quietly interrupted. "Actually…I believe they are still alive in there. For the moment. However, if we wait too long, I suspect they will begin to truly transition into this new form, and if that happens…. they're lost to us."

Instantly the two spitting dragon slayers dropped each other and turned to the third wheel. "You think so? Then how to we get them back to normal?"

After a long pause, Mystogen hesitantly suggested, "I'm not entirely sure. We need more information. If I could just get close enough to analyze the crystal, I might be able to come up with a solution."

Blue and red eyes met in agreement. "Right." Gajeel grunted. "Let's get you closer then. The two of us will cause a disturbance long enough for the guards to give you an opening."

"Whatever you do, don't get caught." Mystogan warned, making them wonder just what was going on in this country.

With a plan agreed upon, they split up. Each dragon slayer took a different side, and then once they were far enough apart, they started making two separate scenes.

Gajeel took a direct approach and simply walked up to a drunkard in front of a booth that was selling alcohol and punched him. He quickly ducked out of the way and grabbed another drunk to take the guy's punch. That started a bar fight, which he simply added to by tossing more and more people into it. Soon it had turned into pandemonium, and he exited the scene with a grin, knowing his job was done as soon as the guards started showing up to try and get everyone back under control.

Meanwhile, Laxus took a slightly different approach. He stood way off to the side and simply sent an electric charge through the ground to blast a fireworks stand. That set off all the sparklers and fireworks in a spastic display of sparks and fire that had everyone screaming and running around in every conceivable direction.

With the two thorough distractions taking place, Mystogan found it very easy to sneak into the unprotected courtyard and get up close to the huge lacrima…which he quickly scanned with every method he knew. It was with relief that he was able to verify that their guildmates were indeed alive in there and was also able to predict how long they had before being unrecoverable. The bad news was that he didn't sense a lot of bodies in this particular piece…which meant there were more lacrimas around somewhere – or possibly one massive one that this was chipped off from.

So their work was far from done. First though, he had to tell his comrades what he had found, and they had to come up with a plan to get these guildmates out of this particular crystal. Since it was already past sunset, it would probably be smarter to strike tomorrow…

…

Likewise, the other group of Fairy Tail members were also talking about what they had found out and what they should do about it.

"So that means tomorrow, we have to book it to the capitol."

"The fastest way would be to fly, but that might bring too much attention to us."

"Yeah, and who's gonna carry Natsu?" Happy pointed out.

"I'll just fly myself!"

It took all of them staring at him for a solid minute for him to realize the error in that statement, and he immediately slumped. "Oh…right. Can't use magic."

After a minute he perked back up. "I can still run though! And I can run faster and farther than either of you."

Lucy almost took offense, but he was absolutely right on this account, so she shoved her disgruntled feelings back down. He was a dragon after all, and tired much slower.

"Alright…so then the two of us will fly – high enough that it won't be likely for us to get noticed – and we'll follow you as you run on foot."

"Sounds good!"

Unlike most people, Natsu wasn't at all perturbed by the idea of them being carried and him having to run the whole way. If anything, heat seemed to radiate from his body as he got excited. "I'm all fired up!"

Dropping her open palm onto the top of his head, Lucy affectionally pulled him in for a hug. "That's great Natsu, but it's bedtime for us mere mortals."

"I'm so happy that we have a plan…" Wendy yawned, smiling tiredly at them and seeming to fall asleep on the spot.

Lucy caught the yawn and succumbed to her own. "Yep…it's gonna be a big day tomorrow."

Stretching, she stood, feeling a bit grimy from the day and needing a shower. Wendy was now out cold on her bed, otherwise Lucy would have offered to let her use the shower first. But she certainly wasn't going to complain about getting first dibs.

"Well…I'm going to take a shower before bed. So I'll see you in a bit." she said, quietly so as to not wake up the sleeping occupants of the room – which also included Carla now. Happy was still awake and normally would have joined her, but he waved her on this time… probably because he was currently snuggled up with his sleeping almost-girlfriend.

So, she shrugged and headed into the bathroom by herself… or at least that's what she thought. However, as soon as she turned around, she spied a dragon who had somehow managed to sneak into the bathroom first.

"Natsu! What are you doing in here?" she whisper-shouted, though she already had a pretty good idea of his intentions.

He shrugged and grinned, the slight pink tinge to his cheeks probably more from excitement than embarrassment. "Come on Luce, let's take a shower together."

Flushing, she hissed at him a little. "Hey, keep it down would you? I'd rather not wake up Wendy. _Especially_ if you're up to the sort of mischief I think you are."

That got her a slightly toothier smirk, which she took as confirmation, and she wasn't the slightest bit surprised when he stepped closer and dipped his head into the crook of her neck and shoulder. A familiar slinky appendage snuck around her leg and gave her a gentle squeeze. When a lick of flame tickled across her skin, she sighed, sorely tempted to take him up on the suggestion. It had been a number of days since their last night alone – in fact, they'd been planning to do stuff tonight. Of course that was before everything went to hell in a handbasket.

Still, it didn't seem really appropriate to get busy in here with the others just a door away, so she attempted to reign in her own hormones and pushed him back a little. He whined, which was infuriatingly endearing, but she held firm and gave him a stern look.

"You can join me for a shower. But JUST a shower. And then we're going to bed. Okay?"

He pouted, which only deepened as she stepped away from him and disentangled herself from his tail. Turning her back to him, she fiddled with the controls of the shower and then quickly pulled the curtain closed so the water wouldn't spray her. With her back still firmly to Natsu, she stripped out of her clothing and then stuck her hand into the shower to check the temperature.

Nodding to herself in satisfaction at the warmth, she turned back to her boyfriend but pulled up short at his expression. The pout had melted away to be replaced with sparkling eyes, and she just knew he was going to try something. Narrowing her eyes at him and pressing her lips together, she held up a cautioning finger as she slid into the shower.

"I see that look in your eyes Dragneel…don't even think about it."

He failed at wiping the grin off his face, and the innocent expression he pasted on was absolutely unconvincing. With a huff, she snapped the shower curtain closed and stepped under the water, before hurrying to soap up a washcloth…hoping that maybe she could finish before he joined her. Of course Natsu could shed his clothes almost as fast as Gray – perhaps even faster, since he generally went commando – so she'd barely started lathering up her body by the time he also stepped into the shower.

A hand appeared in front of her as he reached around her body, and she stared at the open palm for a bewildered moment.

His fingers wiggled impatiently and he huffed, "Give me the washcloth already! I'll scrub your back."

Pursing her lips, she hesitantly handed it over, feeling like this was somehow a bad idea. He snatched it, and then her long hair was being pushed over her shoulder to dangle down her front so he could get to her back. By this point she was used to the extra length, but it still never ceased to surprise her how heavy it got when wet.

As she felt the slightly rough texture of the washcloth touch her back, she sighed and relaxed into the feeling. It was familiar by this point, they'd taken a number of showers and baths together by now. In fact, it was almost inevitable that Natsu joined her in some fashion, even when Happy was also there. _That_ had taken some getting used to, but somehow it never seemed awkward… probably because Natsu stayed infantile and goofy whenever the blue cat was there. It was only when they were alone together that he seemed to sport a perpetual hard-on.

Like now for instance.

After washing her backside – a little more thoroughly than necessary – the washcloth and his hand traveled around to her front and he stepped into the curve of her body. That thoroughly outed his half-mast erection as it ground into the curve of her ass. He also seemed intent on trying to get her 'fired up' as well… considering that he spent way too much time "washing" her breasts. When the washcloth started traveling south and eventually lodged between her legs, she huffed and grabbed his wrist.

"What did I say about _just_ showering?"

"Dunno…but I'm _just_ washing you. That's okay right?" His voice was a hitch lower than usual and a little playful, which told her that he knew he was breaking the rules…and was absolutely unapologetic about it.

Lucy rolled her eyes, and muttered, "…yeah right. You're a big fat liar."

He snorted a laugh into her shoulder, but his fingers still wiggled unrepentantly where they were currently entrenched in her privates. That caused a shiver to go through her, and she started to reconsider her previous decision once again. She didn't outright protest when he proceeded to work the soapy washcloth and his fingers into her folds; however when the soap started to burn, she had to stop him.

"Okay…okay, okay, I give. But you're gonna have to stop doing that with soap, because it stings."

"Oh, my bad." he grunted, and immediately withdrew his hands.

As the water washed away the sting of the soap, she sighed and then turned in his hold to face him. "Alright, we can do stuff. But you're gonna have to stay quiet, and I want to actually finish my shower first."

A brilliant grin and vigorous nod was her answer, and she chuckled and gave him a gentle peck on the lips – pulling back before he could deepen it and make her forget to wash her hair. Thankfully, he actually waited and watched as she poured some shampoo onto her hair and hurriedly washed it out, but as soon as she'd finished, he pounced.

His kisses certainly tasted and felt different without his fire, but she didn't enjoy them any less. As his lips collided with hers, she met him with just as much passion… if a little less intensity and vigor as him. She _was_ pretty tired after all.

When her back met the wall, she realized he probably intended to try having sex standing up… and like heck was that happening. She just didn't have the energy required for that. An alternative idea flashed through her mind though, and she smirked into their kiss, instantly on board with her new plan. Nipping his lip, she pulled her mouth from his and then pushed him back just enough to give her room for what she wanted to do.

When confused black eyes met hers, she just smiled and grabbed his hand, clamping it over his own mouth. That confusion in his eyes only increased as he stared at her over his hand.

"I want you to keep your hand there. It'll remind you to stay quiet." she purred, enjoying the way his eyes widened as he blinked at her in bewilderment.

When she went to her knees though, his eyes cranked open a smidge wider and then narrowed in understanding and lust.

"Is this okay?" she asked, hoping that he would accept her proposition and be satisfied, because it would solve the problem of her being too tired to do much, and him being all wound up.

The other benefit to this particular activity was that she could be in charge of her own pleasure – which would make things a lot simpler. Since his fire always worked so well on her, he'd never bothered to try making her orgasm without it. She had no doubts that he could, but it would probably take some time and effort, and right now she just didn't have the energy for that.

Thankfully – if his vigorous nod was anything to go by – he was very much okay with this plan, and she couldn't resist grinning up at him. Then, she turned her attention to the erection currently bobbing in front of her face. One hand happily reached out and grabbed him at the base, securing him in place.

In all honesty, she'd only done this a few times before, so this was still pretty new and exciting to her. It was also surprisingly easy to do, which she'd been worried about the first time, but never since then. Much to her delight, it didn't take much to get him off with her mouth. Apparently, Natsu was pretty damn sensitive…. or else she just had a previously unknown talent for giving head. Either way, she certainly wasn't going to complain – because being able to give him so much pleasure so easily was great as far as she was concerned.

She started as she generally did, with a few strokes of her hand to warm him up, and felt him twitch hard in her palm – which was always a good sign. At that point, she dipped forwards and decided to tease him just a tiny bit by licking his shaft up and down and then lapping at the tip a little. This sort of stimulation wasn't enough, and she knew it, but she also knew that it drove him up the wall with pleasure all the same…. Especially when she worked her tongue around his head.

After a couple minutes of that, she got a very deep soft growl from him. When she glanced up, she noted how his eyes were burning and almost looked pissed – although she knew he wasn't truly angry. His impatience simply also translated into bed most of the time. She shot him what she knew must have been an impish smile and got narrowed eyes in response as he growled at her again, this time a little louder and more aggressively.

"Tsk tsk…keep it down Natsu. Or I'll stop." she warned, cocking an eyebrow in a taunting way.

His next growl was definitely softer and had a hint of a whine to it, so she finally took pity on him and popped him in her mouth. His whine choked off, and then he just choked on himself. She worried for a second that he might actually end up in a coughing fit, but thankfully he managed to clear his throat.

It was a good thing that she'd always been able to open her jaw pretty wide, so fitting him in wasn't a problem, although she knew that if it went on for too long she might start to develop an ache. Scooting a little closer to him, she used her free hand to grab his behind, digging her fingers in and kneading one cheek. He jerked and she gagged as he accidentally thrust into her throat. Something that was probably a mumbled apology tumbled from behind his hand, but she couldn't understand a word he said.

Coming back off him with a slight pop, she said, "Don't worry about it. But _shhhh_."

He clammed up again, and she got the distinct feeling that this wasn't the last time she'd have to remind him. She was right too. As soon as she went back down on him, she heard very soft murmurs coming from upstairs as his mouth started running, but he kept it very quiet so she let it slide for now. His hand muffled most of the sound and even she had no idea what he was saying.

Still, she kept her ear tuned to him, ready to scold him again if needed.

In the meantime, she went back to bobbing her head, sucking and licking to the best of her ability as she used her hand to rub what she couldn't reach. Her other hand on his butt kept kneading him like a cat, digging her nails in every now and then because she knew he liked it. Of course, he knew as well as she did where her hand was going, but he still jumped when she slid to the side and grasped the base of his tail. A louder groan escaped him, and once again she had to pop off him.

"Natsu…seriously, keep it down or we're gonna have to stop."

He nodded, and she snorted at his wide-eyed worried expression…. Or what she could see of it above his hand, which he clamped even harder over his mouth. She was pretty sure he also bit down on his palm, judging by the movement of his jaw and hand.

Nodding in approval, she returned to her task. For a moment she just watched, licking her lips as she stroked him with one hand and proceeded to massage his tail with the other. She cupped her palm over the red appendage where it sprouted from his butt and squeezed with the heel of her palm and fingertips because it was too thick for her to wrap her hand around it.

His tail squirmed, twining around his legs and her…which was better than smacking repeatedly into the shower curtain as she had been worried it might do. Glancing up, she was treated to a sight of him with his eyes clenched shut and his body tensing up and shivering a little. At that, she almost had to suppress a groan of her own and figured that it was time to fill her mouth again before she was the one to give them away. A very tiny sound escaped him as she took him back in, and she felt an answering clench in her pelvis.

As she bobbed her head, she set up a rhythm with her hand on his tail, squeezing the top where it connected to his spine and then sliding her hand down and around to give the sensitive underside right against his butt a similar squeeze, and then back up again.

After her jaw had loosened up, she gradually started dipping lower and lower on him. Once she felt she was taking enough with her mouth, she moved that hand to her own privates instead. She felt him twitch extra hard in her mouth and heard a moan – which he kept really soft – come from above, and knew he was probably turned on even more from watching her touching herself. It was mutually beneficial, because she certainly enjoyed it too. By this point, she was so turned on that she knew it wouldn't take much to get herself off. There was something insanely arousing about giving Natsu head, and it never failed to make her flood downstairs.

To be honest though, it wasn't a piece of cake to continue what she'd been doing and also focus on her own pleasure. Her rhythm got a little disjointed and lazy as more of her attention was taken up by the feel of her fingers against her clit. Thankfully Natsu had a solution for that, and his free hand latched onto her hair to hold her steady as he started to thrust into her mouth instead.

After the first thrust though, he stuttered to a halt and temporarily removed his hand from his mouth so he could ask, "Is this okay?"

She hummed – unable to respond around a mouthful of penis – and he stuttered and pulled out so she could actually talk. Smacking a little and licking up some escaping saliva, she breathlessly replied with, "Yeah, it's okay. Just don't go too deep okay?"

"Right…okay." he panted, sounding just as out of breath as her, and then he gulped thickly.

Without any prompting from her, his hand went back over his mouth – which she was very proud of him for – and then he somewhat awkwardly nudged the tip of his erection against her lips. It was almost amusing really, like a polite knock at a door, and her lips were curled upwards in a grin as they parted.

It took a few moments for him to get back into it, and his first few thrusts were almost hesitant in comparison to what she was used to from him. But as soon as he figured out how deep he could go without making her gag – through a process of trial and error that left her eyes watering a little – his rhythm smoothed out some. As he took complete control of the motions, it let her sit back and relax, though she still sucked and licked as he moved back and forth. Her hand on his tail lost its rhythm somewhat, but she made up for that by squeezing harder, which he seemed to appreciate.

All of that let her focus on her own masturbation more, and she very quickly started edging close, the tension winding tight in her stomach. In all honesty, this new kind of blow job was just as arousing as the kind she was used to…perhaps even more-so since it was new and unfamiliar. On the downside, she couldn't really detach her mouth to scold him for any noise he might make, so whenever he got a little too loud she had to resort to pinching him on the backside and giving him a stern glare, which seemed to get the message across just fine.

It didn't last too much longer anyways. Very quickly, she felt him tensing with a violent shiver and his erection swelled up a bit more and pulsed. Then, a few twitches later, he was releasing in her mouth with a smothered yelp – which was probably a much louder sound that he'd managed to choke off. This time there were no flames of course, but his cum was just as hot as it hit her throat, and she sputtered and nearly choked. He happened to be the proud owner of boiling ejaculate – literally boiling – and even for her it was a bit much.

Having to swallow it was always a bit difficult, although it seemed to be getting easier the more she did it. The very first time she took him like this, it had shocked her so much that she had actually aspirated it – and a shit-ton of fire – and went into a coughing fit. It definitely hadn't been the sexiest conclusion, but she hadn't been able to help it.

Since then, she'd never quite managed to swallow, but this time she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. His grip in her hair didn't let up, probably unthinkingly on his part as he locked into orgasm-land. So she either had the option to let it sit in her mouth or swallow it, and she chose the latter. It burned as it went down and was a little sticky so it took some doing to swallow – like the slowest alcoholic shot in the world – but she just imagined that it was his fire and was eventually able to get it down.

Still, when he finally relaxed his grip on her, she didn't hesitate to take a mouthful of the water still falling over them and gargled a little. After several swallows of that, she finally felt like it was all gone.

"Oops…sorry Luce." he panted, apparently just realizing that he'd locked her in place while he came.

She cleared her throat a couple times and then finally answered with a shrug. "Eh…it was okay."

In all honesty, she always liked feeling him cum – whether it was in her hand, mouth, or vagina. There was something extremely sexy about the way his dick pulsed and twitched as he did it, as was the knowledge that he was experiencing extreme pleasure. So it was worth it as far as she was concerned.

He squatted down and gently thumbed what she had to assume was escaped ejaculate off her chin, and she flushed just a little before chuckling. He grinned back at her and then brought his lips to hers in an exploratory kiss, his tongue licking hers and undoubtedly getting a taste of himself as he was at it.

He pulled back a moment later with what almost looked like a smug grin. "I'll never get over tasting myself when kissing you."

"In a bad way or a good way?" she inquired, pretty sure of the answer, but curious nonetheless.

"A good way. A very good way." he rumbled back and proceeded to kiss her breathless.

When he pulled away again, it was to lean his forehead against hers, and then a moment later he breathlessly asked, "So did you cum?"

That drew attention to the fact that her fingers were still buried between her thighs, and she cleared her throat, suddenly feeling a tiny bit awkward.

"Um…no, not yet."

"Well, get to it then." he crooned – actually crooned…Lucy hadn't even thought Natsu was capable of producing such a sound.

She almost couldn't take him seriously, but the part of her that did take him seriously was definitely turned on. Her fingers apparently had a mind of their own, because they immediately resumed what they'd been doing before he distracted her with his own orgasm, and she hissed at the renewed stimulation. Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to kiss and pet her. His lips started out on hers, but quickly migrated to her neck and shoulders and chest, and his hands did much the same – tangling in her wet hair, stroking her arms, squeezing her hips…basically touching her wherever he could. His tail also tangled around her, basically giving her a full body massage.

Eventually he tipped her over backwards so she was lying flat on her back in the tub, her legs spread, and both her hands busy in her v-zone. One spread her open while she worked at her clit with the fingers of the other. Even after everything they'd done, it was a tiny bit disconcerting to do this with him watching, but he managed to put her completely at ease – or rather, he just distracted her so thoroughly that she didn't care. His lips continued to kiss whatever skin he could reach – which was her stomach and thighs by this point – and his hands landed on her breasts, where they stuck around and played.

He had started murmuring soft words – staying super quiet thankfully – and she couldn't pick out more than a handful over the sound of the shower. Mostly they were compliments and encouragements. His tail continued to twine around her and rubbed wherever his hands or mouth couldn't reach. By the time his lips left her skin and he sat back to just watch, she didn't even care. Watching his face as he watched her was pretty hot actually. He rested his cheek against one raised knee and piercing eyes latched onto her hands and v-zone.

It didn't take her long at all to orgasm with all the overstimulation, and soon she was convulsing with pleasure and nearly accidentally kneed Natsu in the face. Thankfully he managed to jerk back in time to avoid a black eye. It took a little while, but eventually her spasms stopped and she went limp again as the pleasure evened out and then faded, leaving her senses a tiny bit dulled in the aftermath. So when a spray of boiling hot liquid spattered over her stomach and thighs, she flinched in surprise.

Unknown to her, Natsu had been jerking off while watching her. So, when she glanced up, it was to the sight of him just shuddering to a halt…which explained the hot liquid now cooling on her skin. With a sigh, she just chuckled and shook her head.

After a few moments of recovery for both of them, Lucy rinsed off the evidence and then they staggered out of the shower. The rest of their bedtime routine was done almost half-asleep as the day caught up with them, and when they finally stumbled into bed, they were both out within minutes of their heads hitting the pillow.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _"So we're going to have to sneak into the castle?" Wendy asked, sounding very worried… and rightly so. It was not a quest to be taken lightly in their current magicless predicament._

 _Lucy grimaced at her. "I can't see any other way."_

 _"But how are we even going to sneak in?" the blue-haired girl continued, looking more and more frightened and averse to this plan by the second. "It's a stone castle! And it's huge! We can't just go through the front door, and I didn't see any sort of entrance other than the one in the courtyard."_


	35. Chapter 35

**Author's Note:**

Hello all! It's Wednesday! And you know what that means. ;D

As always huge wonderful toasty warm thanks to all my fantastic reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: WisdomDragon27, TheJSmooth, ravenqueen162, Lucinda, thetrywriter, Firefly9917, Syfenos U, SunnieDayys, RabbitMelody, valerioux, The Age of Awesomeness, and Leomae2.0. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewer: aliciacevbra.

And now on with the show! Stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

The next day they proceeded as planned, with the two girls flying high above while Natsu ran full tilt down on the ground. They had managed to procure directions to the capitol from the person who checked them out of their room, and thankfully it was relatively close by and easy to get to. So by evening, they had made it all the way to the much larger and greatly populated capitol city.

At that point, they found a cheap inn where the two cats could lay low, while Natsu, Wendy, and Lucy headed out to try and find out more about the situation and what they could do about it. It didn't take long to gather that the lacrima was in the courtyard of the palace, since everyone was talking about it – at the top of their lungs – so to the palace they went. The closer they got though, the more agitated people seemed to become and the mood on the streets began to shift from happy to perturbed. By the time they reached the empty cobblestoned space that was supposed to hold a giant crystal, the crowds were downright close to rioting, making a huge fuss and yelling and shoving each other for a better spot.

Given the scorch mark in the center of the courtyard and the guards that were running around like they didn't know what was going on, something big had taken place not too long ago.

"What the heck happened?"

"I dunno, but if the lacrima isn't here, then where is it?"

"I don't like this…" Wendy's concerned comment was cut off when the crowd went silent, and they all turned to see what had grabbed everyone's attention so thoroughly.

The sight of the king himself up on a balcony was obviously the source of everyone's distraction, and it successfully grabbed their attention as well.

"My beloved citizens! Please calm yourselves! Never fear. At this very moment, my men are investigating the destruction and disappearance of the lacrima crystal on display in this courtyard. However! It is only a small piece of the crystal that I have created! So do not be afraid, we still have magic in abundance!"

There was a great cheer from the crowd and everyone's spirits visibly lifted… while the three Earthlanders felt a sinking mixture of negative emotions instead. None of them knew what exactly happened to the lacrima. If it was destroyed, did that mean that some of their guildmates had been destroyed as well? Although, the king also said that it had _disappeared_ , which suggested that this incident might have been the doing of their comrades – if they were able to find a way here. Lucy still wasn't sure if the others had even been able to join them in Edolas, or if they'd been left behind.

For the time being though, there wasn't any use in worrying about the fate of one shard, not if there was a much larger crystal that they now needed to find. All they could do was hope that this small crystal had been taken by their friends and that it was now safe. They waited until the king's speech was over – just in case he mentioned where they could find the other crystal. Of course he didn't.

So that left them almost back at square one. Which meant they reconvened at the hotel room and tried to make a new plan, such as it was. Really, at this point none of them were sure what to do. Here they were, stuck in a completely different world – a situation which was starting to really sink in hard by now – unable to use magic, separated from the rest of their group, who may or may not have made it, and had just lost their lead. Even the ever-positive Natsu was somewhat stumped. It had taken them most of the day just to get to the capitol, and after expending so much effort just to discover that they had lost the crystal (or at least a shard of it) was pretty depressing.

Now they had to find some ginormous lacrima instead – if the king was even to be believed that there was one. For all they knew, he was lying and had just made it up to pacify the crowd. But it was all they had to go off, so they didn't really have a choice.

"So now what?" Wendy asked, looking depressed.

"Now…we go and find the rest of the crystal. The others got that one, so it's up to us to get the big one." Natsu answered after a long pause, a hint of his normal grin starting to rev back up on his face.

"What makes you so sure the others got that crystal? And by ' _get_ ' what do we even think they did?! I mean, it can't be a _**good**_ thing to blow it up!"

He just shrugged. "I smelled them. And if blowing up the crystal is what they did, then it's gotta be the way to set our guildmates free. Besides, we don't even know if they did blow it up, just that it was 'broken' or something and then disappeared."

For once, Natsu was playing the part of being level-headed while Lucy was left flapping her gums, irritated and itchy at her boyfriend for withholding some important information. Letting it go…for now…she decided to focus on the matter at hand instead of why he didn't tell her right off the bat that he knew for sure their friends had been there.

"Okay. So if we know for sure that Gajeel, Laxus, and Mystogen were involved with whatever happened, let's not worry about that crystal for now. Instead, we've gotta focus on at least _finding_ the other, and then we'll worry about what to do with it. Do you think you could track the others?"

Natsu shook his head. "No way in hell. I caught a whiff of their scents, but with all the other people around – not to mention the food, fireworks, booze, vomit-"

Lucy cringed and cut him off. "Ew. Okay, I get the idea, you can stop now."

Wendy's head was swinging back and forth, watching them like a game of tennis. Meanwhile, the two cats were more interested in fish (Happy) and avoiding the fish being lovingly forced on them (Carla).

"So, we've gotta find the thing. Any ideas how?"

"Not a clue. Can't you just sniff it out with that great nose of yours?"

"Do I need to go through the list of smells goin' on right now again Luce?"

She let out a long-suffering sigh. "Yeah, yeah, that's what I figured. Darn it all…there's got to be some way to hunt it down without having to infiltrate…"

At the word, 'infiltrate,' Natsu's eyes took on a dangerous gleam. "What've you got in mind?"

With a wince, Lucy considered her options before speaking without thinking. Knowing Natsu, if she was careless in the way she worded it, he'd be out of the hotel room and knocking down the palace doors before she could snag his scaly scarf and leash him. At this rate though, that was exactly what they were going to have to do – minus the part where they made a huge mess and attracted all the palace guards' attention. Obviously the only people who would know anything were on the inside of the palace…. the guards probably didn't even know where the lacrima was. So that meant they were going to have to sneak in and either capture someone for questioning, or overhear some conversations, or steal some important documents.

All of this involved sneaking around – which wasn't exactly Natsu's forte, despite having done it on multiple missions. Although they had successfully kept their cover a handful of times, at least 90 percent of the time Natsu lost his patience and ended up just barging in and making a scene. That was bad enough while he was still an all-powerful dragon and she had access to all of her spirits, but in this circumstance it would basically be suicidal.

So, the first thing she said was, "Alright. Here's the deal. You're going to have to curb your natural enthusiasm and actually exercise some patience, or you _will_ get us killed. Not in the metaphorical sense, but actually _dead_ or _captured_ – which we do NOT want. Understand?"

She emphasized how serious she was by pointing a finger right in his face, and he nearly went cross-eyed trying to eyeball the tip almost touching his nose.

"Right. Got it."

Given the mostly serious look on his face, she figured it was safe to say the rest of what she needed to. "Okay. Good. So…as far as I can tell, the only place we're going to find the information we need is inside the palace. Obviously nobody out here knows where it is, only the king and whoever else is in on this thing is going to know anything about it. We could risk trying to capture one of the guards, but somehow I doubt any of them know anything."

"So we're going to have to sneak into the castle?" Wendy asked, sounding very worried… and rightly so. It was not a quest to be taken lightly in their current magicless predicament.

Lucy grimaced at her. "I can't see any other way."

"But how are we even going to sneak in?" the blue-haired girl continued, looking more and more frightened and averse to this plan by the second. "It's a stone castle! And it's huge! We can't just go through the front door, and I didn't see any sort of entrance other than the one in the courtyard."

"Well…we didn't go around the whole circumference. I'm sure there has to be some sort of servant's entrance…maybe we could dress up like servants or something…"

Natsu snorted, obviously not impressed with that plan. She sent him a sharp look. "We are not busting in through the front door this time Natsu. We have no magic, and if we get caught we couldn't fight them off. It would be game over."

He scowled, but didn't argue, which was a good sign. Maybe he did grasp the seriousness of the situation after all. That might be a little optimistic of her…but one could always hope right?

Turning back to Wendy – who, for one, definitely understood just how much risk this was entailing – Lucy continued planning with her. Or would have, if Carla hadn't decided to interject.

"Actually…there's…a secret passage."

Everyone turned to look at the white cat and stared with surprise and a good deal of questions.

"What?" Natsu asked first, cocking his head the way he did when something just didn't compute in that pink fuzzy head of his.

"I said, there's a secret passage. Under the castle."

"Okay…and how do you know this?" Lucy was the next questioner and voiced the main one they all had currently.

It also seemed to make Carla very uncomfortable, and she fidgeted for a long moment before mumbling, "I don't suppose you would just take me at my word and not ask me how I know…would you?"

Wordlessly they all shook their heads, except for Happy of course. But even he looked a little doubtful.

After a great deal more fidgeting, where she untied and retied the pink ribbon on her tail approximately five times, she finally sighed and gave in. "It's…well you see…I…"

"Just spit it out already would ya?!" Natsu finally lost his patience of course.

She jumped, and her tail puffed up like a fluffy marshmallow. "Alright! Fine! I can sort of…well, _see_ things. Sometimes."

"Carla? What do you mean exactly by 'see things'?" Wendy asked gently.

"Different things. Things other people can't see…like…the future sometimes. Or possible futures. They don't always come true, and they're just glimpses, sometimes scattered and disjointed. They don't always make sense."

"Wow…I had no idea! That's so cool!" At Wendy's excited exclamations, Carla risked a glance up, looking hopeful.

"You…you think it's cool? I always thought the visions were strange and that you would think I was … different, I guess, if I told you…" She glanced around at all of them, including them all in the 'you.'

"Na! It's awesome, like Wendy said!" That was Natsu, and a bright grin followed up the statement.

"Absolutely." Lucy confirmed, and Happy didn't even need to say anything to convey his awe. His big sparkly eyes said it all for him.

After a moment where they all praised her, Lucy redirected the conversation. "So, if you can see the future sometimes, how did you see the secret passage?"

"I saw us walking down it and caught glimpses of the entrance and how to get there. I'm sure I could find it."

"So now we know how we're gonna get in!"

"What are we going to do once we get in though?" Wendy asked, which caused them all to pause and consider.

"Well, I guess it depends on where we get spit out of the secret tunnel. If we could ambush some guards or something and steal some uniforms, that would make things much easier."

"That'll be easy." Natsu grinned wolfishly. "I can take on a couple of guards even without magic, no problem."

"We'll wanna do that tonight then, when there aren't many guards around, so we can snag two without anyone else noticing. In fact, we should probably just infiltrate tonight too…the sooner the better. And there'll probably be less chance of getting caught at night."

And so a plan was hatched.

As soon as dark fell, they all set out. Natsu found himself a secluded clearing pretty deep in the woods where he could take out the guards. Wendy stayed with him, while Lucy, Happy, and Carla flew up into the sky under the cover of nightfall. They scouted the city, looking for palace guards who were by themselves, maybe just coming off duty. They got lucky after hunting for an hour or so when they spotted one just entering a bar. That was Lucy's cue.

She hopped down in a back alley and made her way into the bar. She spied the guard, already letting himself go a little with his first beer, and she approached. By doing a lot of gross flirting, she quickly got him hooked, and just in case he did know something, she pumped him for information. As expected though, he didn't know anything about the big lacrima, so she quickly went to phase two.

This wasn't the first time she'd lured someone out of a joint with her charms, and it was ridiculously easy to do – especially after getting a few drinks in the guy. Just thirty minutes later, she dragged him out behind her, and he was only too eager to follow her into the dark alley behind the bar with the promise of "more" dangled temptingly in front of his nose.

She didn't even need Natsu to take this guy out. He was obviously an amateur, and it just took one Lucy Kick to knock him out. Happy and Carla descended from the roof shortly after, to find the target face first on the ground with his butt sticking up in the air and Lucy dusting off her hands.

"Nice one Lucy!" Happy crowed, completely unsurprised.

Carla, on the other hand, stared with shocked eyes. "You did this?!"

"Of course." Lucy answered smugly, realizing that Carla hadn't been on many missions with her.

Without too many words over the matter, Happy picked up Lucy and Carla picked up the unconscious guard. A few minutes later, they were dropping down into the clearing and Natsu was rushing over with eager eyes, only to droop with disappointment when he saw that he didn't get to fight. "Aw Luce…you couldn't even let me get one hit in?!"

"He keeled over with one Lucy Kick. What can I do?" She just shrugged.

They made quick work stripping off his uniform, leaving his underclothes of course. Then they tied him to a tree very solidly and gagged him. He was so far out into the woods that nobody would hear him anyways, but it didn't hurt. Then, after taking a good look at the clothes and judging them for size, they determined that they would fit Lucy, but not Natsu. So she had to go back out and look for someone who was approximately Natsu's size, alone, and preferably drunk.

This time it took several hours to find someone who was both alone and looked like a similar height and build as Natsu. Unfortunately, he was not drunk… not even close. In fact, he was still on duty, and they spied him breaking up a drunken fight. Also, he wasn't an amateur, and they could already predict problems getting him – but hopefully it wouldn't be too much trouble if they stuck to the plan.

Waiting until he had finished scolding the two drunkards and was back on patrol, they picked a time when he was almost completely alone to swoop in. There were only a few people on the streets this late, and most were drunks stumbling home or passed out – given the heavy celebrations and the shady neighborhood – so it was pretty safe.

Carla swooped down first and snagged the guy's heels before scooping him up and dragging him high into the air. He let out a yell that could wake the dead, so they gained altitude fast, with him struggling the whole time.

Carla grunted and strained. "I can't hold him for too long like this…I'm going to drop him!"

Lucy and Happy had to intervene. She got face-to-face with the guy, nearly getting clocked in the nose for her effort. "Look down! You really don't want to get dropped do you?!"

He snarled, but looked down as she'd suggested. And then he went a funny shade of pale as he took in the fact that they were really, really high up right now. Instantly, he froze and started sweating profusely.

"What do you people want with me?!"

"Do you know where they're keeping the giant lacrima?" she quickly asked, and he shook his head.

"No! None of us were told anything about it! The first we heard of it was today too! And we haven't been given any more information since! Who are you people? Why do you want to know?"

She didn't bother answering that. He was still now and had answered her question, so there wasn't anything else to be gained from engaging with him.

As they came to the clearing, she addressed Carla. "We're going in first to warn Natsu, then you come in hot. He's going to fight as soon as we're low enough, so just drop him when you're over the clearing. It won't hurt him too badly."

The white cat nodded, still looking like she was straining to keep airborne, even though he wasn't fighting any more. He was definitely much heavier than Wendy, that was for sure.

As planned, Happy swooped in first and Lucy yelled, "We've got a live one, get ready Natsu! Carla's gonna drop him on you!"

All she heard in response was a whoop of joy, and Happy took her to where Wendy was standing at the edge of the clearing. A few seconds later, the once again snarling and spitting guard was dropped into the clearing and hit the ground running. Natsu wasn't having any of that though and pounced, engaging the guy in a fist fight before he could try to make an escape.

Lucy's prediction was correct, the guard they'd bagged was no pushover, but he also wasn't any match for a dragon in human skin either and was soon knocked out cold. He put up a good fight though and managed to land a few good punches… enough that Natsu was grinning from ear to ear after. They quickly stripped him and tied him up too, _much_ more securely than the first guy though.

Then, they left them there and changed into the uniforms. Wendy didn't need one, because she planned to stay in the secret tunnel and wait for Natsu and Lucy to get information. This was just too dangerous for her without magic. Lucy and Natsu at least had a chance of maybe getting away if they were caught, but Wendy…not so much. She was a strong sky dragon slayer, but she was still a preteen with a penchant for tripping over absolutely nothing.

And so, once Lucy and Natsu had on their disguises, they all made their way to the secret passageway. It was a mineshaft, or at least looked like one from the outside, and was located out in the woods behind the castle. There was no way anyone would have been able to find it if they hadn't known it was there, and even if they did, it wouldn't have looked like a secret passage into the castle.

Inside the tunnel it was dark and dank, and they couldn't see very far at all in front of them. The only light came from small glowworms and glowing moss on the walls, which didn't provide much luminesces, so they did a lot of tripping and some soft cussing as they stumbled along.

Wendy did more tripping than any of them, and if the very dim light hadn't shown her constant face-planting, they would have heard it with the loud squeal she let out each time.

Eventually, Lucy murmured, "Um, Wendy? I know it's dark and you can't help tripping, but try not to scream every time okay? We don't want to alert anyone that we're here."

"Oh…right…sorry…" the young girl mumbled, her tone saying that she was embarrassed.

However, true to word, the next time she fell, she didn't scream. There was only a muffled thump to indicate she had one again eaten dirt.

As for Lucy and Natsu, they did plenty of stumbling but rarely fell down completely. Still, the trip was filled with quiet cusses and the sound of stubbed toes on loose rocks.

The darkness and constant stumbling left them on edge, so when a sudden racket sounded from all around them, they all jumped – and in the case of the cats, puffed out like Cheetos.

It was so dark that they hadn't seen the soldiers surrounding them until they were suddenly encircled by the glowing tips of magical spears. While people didn't have innate magic here in Edolas, all the guards apparently carried spears that were imbedded with magic. Being surrounded by those spears was a very bad thing, especially when they were taken completely by surprise and hadn't been the slightest bit prepared for an attack.

So when someone shouted, "Fire!" none of them really had an appropriate response, aside from yelling various random sounds and incomprehensible mashups of consonants and vowels…mostly vowels.

First, they were all thoroughly zapped with strong electrical currents, which had them flopping to the ground in twitching heaps that were good for little more than groaning pathetically. Then, when a second shout of, "bind them!" sounded, they couldn't do anything at all.

White sticky something-or-other was shot at them, and they ended up thoroughly immobilized. As for Lucy, she had conked her head on a random rock when falling and did her very best to stay conscious, but she lost the fight soon after being bound, and the dim light faded as total darkness took her.

Meanwhile, Happy and Carla were not bound.

Instead, one of the guards – probably the leader – stepped forwards and bowed, saying, "Thank you, great Exceeds, for assisting us in the capture of these trespassers. Queen Shagotte said you would be bringing them this way."

Out from behind that man stepped an Exceed, a very fancy one, who gestured and said, "Yes! Well done! Now, let's return home and report your successful mission."

"But we didn't -!"

"…hush…" Carla quickly shushed Happy.

The only way she could see them getting out of this mess, was to play along with whatever was going on and then escape when they had the chance. Once they escaped, they could then rescue their captured friends. But if they made a scene now, they'd probably be taken captive too, and then there would be no hope of saving Lucy, Natsu, and Wendy.

"Um…yes…of course…" she muttered, and Happy scowled at her. She sent him a stern shake of the head and pleaded with her eyes for him to stay quiet.

They followed the Exceed, who led them out of the tunnel and into the castle, and then they flew out of the first window they came to. From there, they flew up, up, and up, until they reached an extremely large floating island high in the sky. A whole city was built on it, and smaller floating islands around it had apparently been turned into farms.

"Welcome to Extalia! Your homeland!" their guide said cheerfully.

Then, once they had landed, he added, "Come! I have orders to take you directly to the queen."

Carla and Happy glanced around, but after a brief consideration of their options, Carla decided that meeting this Queen could give them good information. So, she followed the other Exceed, and Happy followed her.

"Carla!" he whispered urgently in her ear. "What are we doing?! Why did we leave the others down there? And why are we going with this guy?!"

"First of all, Tomcat, if we had made a fuss back there, we could have been captured too. And there wouldn't be any way to save Lucy, Natsu, and Wendy if we get captured. Second, I believe we might be able to get some important information from this Queen person."

"Ooooh! Aye Sir! You're so smart Carla!" he whispered back happily, fully on board now.

They were led through an absolutely beautiful city, and then into an equally beautiful castle. Eventually, they emerged into a huge throne room, and there they came face-to-face with a large white Exceed, who seemed to be the size and shape of a human, but with all the other features of a cat.

"Ah! Carla! You came!" she said, sounding almost eager. "And who is this young male with you?"

"I'm Happy!" Happy said, and everyone present seemed confused.

"Oh…uh…that's nice dear. And what's your name?"

He blinked in confusion, and Carla sighed. "His name _is_ Happy. And you must be Queen Shagotte…"

"Yes indeed."

"I have some questions for you…"

At Carla's almost snappish statement, the advisors surrounding Queen Shagotte all stood and scowled heavily before sputtering, "How dare you address her majesty in such an impudent manner?!"

Queen Shagotte, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by the outburst, and regally held up her hand to silence the small crowd of high officials.

"I will hear your questions."

"Good. First of all, why did those soldiers say that you sent us to lead Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy to them? You've never even met us! And how did those soldiers know we were coming?! Did you have something to do with that?"

Once again, all the advisors revved up for a round of scolding, but the queen merely shushed them and answered Carla's question. "I told the soldiers that you were working for me, and that you would be coming. So yes, I did orchestrate your friends' capture, and for that I am sorry."

"Why?! And how did you even know we were there?!"

"I knew you were there in the same way that I suspect you knew how to find that tunnel. With clairvoyance. As for why I did it…if you were captured, you could have jeopardized all of us…and you could have been killed. I did what I had to, to protect you and the country."

By that point, they both had so many questions, and Happy was completely swamped. Carla, on the other hand, just did her best to prioritize her questions and ask them in the appropriate order.

"Why would us being captured endanger your country? Why would you care about us dying? And how do you have clairvoyance?"

"My, you _do_ have a lot of questions…" the queen sighed, looking troubled. "I will answer them all to the best of my ability, I owe that much to you…." Once again she waved off her advisors, who were all clamoring for her attention. "You being captured could have endangered us simply because the country of Extalia and the country of Edolas are currently in a very tremulous peace. Most humans fear us, because we have natural inborn magic and they don't. We used that and cultivated it to the best of our ability… even using my clairvoyance to give "decrees" on who would die. Even though I have no control over those people's deaths, their belief that I am all-powerful has kept them at bay for a while. But it won't last long, and if they were to sense any weakness – such as the ability to capture one of us – then our peace would break, and they would invade us. The current king of Edolas is power-hungry and has had his eye on us and our magic for some time now."

"Is…is that why you sent us away? To try and protect us?" Happy asked, his voice small and hopeful. It was obvious that he was afraid they'd simply been cast aside for a different reason.

The queen's eyes softened and she nodded. "Yes…all of the citizens are aware that we might be dealing with war soon – possibly extinction – and many of us decided to send our children to Earthland in the hope that they would have a future there. I, too, sent my only daughter there…"

When her eyes landed on Carla, the white cat suddenly had a shiver up her spine. Though she wanted to ask the obvious, she chose not to, preferring not to know.

"What could the humans possibly do? You live up here in the sky. And they have no magic… at least no inborn magic."

"True, but they have been building weapons that they can use against beings like us. As I'm sure you know, those lacrimas that suddenly appeared are people from Earthland turned into crystals. They've been using that same technology to develop weapons as well…which would be able to turn us into lacrima crystals too."

Her eyes closed and she frowned, looking deeply concerned. "Perhaps even more worrisome, they have also been developing devises that can harvest our magic without killing us. Eventually, I'm sure they intend to capture and imprison us while they harvest our magic like a crop. It would be a never-ending supply of magic for them."

Both Happy and Carla were horrified. "And what are they going to do to our friends? Are they…?"

"Probably."

"We have to save them!"

"It's too dangerous! I can't let you expose how weak we are to the world! Our only protection right now is their fear of us!"

"If what you say is true, then your peace isn't going to last much longer anyways. We aren't going to stay here safe and sound while our friends are hurt. And if I were you, I would stop hiding behind a pretense and go down there and make some allies! Maybe if people knew you were good and weren't killing off random citizens, they wouldn't let you get taken over! A king can only rule so long as he has the support of his people! But you've villainized yourselves, so he doesn't even have to do that part! You've given them the perfect excuse to invade!"

"Be that as it may, I simply cannot allow you to go down there. It's much too dangerous."

She nodded to the guards, who grabbed Happy and Carla. They both fought to escape, but were dragged off anyways and locked into a very comfortable – and very secure – room.

"I'm very sorry about this, but Queen Shagotte was very clear that you are to be confined here until further notice. But don't worry! You'll get plenty of food and whatever else you might want." the fancy Exceed said with a smile as the door was closed in their faces.

"Now what Carla?" Happy asked, looking around with watery eyes.

"I…I don't know…" she sniffled back, finally feeling the stress catching up to her.

At the sight of her tears, Happy's instantly dried, and he gritted his teeth and clenched his paws. Nobody made Carla cry!

"We're gonna escape! That's what we're gonna do!"

She turned big brown eyes on him, and he felt himself just about melt, but for once stayed focused. They had to get out of here, and not just for Carla's sake, but for Lucy and Natsu and Wendy's too! So he proceeded to run around the room, sniffing and eyeballing it for any potential escape routes. The windows were barred, but out of them he saw something that thoroughly distracted him.

"Carla come here! Look at this!"

"What is it?"

She gasped when she looked out the window and saw the positively massive lacrima sitting on another nearby floating island. "That's it! That's the rest of the lacrima we were looking for! We have to tell the others!"

"Aye Sir! Let's get out of this dump!" Happy agreed.

They both ran around the room now like their tails had been singed, and eventually determined that their only likely method of escape was going to be good old-fashioned deception. Happy surprisingly turned out to have some really good ideas on how to skunk the guards, and soon he was shouting frantically for help.

"Help! Help! Carla's passed out! I think she had a panic attack! She was wheezing and gasping and then suddenly just keeled over!" He banged on the door and shouted and screamed until the door was opened and several concerned guards came in to see what was going on.

Carla was lying in the center of the room, so the guards had to come in to get a look at her. When their backs were turned, Happy grabbed up a hidden chair leg that he'd tucked near the door and smacked them both in the backs of the heads, while Carla suddenly jumped up and ran. The two guards were stunned, and they were able to run out the door past the other set of guards.

The second set of guards were so surprised that, by the time they had recovered, Happy and Carla had both sprouted their wings and gone into high speed, crashing through the first unbarred window they came to.

"Alright! Let's go find Laxus, Gajeel, and Mystogen and tell them about the lacrima! And they can help us rescue Lucy, Natsu, and Wendy!"

…

Meanwhile, Lucy, Natsu, and Wendy were being shackled – and the gummy white stuff was removed. Then they were dragged off to a cell.

So when Lucy came to again, it was to the sensation of cold metal biting into her skin and someone doing their best to sit her up more comfortably. A chunk of her hair got pulled unpleasantly, and she yelped, squirming around in whatever had a hold of her.

"Oi…shhtay shtill." Natsu growled through his teeth, and the warm breath on her neck told her that he was trying to pull her up by the back of her shirt…using his mouth.

That was great, especially since she could feel how painful her cheek was from probably slamming face-first into the ground when they were tossed in here…wherever _here_ was. But it was certainly an unorthodox method, and he'd grabbed some of her hair with the material of her shirt.

"Natsu…you're pulling out my hair." she grumbled.

He mumbled, "Shhorry," around her shirt, but kept pulling her up.

She helped by trying to get her knees under her, and between the two of them they got her sitting upright. Who knew having your hands tied behind your back could cause so many problems?

"Are you okay Lucy?"

The sound of Wendy's voice had her turning to look behind her, and she spotted the young blue-haired mage leaning up against the wall, also bound of course. She had a nasty looking bruise already starting to form on her shoulder – probably where she had landed – but otherwise she looked okay thankfully. Glancing back at Natsu, Lucy determined that he must have headbutted the ground, due to the trickle of blood sneaking out of his pink hairline. As for herself – thanks to the raw throbbing on her cheek and jaw – she knew good and well where she landed.

"What happened? How did we get caught?"

"Dunno. After you passed out, some Exceeds in uniform came marching in and took Happy and Carla. The guards thanked them for the tip and then we were taken away."

"So it was the Exceeds who tipped off the guards? How in the heck did they know?"

A passing guard sneered into the cell. "You really aren't from around here are you? The queen of the Exceeds knows everything. She _**sees**_ everything. She's all powerful. Sometimes she even decides who lives and dies. You stupid idiots were duped, those Exceeds you were with were on a mission to bring you to us, as a present from the queen."

"You don't know Happy and Carla! They would never do something like that!" Natsu yelled, lunging at the bars. The guard just laughed and continued walking on down the line of cells.

"So somehow the Exceeds knew that we were coming…and then fed the guards some story about Happy and Carla tricking us." Lucy surmised, her brain working quickly.

"How did they know?" Wendy whispered. "Do you think there's another Exceed like Carla that's clairvoyant?"

"That's an excellent point. That might explain this whole thing."

"Either way, they're wrong! Happy and Carla haven't ever even met this queen person." Natsu snarled, still spitfire mad about the insinuation about their friends.

"Obviously. But maybe we shouldn't fight it too hard… it might put Happy and Carla in danger." Lucy pointed out, and he growled, looking highly displeased about it all.

After a long pause, Wendy quietly whispered, "Now what?"

"Now…we wait." Natsu said, looking more serious than Lucy had remembered in a long time. Serious, and seriously _pissed_.

They didn't have to wait long.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek:**

 _In short order, they were tied down securely to upright metal slabs that looked like surgical tables on their ends…. and judging by all the cogs and gears, Lucy had no doubt that they could probably turn into just that if he so wished._

 _For Lucy and Wendy, they were both restrained relatively normally, with leather cuffs that attached to either end of the table securely. The ones for their wrists were adjusted so that their arms ended up stretched above their heads…leaving them very little wiggle room. Matching cuffs secured their ankles to the bottom of the table._


	36. Chapter 36

**Author's Note:**

It's Sunday! And time for a new chapter. ;D

As always, huge sparkly, happy, thanks on clouds of cotton candy for all my lovely wonderful reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: loopymama, TheJSmooth, SunnieDayys, lucinda, ravenqueen162, WisdomDragon27, valerioux, Lady La-sara, Firefly9917, Wolves silver wind, and stranger1999. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewer: NPGamer11.

Sorry about the cliffhanger last chappie, hopefully this chapter will make up for it. :D So on with the show! And be sure to stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter.

* * *

A blank-faced guard appeared at their door and started unlocking it.

Instantly, Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy all tensed and coiled up, ready for…well anything really. Natsu had crouched in front of the two girls, and Lucy could see some subtle squirming in his pants that said his tail was gearing up to pop out, likely in an escape attempt. For the past couple of hours, they had all been twisting and yanking at their shackles, but only Natsu had made any headway. Blood dripped from the metal edges that had dug into his skin, but the chains were definitely weakened from where he had been putting an enormous amount of pressure. He might be stuck in human form and unable to use any of his fire magic, but he still had the strength of a dragon curled up in that tiny body, even if it wasn't all accessible.

His powerful legs coiled up under him, ready to spring. As soon as the guard opened the door, Natsu was launching forwards, ramming shoulder first into the door, which then slammed open and knocked the guard back on his ass. A long slinky red appendage snaked out of Natsu's pants and latched around the door to keep him upright as he swung around. More guards followed the first of course, and he started taking them out one by one to the best of his ability. His chained hands latched onto the door as well, and he lifted himself to kick his bound feet into the next guard, who was thrown back and knocked over the guards behind him. Another handful of guards were taken out with his tail, some crushed and others beaten or whipped.

However, having his ankles cobbled and his wrists behind his back was a serious handicap, and for the few that he managed to incapacitate, many more were just injured and pissed off, and he was soon overrun and shoved to the ground.

While five men worked on taming him, three came into the cell after Lucy and Wendy. This time it was Lucy's turn to try and protect Wendy, and she hobbled her way in front of the smaller girl, testing her balance and how much she could move with the cuffs around her ankles. She could take small steps, but nothing bigger, which was going to be tough. Having her hands behind her back was also going to make things difficult…impossible really. But as she watched Natsu still doing his best to take out the guards on top of him, she could hardly do any less.

Spreading her legs as wide as the chains would allow, she tried to get a relatively well-balanced stance, and when one of the guards reached for her she managed to dodge. Jerking back sharply, she was somehow able to headbutt him in the chin and heard his teeth click together. He yelped and staggered back, not expecting it, and she used that to her advantage by ducking low and throwing herself sideways into him. He landed on the ground under her elbow – which was driven into his solar plexus with her body weight.

After that, she rolled off – leaving him wheezing on the ground and clutching probably broken ribs. Somehow she managed to scramble back to her feet.

Before she could fully stand though, Natsu bellowed, "Watch out Luce!" right before someone behind her – another one of the guards undoubtedly – grabbed her hair and yanked her back.

She was knocked off balance and would have landed butt-first on the ground if her attacker hadn't hauled her up by the hair and then wrapped one forearm tightly around her throat, putting her in a pretty deadly headlock. Her supply of air was instantly cut off and she choked painfully.

Grasping at straws and panicking, she did the first thing she could think of … which was to reach down with her tied hands and grab onto the guy's junk. That turned out to be pretty easy to do actually, since he was quite a bit taller than her and his groin was right at grabbing level. She clenched hard and did her very best to wring him like a particularly disgusting wet rag, and he let out a distinctly unmanly squeal … almost like a pig really.

He instantly let her go and went to his knees.

His abrupt withdraw left her teetering for balance. She lost that particular battle, but somehow she managed to aim her fall so that she sat down – hard – on the kneeling guard behind her … specifically on his head. All of her weight and momentum shoved him face-first into the ground hard enough to probably break his nose.

That was two down, one more to go, and the last guard was standing back staring at her with something akin to horror and fear on his young inexperienced face. He was ready to bolt, and she was only too happy to give him a reason to. So, she scooted her butt off the downed guard's head and then inch-wormed her way across the dirt towards the last one standing … using her butt, feet, and tied hands. She likely looked hilarious – which was only compounded by the fierce war-cry she let out while doing it – and personally, she probably would have laughed if she was in his shoes.

He was frozen – possibly from the shock of seeing a girl scoot on her butt at a snail's pace towards him while letting out an unholy shriek of bloodlust…. But whatever the case, he stayed in place long enough for her to get within range. As soon as she could, she planted her tush, dug her fingers into the ground for stability, and then reared back and kicked both heels into his knee as hard as she possibly could – letting out another war-cry for good measure as she did so.

Something crunched, and he shrieked, going down and instantly grabbing his knee up to his chest. A second later, he scrambled to his feet and hopped on one foot out the door as fast as he possibly could. The battle outside the door paused momentarily to watch the spectacle as he hopped past and completely ignored his superior's yells to, "Get back here, you pathetic newbie!"

He kept going, falling more than once, and the whole way out he was screaming at the top of his lungs. "My Knee! My knee! She broke my knee! I didn't sign up for this! I didn't sign any paper that said I would be dealing with psycho bitches! She's crazy, man! She'll kill me! I'm outta here! I quit! I'm just a nightwatch! I don't do anything! I'm just supposed to get paid to walk around and watch empty halls at night so I can go to culinary school! This is just a part-time job! You suckers aren't paying me enough for this!"

They heard his caterwauls long after he had disappeared down the hall, and everyone seemed to just stand there and stare after him in stunned silence. Even Lucy was shocked. She had never once in her entire career as a mage gotten a reaction quite like that.

"Damn…you guys really hired a winner there." Natsu finally scoffed, filling the awkward silence. "Where'd you find such a hero?"

"You shut up!" the guard sitting on his back spat and whacked him again in the back of the head.

The three guards who were sitting on his tail suddenly went flying as he slapped them all away. Apparently their grips had loosened with the distraction. They quickly pounced back onto him though and wrestled his tail back into submission like a rowdy crocodile. The guard on his back had one hand on the chain between his hands and the other he used to grab a fistful of pink hair.

It was almost a comical sight…seeing four guys sitting on Natsu trying to keep him pinned down. Or it would have been, if it wasn't so violent.

The fifth guard that had helped wrestle him to the ground made his way inside the cell with the girls and cracked his knuckles.

"Get up you shit heads, pull yourselves together." he barked at the other guards, obviously being the senior officer here. The two who were still moaning – and grabbing either their gut or their groin – whimpered but followed orders.

Lucy was in the process of scrambling back to her feet as best she could when he came over and grabbed her hair. Once again with the hair…maybe she should consider cutting it or something.

"You jokers get over here. One of you grab her here…"

He snagged the chain between her wrists and thrust it into the hands of the man she had elbowed in the stomach. He was still wheezing, but his grip was strong when she tested it.

He ordered that guard to also grab her arm with his free hand and stand to the side of her – yanking up her bound wrists higher and wrenching her shoulders in the process. The guard whose bits she'd crushed grabbed her other arm and took a handful of hair for good measure. She wasn't sure if she had accidentally worn a, " _grab me here_!" neon sign in her hair this morning, but it wasn't fun by any means.

The senior officer then chased Wendy around for a good while as she scooted on chest and knees across the floor at frankly shocking speeds, managing to roll out of the way whenever he lunged. She even somehow wiggled out of the cell and was making her way down the hall when he caught her. Lucy was left gaping after them in shock, wondering how she'd learned that trick.

By now Natsu had been mostly wrestled into submission as well. Two guard flanked him in the same manner as they were with Lucy, and two remained grappling his tail. They had managed to twist it into sort of a pretzel-like ball, which seemed to have made it much harder for him to do anything with it. Frankly Lucy was shocked by just how deadly it was … she'd had no idea he could do so much damage with it.

The senior officer just picked up Wendy when he finally caught her, and carried her by the chain between her wrists in what looked like a very uncomfortable manner.

…

And so, they were escorted like this down the hall.

The guards ignored any questions they fired at them, like: "where were they taking them?" – "what did they want?" – "what were they going to do with them?" etc. They found out soon enough anyways when they were dragged into what could only be described as a mad scientist's lab. Tubes, bottles bubbling with an assortment of colored liquids and gasses, vials of things Lucy would rather not look at, and machines of every imaginable shape and size lined the walls, tables, and shelves of the enormous space. It was not a space meant for happy fluffy feelings, and none of them felt anything remotely of the kind.

In fact, mostly Lucy just stared in abject horror as they were pulled closer and closer to a small bent-over old man with age spots on his forehead and tufty eyebrows that were so advanced they almost looked like two pointy horns. There was no doubt in her mind that he was the mad scientist … none at all.

"Dr. Byro, we brought the prisoners."

"Ah yes! Excellent. Though … you took your time getting here." he croaked as he put down whatever he was working on and turned around to give them all the hairy eyeball.

He strode down their lineup and looked them all up and down critically, as if judging specimens. "Hmm…very fascinating. Well, well…"

As he approached Natsu, he had to lean back a little when the angry dragon lunged, and his eyebrows rose in mild surprise. "Perhaps we should restrain them before I conduct any preliminary tests. Come." He motioned and the guards followed.

In short order, they were tied down securely to upright metal slabs that looked like surgical tables on their ends…. and judging by all the cogs and gears, Lucy had no doubt that they could probably turn into just that if he so wished.

For Lucy and Wendy, they were both restrained relatively normally, with leather cuffs that attached to either end of the table securely. The ones for their wrists were adjusted so that their arms ended up stretched above their heads…leaving them very little wiggle room. Matching cuffs secured their ankles to the bottom of the table.

Natsu on the other hand was given special treatment…. Which, in all fairness, he really deserved. He had ripped the leather cuffs off within a few seconds of being placed in them, and they were quickly replaced with metal shackles that were securely bolted to the table. He not only got them on his wrists and ankles, but also one around his neck, chest, lower stomach, thighs, and biceps. His tail also received its own line of shackles.

Since he got his own special set of shackles, his arms were down by his sides instead of up like Lucy and Wendy's. They watched the whole procedure from the sidelines with wide eyes as he fought the guards and mad scientist with tooth and nail…literally. More than one guard came away from the battle with really vicious bitemarks, and one of them was even missing a finger.

Once they were tied down, all they could do was watch as the scientist putted around them doing who-knows-what … obviously preparing for whatever 'tests' he was planning to run on them.

Natsu of course was not silent by any means, he was practically howling questions and insults… along with a good amount of spitting, cussing, and snarling for good measure.

"Who the fuck are you, ya creepy old fart?! Damn it! What are you gonna do with that, and what _**is**_ that stuff?! What the hell are you gonna do with us?! Oi! Pay attention, ya crusty old coot! Hey! What are you doing?! Why are we here?! Bastard! You gonna answer any of my questions?! HEY! I'm talkin' here, ya damn wackjob! What are you gonna do to us?!"

Eventually it seemed that this Dr. Byro person had had enough. "I plan to test your magical powers – which I'm told are innate. I have my doubts, but if you truly are from Earthland, then perhaps it's possible. If so, then you have the pleasure of being my first test subjects for this." He patted an enormous machine standing directly in front of them.

He seemed exceptionally pleased and was humming as he brought over a mass of wires and pasties. He began with Wendy, who was on the far left, and started attaching the little white sticky rounds to her wrists, chest, stomach, thighs, and ankles. He plugged all the wires into a small machine which he then watched, and his eyebrows shot up.

"My, my! This _**is**_ amazing. You have as much magic as an Exceed … even more! Fantastic!"

Even more eagerly he went down the line and reached Lucy, sticking her up with pasties and wires too. She cringed at the sensation of the cold sticky pads clinging to her skin in a distinctly unpleasant manner and instantly wanted to peel them off as she began to itch. He did the same thing with her and made a pleased sound as he plugged her in. A little current seemed to zip through her body and she shivered, not happy with the feeling.

Then he repeated the whole process with Natsu, who squirmed to the best of his ability, making the process a little more tedious for the guy. By the time he had plugged the wires in he was already scowling. Then that frown only deepened, and he shook the little machine lightly.

"Tsk…it seems I was unable to apply the pads properly…or perhaps the device is malfunctioning. Never mind, I have enough evidence to proceed whatever the case."

Unplugging the smaller machine with a disgusted sounding sigh, he walked over to the larger intimidating monster currently staring them down with its many tubes, wires, and doodads. He fetched a thick cord from the midsection and brought it forwards to present the end, which looked almost like a tree with all the cords branching off it. He approached Wendy with the thing, and both Lucy and Natsu started to protest.

"Hey! Leave her alone! Do me first!" Natsu bellowed, and Lucy followed up with, "Yeah! Or me!"

Natsu of course took offense at her addition. "No! Don't do Luce either! Just come over here and wire me up! You're gonna take our magic right? I've got enough to fill you up all by myself!"

The old guy ignored their cries and just proceeded to wire up Wendy instead.

Taking the first set of smaller wires, he clipped them onto the pads already attached to her, before sticking even larger pads to her that held even more wires. The whole time, Wendy squirmed and fought, whimpering and trembling with fear, which only made Lucy and Natsu feel worse. They continued begging for him to work on them first, and he continued to ignore them.

Once all the wires were attached, he took up a set of tubes that had blended in with the wires and deftly fitted them with needles, before finding veins to stick them in. Wendy flinched lightly at each IV stuck in her and stared at them with increasing anxiety.

Once she looked like Frankenstein's monster, the mad scientist happily stood back and took in his handwork. His pleased smile didn't make any of them feel better about the situation at all.

They all cringed as he approached his machine and started pouring various things in bags that hung off one side. He fiddled with them until different chemicals started pouring down the IVs and into Wendy. She winced and shifted slightly, looking uncomfortable.

"Are you okay? Is he hurting you?" Lucy asked urgently, straining in her own restraints to look over at Wendy.

"N-not really. It burns a little…and I'm starting to feel really weird…kind of buzzed and queasy…and really anxious…"

She didn't look too good either. She had started to shiver and sweat and looked like she might puke.

"What are you doing to her?!"

"Don't worry, most of these are just stimulants to help get the magic flowing."

Wendy punctuated the ironic statement of, 'don't worry,' with a sharp groan and seemed to heave, her stomach contracting so strongly that she lunged against her restraints. "I think I'm gonna be sick…"

Doctor Byro didn't have anything to say about that, he was too busy humming to himself as he started messing with the rest of the machine. Suddenly it sputtered to a roaring start that had them all jerking in surprise at the loud aggressive mechanical sound. After a moment, it settled to a slightly lower volume rumble as lights came to life all over it.

Doctor Byro visibly perked up and had some pep in his step as he waltzed over to some sort of control panel at the front. "All right! Let's begin the experiment shall we?!"

"No!" Lucy and Natsu exclaimed in unison, and Wendy just whined.

None of them were listened to though. Instead, he just pressed a button on the control panel that seemed to turn on whatever was connecting it to Wendy.

She gasped and stiffened, twisting a little with a slightly pained expression. A huge glass jar on top of the machine suddenly started filling with something clear and glowing, but so slowly that it was barely noticeable. In fact, Lucy only noticed it after Doctor Byro had started messing with the controls some more and apparently sped it up. Slowly Wendy's whimpers turned into groans, then sharp cries, and finally screams of pain. She thrashed in her restraints as the wires attached to her lit up from the amount of magic they were pumping from her.

The higher he cranked it, the sharper her screams, and the faster the glowing substance filled the jar.

Natsu and Lucy added to her screams with yells and shouts of their own – begging him more and more frantically to stop in Lucy's case, and roaring for him to stop with much more demanding language in Natsu's case.

It was beyond horrible. It was pure torture for all parties involved – aside from Doctor Byro, who was having the time of his life.

Finally, after filling the collection jar, he twisted some nobs and pushed the button to turn off the wires, leaving Wendy to slump down, nearly unconscious and only held up by her restraints.

"That's enough for now. I'd rather not kill you just yet…you make an excellent test subject." he hummed happily, taking the jar off the top and sealing it properly before placing it on a nearby shelf.

Nobody really had a response to that, aside from Natsu who spat a few choice cuss words at him.

He proceeded to take all the wires and IVs off and out of Wendy, before shifting his attention to Lucy. She stiffened but didn't protest as he came to stand in front of her now. Natsu, though, protested greatly and loudly, possibly even more-so than when the evil scientist had been messing with Wendy.

When he started clipping all the wires to her and attaching the bigger sticky pads to her skin, Natsu practically had a fit, verbally assaulting the room until even Lucy's ears were ringing.

"Hey! Don't you dare mess with Lucy! I'm warning you now, if you touch her I'm gonna…Hey! I said don't touch her, ya fucker! Are ya deaf?! Oi! Damnitall! I SAID GET YOUR GRUBBY HANDS OFF! Don't you dare fuck with me pal! When I'm outta these goddam chains I'm gonna rip your fucking head off! I'll burn ya to a crisp! What part of DON'T TOUCH LUCY, didn't you understand?! Goddamnit! Fuck! HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE!"

He didn't quiet down through the IV portion either, which was less than pleasant for Lucy given that the guy was obviously not a medical doctor and had to poke around a bit.

When he turned on the IV drip, Lucy quickly discovered what had made Wendy so green around the gills. Whatever he was pumping into her truly did make her feel like crap. It was a mixture of the anxious jitters that she got after too much coffee and staying up all night, plus motion sickness, and possibly combined with getting punched in the stomach and having a fever. She quickly felt herself begin to shiver and could feel cold sweat pop up over her whole body as roiling waves of nausea passed through her, shaking her from head to toe with each one. It was sickness unlike she'd ever felt before, and she wondered absentmindedly if this was what it felt like to have alcohol or food poisoning. Or just poisoning of any kind really.

She didn't even hear Natsu quiet down and start to urgently ask her if she was okay … at least not until he started to practically shout again.

"LUCE! Are you okay!?"

"Yeah…" she managed weakly. "Just sick…but you know that's gonna change real quick. Don't worry too much about me Natsu, I'll be fine."

Famous last words perhaps, because the current that suddenly shot through her as the guy turned on the machine again was painful. It felt like each little pad electrocuted her, burning the skin directly under the stickies and also sending lightning through her whole body from toes to fingertips. The sensation didn't exactly go away either, it remained as sharp unpleasant background noise while other things started to kick in.

Getting her magic sucked out didn't exactly feel like suction, oddly enough. It felt more like a painful pull or tug on something inside her that wasn't supposed to be grabbed. It was a sharp pain too, and the only thing it could possibly be compared to would be if somehow every nerve in her body had been hotwired together and then grabbed at the places where those sticky pads were and slowly pulled out of her body. It probably felt that way because her magic zipped along her nerves and seared them, drawn unnaturally fast and basically giving her friction burns as it protested being pulled on like this. It was like every bit of her – magic included – was protesting the process and had put on the breaks, leaving long painful skid-marks that never really ended.

The long and the short of it was that it hurt. Lucy didn't like it, wanted nothing more to do with it, and let Dr. Byro know in no uncertain terms – very loudly.

What started as loud protests though quickly morphed into screams just like Wendy's whimpers had as he cranked the machine up and her body suddenly felt like it was self-imploding from the inside out. Every vein, every tendon, every muscle, every nerve ending, and every cell in her body screamed in protest as something fundamental to her very self was cruelly and violently yanked from her. The pain of having every hair on her head yanked out at once would likely be much less than this, and certainly much less _wrong._ It was that same nails on a chalkboard, drill against her teeth sort of bloodcurdling feeling that told her it was not supposed to happen.

Natsu wasn't any happier about the whole thing either. He was fighting against his restraints so hard that he could feel the metal biting deep into his skin wherever a band tethered him to the table.

This was absolute agony, beyond torture really. He would take any pain, no matter how horrific, if he could just stop Lucy's – because watching her body twist and arch in agony and hearing her screams was worse than anything anybody could do to him. He simply couldn't stand it. Her sharp cries of pain were matched with his roars, but he didn't even hear himself or feel the vibrations in his chest or throat.

His mind raced, trying to think of something, _anything_ , he could do to help her. Through their connection, he could feel her magic being ripped from her… could feel a reverberation of the pain echoing through his own body… and his heart twisted so hard he felt like it might stop beating or simply explode.

In the end, it was his instincts that saved them both, as they automatically kicked in when he felt her magic dip below a certain level. It was then that his magic responded, flowing to boost her waning reserves the way it always did these days, and an idea sparked bright and hot and filled him with hope. Gasping and shutting up with a click of his teeth, he focused on that link between them, kicking himself for his own stupidity and missing such an obvious solution.

As for Lucy, she was oblivious to the little touch of flames that bolstered her reserves as she dipped low. All she knew was pain.

She didn't notice anything until the pain faded a little, and then she felt a tickle of warmth. That was all the warning she got before a gate slammed opened and magic started to flood into the empty space left behind by her own stolen magic. At first it hurt, almost as badly as when her magic was taken – like the sharp pain of dipping numb cold feet into hot water – and she arched hard and screamed again, wondering what was happening now.

"Sorry Luce, hang in there it'll get better!" Somehow she heard Natsu over her own shrieks, but the words didn't make sense to her at first.

It wasn't until the pain began to slowly ease that she started to understand what was going on, and she finally recognized the familiar sensation of Natsu's fire filling her up. It was his magic now that was being ripped from her, and he was filling her faster than the machine was draining, so the pain soon grew tolerable. She was left hanging limp in her restraints, panting and doing her best to recover as she shook. Cracking her eyes open, she managed to turn her head enough to look blearily at Natsu, who was staring at her with an intensity that made his black eyes look like they were burning.

"…thanks…" she gasped and managed a wobbly smile, and his tense expression eased.

A resurge of the pain made her wince and clench her eyes closed as she cringed against the metal table and her cuffs, twisting again as a sharp groan was pulled from her. She caught a glimpse of Natsu's wide eyes, and his head whipped around to see Dr. Byro twisting nobs again, apparently cranking it up.

The mad scientist was muttering to himself and looking downright confused, much to Natsu's dark amusement. With his dragon ears, Natsu could hear the words Dr. Byro was muttering to himself even from this distance.

"…have no idea what's going on here…I was sure I had the correct power level…why is the magic output suddenly increasing?"

As for the mad doctor, he was indeed mystified about what could possibly be going on.

He consulted a panel that was measuring the subject's internal magic – like a thermometer. The female's had been decreasing at a steady rate – until it suddenly spiked through the roof, and he had to turn up the power to accommodate her increased output. A sharp cry and his instruments told him that he had started draining her at an appropriate level again …. that is, until she sighed and the magic spiked again.

He scowled and tapped his instruments, wondering what the hell was going on.

Then, when he glanced up at the collection jar, he instantly noted yet another anomaly he couldn't explain. The golden magic it had been collecting had stopped, and now a completely different sort of magic was layered on top, bright red and yellow like flames. It was filling the collection jar alarmingly quickly, and he had to scramble to set up an overflow unit so he could switch out the current vial. It just continued to fill though, much to his initial delight, but that quickly turned to alarm as he scrambled to switch it out yet again. When a high-pitched whine started up, he realized that the magic output was once again too high, and he had to crank up the machine again, almost to maximum.

Risking a frantic glance over his shoulder, he stared wildly at the blond girl, wondering what was going on. She was slumped in her restraints, but her eyes were open, and she was smiling and staring at him. Then she glanced at the young man next to her. Dr Byro's eyes followed hers, and suddenly he was caught in the stare of the male humanoid creature.

Abruptly he knew that somehow this was the pink-haired male's doing … that he was channeling his magic into the blond's body somehow. Everything told him so – from the dark feral amusement glinting in pitch black eyes, to the sharp grin and the way he flexed tauntingly against his shackles. He wasn't even trying to free himself anymore, he was just testing his restraints' strength in a display of caged potency that was intended to intimidate.

Everything about the specimen's body language _dared_ him to continue.

Dr. Byro gritted his teeth and unintentionally took the bait, letting himself grow angry at the taunting from one of his subjects. He turned back to the machine and cranked it up to the highest setting it would go, before frantically rushing around and attaching backup power sources to it with thick wires so he could access the emergency overload switches.

As for Lucy, the pain was almost completely gone now as Natsu filled her to overflowing with his magic. Now, the drain was almost a relief as heat flooded her body and made her feverish in a familiar sweaty way. She welcomed it though, embraced the fire cooking her from the inside out with open arms, and sunk into the heat as if it was Natsu's embrace – which in a weird way it was.

Before meeting Natsu, she never would have thought the sensation of being baked alive would be soothing or pleasant, but that's precisely what it was. She watched with heavy-lidded eyes in amusement as the scientist rushed around, scrambling to keep up with Natsu's magic and failing miserably. He nearly let the jar on top burst at one point when he was too busy fiddling with controls and wires to notice, but he caught it at the last second.

He cranked up the machine again and Lucy winced slightly at the little zing that went through her, but flames quickly licked over her nerves and soothed the sting.

It was only a matter of time, and even when Dr Byro removed the collection jar entirely and wired the machine into some sort of power grid instead, Natsu just kept pumping it full of magic. There was only so much abuse the machine could take, and soon it started up a high-pitched whine and began to smoke, prompting cusses from the frantic scientist who bustled around it like a freaked-out mother hen. Eventually he seemed to realize that he was going to have to shut it off, but he was a hair too slow. Something burst with a crackling pop, which prompted a fireworks display of sparks, short-circuiting, and smoke as it performed an unscheduled rapid disassembly.

At that point, it shut itself off.

Dr Byro was in the process of trying to save it when loud sounds started filtering into the room from outside. Soon those noises were discernable as some sort of fight that was quickly approaching their location. The good doctor was just gearing up to go angrily ask a guard what in the hell was going on when the doors blasted in off their hinges.

Relief hit them all hard as Gray and Erza stomped through the door at top speed, both obviously steaming mad and frantic.

"Lucy! Natsu! Wendy! Are you in here!?" Erza shouted, looking around.

"Here!" Lucy croaked, but was barely heard over Natsu's bellowed, "It's about time!"

Two heads swung in their direction, took in the state of them, and two pairs of eyes went hard and cold with rage. Dr Byro made a speedy getaway at that point as the two enraged Fairy Tail wizards rushed over to their comrades.

"What happened?!" Gray asked, teeth gritted as he took in the sight of Wendy – who was still passed out – and Lucy as she hung limp in her restraints, still wired up like an ugly Christmas tree. Even Natsu was shaking from the amount of magic he had pumped into Lucy and the horror of the whole thing, though anger was still the predominant emotion in his eyes.

Gray quickly used an ice blade to slice through the leather restraints while Erza used a sword on Natsu's metal shackles. Neither Lucy or Natsu missed the fact that they had access to their magic.

"What the…how come you can use your magic?" Natsu asked hotly.

In answer, Gray stomped over and shoved a red pill in his mouth, nearly causing him to aspirate it. As he choked and coughed, Gray cuffed him over the head.

"And _that's_ for being a dumbass. Seriously? You couldn't wait just a few more minutes for Mystogan to give you this?"

"What is it?!" Natsu croaked, still working on swallowing the pill.

"It'll give you access to your magic, Ash-for-Brains."

"I guess you two ran into the others."

Erza nodded at Lucy's statement. She and Gray had traded places, and she was now assisting Lucy with removing all the wires and IVs from her person. "Yes. They set us free from the crystal in the courtyard."

"So it _was_ them…" Lucy murmured, and took the pill Erza gave her.

"Well yeah, I told ya didn't I?"

Lucy shot Natsu a look. "You were right."

A bright flash interrupted them as Amy suddenly popped into being of her own accord, which she could only do now thanks to Lucy regaining her magic. As soon as she appeared though, she began to flicker, since she had used her own magic to come. Lucy hurriedly grabbed a pill from Erza and popped it in the wolf's mouth. She grimaced but swallowed.

"What was that? And where are we?! All of your spirits have been going nuts because your magic signature suddenly dropped off the map again!"

Lucy winced. "Sorry Amy…right now we're in Edolas. It's another world, and one where we can't use magic unless we take those little red pills."

"Huh…. Another world. Interesting."

Her attitude completely changed though a moment later. When golden eyes landed on the contents of this particular room, the hair along her spine rose up and she stalked around stiff-legged to sniff various objects…such as the jar containing Lucy and Natsu's magic and the table that Lucy had been strapped to.

While the wolf was so thoroughly occupied, Lucy glanced back at Erza as she gently handed a pill to Wendy, who was just coming to. "So how did they release you?"

"Dragon magic. Apparently it's immune to Anima, so using it to break the lacrima crystals will reverse the affects. Laxus and Gajeel have already gone to the giant lacrima to try and break it."

"Wait, you found it?!"

"Yes. Well actually, Happy and Carla did. It's on a floating island next to Extalia – the home of the Exceeds – which is where they were taken after you were separated. They managed to escape though, and after they found us and brought us all up to speed, we came to rescue you three while they all flew up to the lacrima."

"Speaking of, what exactly were you rescued from?" Amy interjected, as her attention landed squarely back on Lucy. She trotted forward to sniff her from head to toe, and gingerly pulled off some leftover wires that Erza and she had missed. "And more importantly, are you okay?"

The celestial mage grinned and relaxed into the wolf's attentions, feeling her heart squeeze with happiness that she had such wonderful friends. "Yeah, I'm fine…just worn out from having a lot of my magic drained. I'm just running on Natsu's now."

"Happy mentioned that you might be getting used for some kinda experiment. Is that what all this shit is for? Draining your magic?" Gray asked as he squatted down next to the wad of tangled wires they'd detached from Lucy.

"Yeah, they hooked us up to that machine over there, and it sucked out all our magic…" Wendy said tremulously, still a little shaky but now very much awake.

"Well it doesn't look very operable now…what in the world did you do to it?" Erza inquired as she inspected the still-smoking machine, which was missing quite a few parts that had blown off.

"When I was hooked up to it, Natsu channeled his magic through me and blew it up." Lucy answered with a small tired smirk.

Amy huffed in amusement and displeasure, pausing to lick her bloody cheek, and continued to single-mindedly inspect her. "Well you seem mostly unharmed…although I can tell you've undergone some sort of magical trauma."

Undoubtedly the wolf could feel how shaky her magic still was through their bond.

An explosion from another part of the building shook some dust down from the ceiling and everyone glanced up.

"What was that?" Wendy whimpered.

"That's probably the war going on outside right now." Gray said with a scowl.

"Come again?" Lucy asked weakly.

"It appears that there were some tensions previous to our arrival. When Happy and Carla found us, they explained some things about the Exceeds and…"

Erza's voice held the tone of a long-winded explanation, and for whatever reason, Gray apparently decided that there wasn't time for that right now.

"Long story short, the king is a power-hungry douchebag who's constructed a ginormous machine to harness Anima and is using it to suck power out of our world. He's also been planning to go after the Exceeds and steal their magic."

Erza sent Gray a disgruntled glare for interrupting her, but surprisingly didn't respond with violence. "Yes, Gray's account is accurate. And the situation exploded when an armed guard of Exceeds came down to try and retrieve Happy and Carla. King Faust took the opportunity to declare war on them."

"Essentially, there's a civil war going on out there between the guards and the Exceeds." Gray summarized.

Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy were all wide-eyed by the end of the explanation. And then Lucy cringed, "So it's our fault that the tension broke, and now there's a war. Great. We sure made a wonderful impression didn't we?"

"Indeed." Erza responded solemnly, looking equally upset. "I, for one, intend to try and help this country somehow…but only after we save our guild of course."

"Well, we'd better get out there then." Lucy surmised, and Natsu followed up with, "Let's do it! I've got a fire in my belly!"

Abruptly they were interrupted by a deep rumble, and suddenly it felt like an earthquake had just been kickstarted underneath the castle. They all rushed out into the hall and located a window where they could see what was going on. Sure enough, a battle zone seemed to have taken over both the sky and the ground, but what really caught their attention was some sort of panel sliding back in the floor of the courtyard.

"What the hell is that?!" Gray spat, leaning out and squinting at it.

Natsu tried to squeeze into the same window but got elbowed and shoved back – which prompted a pushing, elbowing, hair-pulling, head-knocking fight that only stopped when another deep rumble shook the entire castle. Natsu seemed to forget Gray and just darted to the next window over, where he hung halfway out to get a look down below. Lucy shared the window with him, while Erza and Wendy took the window after theirs. They all stared as the courtyard split apart to expose a deep hole of some sort, scattering guards and cats alike.

From out of the hole came something nearly unimaginable in this particular world. A dragon at first glance, but a second look showed that it was obviously a machine of some sort. The thing was true to life though, taking the form of a massive metal lizard, and everyone tore out of the courtyard at top speed, screaming holy terror.

Its huge muzzle swung around and then pointed up at a floating island that was high in the air above them. It was so high up in fact, that they could only see the underside of it.

"No…it can't be…yes it is! It's aiming at the island with our lacrima on it!" Erza suddenly yelled.

"What? You're sure?!"

"Absolutely."

Huge jaws opened, and a ball of magic formed in the mouth. With a metallic screech and boom, it roared and shot a magic cannon ball that soared through the sky to hit the underbelly of the island, which sent it lurching to the side. It kept going too, only building momentum.

"What are they trying to do?! Why are they moving the island with the lacrima on it?" Lucy yelped, looking around wildly for a reason that would make sense.

"Never mind that! It's probably bad whatever it is! We've gotta get out there and stop them!"

…

Meanwhile, a few minutes prior, Gajeel had been in the middle of an unexpected fight.

He was grinning and laughing loudly as he fought a large black cat warrior who wielded an enormous sword. The large Exceed called Panther Lily had shown up shortly after they had and was apparently under orders to protect the lacrima. Weirdly enough, he seemed to be working for the human king and not the Exceed queen, but Gajeel hadn't exactly asked a lot of detailed questions before engaging in battle.

"Now you're what I call a kitty!" he hooted, trading blows and getting as good as he gave. His eyes glittered. "I'm gonna make you mine!"

Laxus glanced over from where he was shooting lightning through the crystal. "What the hell are you talking about metalhead?"

"I'm not gonna be the only dragon slayer without a cat!" Gajeel bellowed back, getting a queer look in return.

" _I'm_ a dragon slayer, and _I_ don't have an Exceed! Get over it, dumbass, and just fight the guy!" Turning away from the metal studded idiot, Laxus refocused on his task.

Meanwhile, Mystogan merely shook his head in slight exasperation at his comrades' banter. He was standing next to Laxus and was sending everyone and everything back to Earthland with his portal magic as the lightning dragon slayer freed them.

Absentmindedly, Laxus muttered, "How the hell are ya sending them back anyways? I thought you said that portal magic only worked when the Anima thing was open?"

"It _**is**_ open and set in reverse."

The lightning dragon slayer shot him an impressed glance. "So that's what you were doing when you disappeared."

He got no response, but he didn't need one.

Meanwhile, Gajeel continued to fight Panther Lily, both of them eager and enjoying the battle more than they should.

The whole time they traded blows, the iron dragon slayer continued to spout things like, "You're gonna be my cat!"

Of course Panther Lily disagreed and responded with strong negatives. "Like hell! I'm never going to be someone's _pet_!"

"Then how 'bout partners?" Gajeel countered with a grin.

"We just met, why would I team up with you? I'm a knight of Edolas, I'm not going to ally myself with some rogue mage from another world."

"I bet I can change your mind. You'll have a helluva better time working with me than getting bossed around by some crazy nut job."

"As far as I can tell, _you're_ a crazy nut job."

They continued to go back and forth, occasionally getting too close to Laxus and getting zapped for it.

"You two fight all you want, but keep it over there!" he snapped as he popped them both with strong bolts of lightning.

They were both gearing up to yell at him when a new occupant suddenly hopped – literally – onto the island. "Stop! Please!"

Everyone turned to stare at her – though the two working on the lacrima quickly went back to work and left it up to the others. It was another humanoid Exceed like Panther Lily, but this one was female and smaller, sort of the stature of Levy. She had light green fur and a pretty face with blushing cheeks, but everything about her appearance was sort of overshadowed by the strangeness of her clothing. She was wearing a pink spotted onesie with a white belly and a hood that looked like the head of a frog.

Gajeel was about to laugh at her getup, but he was distracted by "his cat" cringing. "Frosch! What are you doing here?!"

"To stop you!"

"Fro, you know that I work for the king now…"

"Please…"

"You should get off the island before…" Panther Lily was cut off when a huge sound shot through the air, and then the entire island jolted like it had been hit by something. "Shit! It's already been launched!"

And they were now moving and picking up speed.

Everyone glanced in the direction they were now careening, looking for any obstacle they might crash into, and to their horror, they saw another island directly in their path … though it was still pretty far away. When Fro looked, she gasped again and covered her mouth with pink gloved paws.

"Panther Lily…you aren't…"

He stared guiltily at her, and she gasped again while big fat tears started to roll down her cheeks. "You are."

"Okay…someone wanna clue me in?" Gajeel finally interrupted dully, giving them both a flat look of unamusement.

It was the male who answered. "The king has fired the dragon canon into this island, and soon we will be hitting that other island, Extalia … Frosch's homeland. When we hit it, both islands are going to explode - thanks to this huge lacrima - and wipe us all out at once."

"Shit. Happy! Carla! You better fly over to Extalia and give them a heads up." Laxus called to the two Exceeds who had been sticking to the sidelines trying to stay out of the way.

"Aye Sir!" Happy called back, and they both set off at top speed.

Immediately, Laxus and Mystogan increased their efforts, and Gajeel turned back to Panther Lily with a scowl.

"Bad Kitty! I'm gonna have to teach you some manners!" he growled and attacked again, causing Fro to stumble back into Laxus.

The blond-haired mage turned, ready to spark someone in the butt, but when he saw the small female Exceed instead of a big asshat, he lowered his fist.

She turned eyes sparkling with tears up to him. "Please! If it crashes into Extalia…my home will be…"

"Don't worry." he grunted. "This crystal happens to be my guild. I'm not gonna let them get exploded."

Turning back to the lacrima, he missed the slight glow of idol worship spark in Fro's eyes. With a yell, he amped up the wattage on his lightning to maximum and hit the massive crystal with everything he had. Chunks started to fall off rapidly and cracks appeared deep within. Mystogan worked double time to send back the parts of Magnolia that flashed into existence. Fro watched them work with stars in her eyes.

Then she turned to Panther Lily. They were fighting again, but she barged right in between them – in a very unorthodox manner. She leapt into the air and landed on Gajeel's head, shoving him down with a yelp, and then kicked Panther Lily's massive sword to the side as it came down.

"Stop it now!" she yelped, her high-pitched voice holding a surprising amount of authority. Laxus and Mystogan glanced back, mildly impressed.

Tears streamed down her face as she marched up to the large black male cat. "Please!"

…

Meanwhile, back on the ground…

Erza, Gray, Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy all ran out of the castle and into chaos. Cats and guards were fighting everywhere – aside from the dragon occupied courtyard. Worse than that though, was the fact that the lacrima island was now making a beeline for another island, one that looked like it had a city built on it.

"That must be Extalia! The Exceed's homeland." Erza gasped. "King Faust must be planning to take it out with the crystal!"

"Why isn't it stopping?!"

"It's built up too much momentum." Lucy whispered, horrified.

"We've gotta stop it!" Gray shouted.

Almost as if in answer – all the Exceeds who had been engaged in battle started retreating back to their homeland, to join hundreds of what looked like shooting stars that flew from inside the city of Extalia to push against the huge incoming island. Each of those glowing streaks was an Exceed, desperate to save their homeland, and Lucy could only watch with watery eyes and clenched teeth, hoping that the island would stop before colliding with Extalia. Not only would all their guildmates perish, but so would all the Exceeds.

Their attention was brought back down to earth though when the huge robot dragon turned on them and made a loud exceptionally aggressive screeching sound. It looked like whoever was controlling the thing thought that the island was safely on its way to collide and didn't need any more prompting, so it was now aiming its big snoot at them.

"Ha! You must be the intruders I've heard so much about! I see you escaped…what a shame. It would have been better to keep you alive and milk you of your magic, it's such a waste for you to die here. But while I wield this enormous power, I doubt I can recapture you without killing you. We shall see I suppose. There's plenty of Exceeds to take your place anyways."

"No there won't be! They'll all die when those two islands collide!" Wendy squeaked defiantly.

"Some certainly will, but they're a cowardly race, and most will run away, leaving them homeless and easy to pick off."

"If you think they're cowards then you've never met an Exceed! They're some of the bravest, most loyal people I know!" Lucy shouted, and Natsu backed her up with, "Aye sir!"

She shot him a fond glance, amused that he had recently taken to adopting Happy's coined phrase. It seemed very appropriate in this situation.

The metal dragon just laughed, and then it roared, apparently done with talking and ready to fight. Its huge tail swung around, aiming to take all their heads off with one swing. They all hit the floor, except for Natsu. Instead, he held his ground…. and started to change.

Lucy could feel that he was a little low on magic after giving her so much, but he apparently still had enough to take on this bozo. He was a _real_ dragon after all, and that became more apparent as red scales coated his form, horns sprouted from his temples, his tail snapped, and his wings spread wide. His back feet dug into the ground and his body crouched for stability as he reached out with one clawed hand and blocked the tail. The sheer force of the blow made him skid sidways, ground breaking around his feet as he did, and his sandals tore off…showing clawed and scaled feet. But he was unharmed when he came to a halt, which was more than could be said for the floor of the courtyard surrounding him.

"What the hell are you!? You took a direct blow and blocked it with only one hand?!" the person controlling the metal dragon shouted, sounding shocked and a bit horrified.

Natsu just gave him a fanged, slightly pissed grin. "Me? I'm the real deal…unlike you. Poser."

With a roar, Natsu unleashed his power. It was only the second time Lucy had seen his true form, and this time it happened right in front of her. Muscles, skin, and scales all flowed across his body as he expanded, and the ground crumpled up around his hind feet, then cracked under his front as he went to all fours. The heat that rippled off him set the stones on fire, and everyone scrambled back.

Suddenly three wolves popped into being next to Amy – three really big wolves – and the white alpha gestured to Erza, Gray, and Wendy.

"Hurry, my pack will carry you to the lacrima where you can help." The unspoken message was, not only were they in danger down here, but they were a hindrance.

They mounted up, and the wolves leaped, becoming airborne and running through the sky towards the island. Thankfully it seemed that only Amy had to take the red pill for all the celestial wolves to have power.

Lucy hung behind, torn about wanting to stay. She wanted to be able to fight by Natsu's side, even when he was in this form. It wouldn't pose her any danger, the fire coming from his body even now wasn't damaging to her. His tail lay nearby, and to get his attention she gently laid a hand on it, shocked by the sheer heat coming just from his scales. Instantly she knew a normal person would probably be burnt to a crisp just from this.

The touch was so light, and yet Natsu's huge head swung around and he fixed her with a glowing golden eye. He looked so alien right now that it was a little hard to think of him as Natsu, but she did her best. She had done it once before after all…. she could do it again, even when he wasn't injured.

"I want to fight with you!"

Jaws parted just enough to show a flash of fang that surprisingly reminded her of his normal fangy grin. A little puff of flames popped out of his mouth with his delighted laugh. "I'd love that too Luce, but we'd need to do some very special training. Until then I'd be worried about accidentally crushing you or something."

She pouted, but only for a second, because her thoughts were cut short when his whole body tensed up and his head whipped around so fast that it sent a gust of wind through the courtyard. She immediately saw what had caught his attention… the other dragon was gearing up for another canon blast. What made it even worse, was that their friends were still in midair.

One of Natsu's front paws snapped forwards and slammed down on the other dragon's muzzle, smacking it into the ground. Amy didn't wait around for Lucy to get on, she just shoved her nose under Lucy's butt and tossed the celestial wizard onto her back. With a gasp, she righted herself and lay flat, grabbing fistfuls of white mane as the wolf alpha took to the sky as well – and not a moment too soon. Seconds later, the canon went off in the ground, and the whole courtyard cracked and burst apart.

"Shit…one of these days I'm going to fight next to him and not just be a hindrance…" Lucy grumbled to herself.

"If anyone can do it, you two can."

"Thanks…" Lucy said with a soft smile, feeling touched that the wolf thought so highly of them.

She was distracted though when Amaterasu's fluffy ears perked up and she pointed her nose down at the ground again, glancing back and forth at the vicious fight now taking place beneath them. "We need to get higher. Hang on."

She was right. As Amy ran through the air upwards towards the island, the fight underneath them grew more heated as the two dragons smashed each other around and completely demolished the castle courtyard. The tip of one of their tails still nearly caught them, but Amy dashed to the side to avoid it.

By the time Lucy and Amy arrived at the runaway island, it had slowed significantly thanks to all the people already pushing against it, but it was still steadily going along on a collision course. The dragon slayers were all working overtime to finish taking apart the lacrima, and to keep up with them, Mystogan had simply created a huge magic circle over the whole thing now.

Thinking fast, Lucy jumped off onto the island, while Amy ran to join the others. Everyone who was pushing against the island to stop it was doing so from the side. They had already gotten close enough to the Exceed's island that those who couldn't fly didn't need to, they could just brace their feet against Extalia and push against the runaway island with their shoulders. It was slowly but steadily still trying to crush them, and if the lacrima was still around, even a small collision like that could be enough to set it off.

At first, she thought maybe she would be able to help the dragon slayers, since she was full of Natsu's magic, but abruptly realized that she didn't know how to channel it. She could use it to summon, but not as dragon fire. However, she did think of something that she could do to help, and quickly summoned Pikachu.

"Oi! Laxus! Could you use a meal?"

He glanced over and almost scoffed at her. "Uh, yeah, of course. Why? You got lightning hidden in your bra or somethin'?"

She grinned and gestured down at Pika, who seemed mildly offended by the lightning dragon slayer's comment. His little front legs were crossed across his chest as he stood upright, and one of his back feet was tapping on the ground in adorable irritation. His glare didn't seem to faze Laxus, the dragon slayer just cocked an eyebrow at the little yellow spirit in bemusement.

"And what are you supposed to be?"

"Open wide Laxus! Pika, do it!"

With a high-pitched squeak, the celestial rabbit stood up to his full height and made his war-cry of, "Piiiiiiiikaaaaa…!"

Lightning crackled around him, and then with a huge zap and a high-pitched roar of, "CHUUUUU!" he spat lightning into the air, where it coalesced into a wheel of high voltage energy. That small vortex glowed so hotly with electricity that every hair on Lucy's head stood up, as did everyone else's, and then with a thunderous BOOM ten or twenty high powered lightning bolts shot at Laxus.

His eyes widened with shock, and he was quick to consume all the lightning spat at him. Once it was all gone, he belched and then gave her an impressed glance. "Alright Blondie…that was pretty tasty."

Then he turned back to his task and attacked the lacrima with renewed vigor. It was easy to see that his lightning had increased substantially in power, and Lucy grinned, happy that she'd been able to help. Since there wasn't anything else she could do, she ran off to push against the island with everyone else.

She quickly sent Pikachu back so she could summon other spirits that were bigger and physically stronger.

"Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" He was undoubtedly her physically strongest spirit, so he was her first choice. Then she quickly summoned Aries too.

With a very short explanation, both spirits were more than happy to help, and a bunch of golden flashes told Lucy that more wolves were being summoned as well. Amy had apparently been inspired by her idea.

Taurus dug his feet into the island behind them and slammed his head into the oncoming bomb, spearing his horns into it and bracing his hands on it as well…massive muscles in his shoulders, arms, and back bulging. The island creaked, shuddering even slower. Then, when Aries filled any blank spaces with very thick wool balls, it slowed even more. It was still coming though, with the steady snail-like pace of inevitable death. The giant hunk of rock just didn't want to stop, and slowly pressed closer and closer, until they were all bent at uncomfortable angles. That canon ball must have packed an even greater punch than any of them had realized for the island to still be moving under the momentum of that blow. The pressure was immense, even if it was slow, and everyone grunted and huffed and groaned as they put their backs into stopping the thing.

Then, with a grinding sound, it finally shuddered to a halt, and everyone collapsed in exhaustion. Anyone who couldn't fly nearly fell, but as they dangerously slumped, either Exceeds or wolves scooped them up and flew them to safe ground. The lacrima was almost completely disassembled anyways, but now the dragon slayers had a little more time to finish it.

As soon as they landed, Happy ran over and leapt into Lucy's lap. She instantly cuddled the blue Exceed, lifting him to her face for lots of kisses and then hugging him tight until he complained that he couldn't breathe around her boobs. She laughed and let him go, and he plopped his blue furry butt onto her crossed legs, smiling back up at her. She wiped off all the dirt from his fur and gently touched a few scrapes.

This whole reunion was watched by the surrounding Exceeds – two in particular… a blue tomcat sporting a bushy mustache and his white-furred plump wife. She tearfully smiled, while the tomcat scowled and turned away with crossed arms, hiding his tears that way. As for all the others, they were shocked by the closeness between the Exceed and human.

Similarly, Wendy and Carla were reuniting nearby, and were being watched as well. Since the lacrima was so small, Laxus and Gajeel had sent her on to find Carla and verify that she was alright.

Eventually, a tall beautiful white Exceed female stepped forwards, only wearing a shirt and bloomer pants after having shed her fancy queenly mantle.

"Thank you all for helping us…and…" She turned to Carla. "I can see that you were right. Perhaps the fighting wouldn't have happened quite this soon if you hadn't rushed to save your friends, but I'm sure it would have happened very soon regardless…and I'm happy that it happened now, with you here to help us. Perhaps…we can be more like you from now on…and make friends with the people down below. If they're anything like your companions here, I can't see any problem with it."

Lucy and Wendy both smiled at the queen.

…

Meanwhile, the battle raged on beneath them.

After Natsu fully transformed, the fake dragon had responded with a flurry of desperate attacks and then fell back shortly after Lucy and the others left to help with the island situation. If Natsu could get up there, he'd be able to stop it super easy, but he had his hands full with this big metal asshat. He wasn't too worried though, not with Luce up there helping them out.

"A DRAGON? A real dragon?! How is this possible?! You're just a myth! Dragons aren't real! I'm the only real dragon in this world!"

Natsu couldn't help but snort at the amazed and panicked shouts now coming from his opponent. "Yeah…you really picked a fight with the wrong person… didn't ya?"

His amusement was short-lived though, because above all, Natsu was _**pissed**_. He had the feeling that whoever was controlling this thing was also the one behind their guild being sucked up and turned into a lacrima…. not to mention torturing Lucy and Wendy. It was probably King Faust, or whoever was really running this show, and Natsu had had it up to _here_ with the whole fucking thing. Irritatingly though, he could smell hundreds of people, the army and plenty of civilians probably, watching from a safe distance, so he had to make sure that this fight stayed in the courtyard…. which was a bit confining.

The other really annoying thing about it all was just the machine dragon itself. Natsu found the damn thing kind of insulting and stupid really, and he was looking forward to tearing it apart. When that big armored tail made another swing at him, he decided that was as good a place to start as any. He let it hit him, and after it had bounced off his shoulder he reached out and grabbed it with a clawed hand. Channeling fire into his claws, he easily melted the metal and severed the stupid thing in the middle, tossing the bottom half over his shoulder dismissively.

At that, his opponent seemed to go into full-out panic mode as he realized that his metal body was no good against a real dragon.

"Fine then! If this is too easy for you, I'll just have to assume my final form and crush you!"

With some metallic screeches and grinding that made Natsu wince, the thing started shifting around, until it looked like a giant robot…about the size and shape of the Celestial King, but made of metal and lacking a huge mustache. He'd even sprouted a giant sword, and some sort of magic gun – like Bisca and Alzack's… but a lot bigger.

Natsu cocked his head and looked the thing up and down, trying to decide if it was an improvement. In the end, he decided that it was…because it was a lot funnier. It also kind of made him mad though that this guy's "ultimate form" was to shift out of a dragon and into a mecha-robot-thing. Dragons were way more powerful than giants.

"Ha, ha! What do you think now puny dragon?! Still think you can take me and my armor?!"

'Puny' was probably referring to the fact that this guy was now standing up on two feet, so he was twice as tall as before, if not more. There was an easy fix for that though, and – rolling his eyes – Natsu rose onto his hind feet, standing up and crossing his arms as he went nose-to-nose with the giant/dragon/armor/stupid thing once again. His hind legs may be shorter in this form to let him easily walk around on all fours, but that didn't mean he couldn't stand upright.

"You know…I'm getting sick and tired of you. I hate fighting guys who're all talk and have nothing to back it up." he grunted.

"You…! Prepare to die!" The armor drew its sword and leveled it at him.

He eyeballed the hunky metal weapon, and then casually blew some fire on it, grinning when it glowed red hot and then essentially went limp…like a dysfunctional dick.

"Great sword you got there…looks _real_ scary…" Natsu laughed.

The armor held it up to look at, and then tossed it aside. "That's not all I have!"

When he drew his gun and started shooting, Natsu pulled his wing in front of himself like a shield, wincing a little. The shots of magic stung but didn't do any real damage. Still, it annoyed him. He filled his guarding wing with flames, and then flung it back, sending a fire ball at the guy that tossed him onto his big metal butt.

Natsu was tired off this stupid fight by now, and decided it was time to end it. So he pounced, ripping the gun out of his enemy's fake hand and then melting it into a useless lump of metal before chucking it aside. Then he proceeded to take the robot-thing apart, looking for the driver's seat. He stomped on both legs, breaking them and then pulling them off with his tail. When the armor punched him in the face, he punched back, crushing the thing's head. He twisted it off and tossed that aside too. When he nearly got punched again, he caught the metal fist in his mouth and then melted it with some fire. He ripped the other clean off with his claws.

Then all that was left was the torso, which had to be where the driver was located. He easily peeled the metal back with his claws and exposed the king. When he tried to run, Natsu flicked him with a single finger, and sent him flying into the nearby wall where he crumbled into a heap.

Natsu snorted and shook his head, halfway amused, halfway irritated. "What a bunch of shit."

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Once the world had stopped spinning quite so badly, and her stomach had decided it was satisfied being in her gut instead of attempting a vacation, she gingerly raised her head and squinted at her surroundings. They had all been plopped down on a grassy knoll overlooking Magnolia, and the first thing Lucy did once her vision cleared a little was to prop herself up on elbows and peer down towards her hometown. With a wave of relief, she realized that it had been set to rights and everything that had disappeared was back where it was supposed to be._


	37. Chapter 37

**Author's Note:**

Hello all! It's Wednesday, and time for a new chapter! Harrah!

As always, humongous thanks to all my fabulous lovely wonderful reviewers! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: TheJSmooth, Lucinda, RabbitMelody, Lady La-sara, SunnieDayys, valerioux, Donthedarkdragon26, Ikrani, Firefly9917, and ravenqueen162.

Now, on with the show! And be sure and stay till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

Once the dust had settled, the last one standing was Natsu. However, he quickly shrunk back down to his normal size and slipped into the shadows, which was very unlike him, but he seemed to have some reason for it.

For a long moment the courtyard and surrounding city was eerily quiet, but then people slowly started emerging from hiding, all looking shell-shocked and staring at the collapsed, crumpled form of their king. The question "what now?" was plastered all over everyone's faces.

Given the deep silence permeating the air and the tension you could cut with a knife, when Mystogan used a portal spell to summon himself to the top of a crumbling wall, everyone's eyes shot to him. Some murmuring started up, but instantly silenced when he began to speak. His voice was quiet – as usual – but what was _unusual,_ was the tone of it. It held a note of authority that nobody from Fairy Tail had heard before, and somehow he managed to claim the attention of absolutely everyone present.

"Please stay calm. I know this is all a great shock, but if you give me a chance, I will explain it all to you here and now." When he was met with receptive silence, he cleared his throat and started.

"Here are the facts, such as they are. This man," He gestured at the unconscious king. "- who you called King Faust, was stealing magic from another…people, to make lacrima. The lacrima itself was made up of transformed human beings who possessed intrinsic magic, which would have inevitably killed them."

Murmurs broke out somewhat at that information, but somehow nobody questioned Mystogen. Something in his voice convinced everyone that he was speaking the truth. If anything, the assembled crowd looked horrified by what he had said, which was a good sign.

When Mystogen continued, all murmurs stopped as everyone paid him absolute attention. "Not satisfied with that, King Faust attacked the Exceeds. I have brought their queen with me, and she wishes to make a statement."

He stepped back, and murmurs erupted once again in the crowd when Queen Shagotte stepped forwards. Everyone cringed back, believing her to be the all-powerful queen who had terrorized them for years.

"Hello, people of Edolas. I wished to come and make a formal apology to you all. Most of what you know about us is a lie. Yes, we are the only race in Edolas who has inborn magic, but that magic mostly just allows us to fly. I, however, possess clairvoyance as well, and to my shame I have been using it to try and make myself and my people seem much more powerful than we actually are."

"So…you haven't actually been killing anyone?" someone in the crowd asked.

"No, I have not. I have only predicted their deaths and dishonorably used it to our advantage. We deceived you all, and for that I wish to apologize. At the time, we believed it was the only way to protect ourselves. I foresaw your king attacking us and enslaving my entire people for our magic. In my arrogance, I erroneously thought that if I were to make us seem more powerful, then perhaps we would be protected. Unfortunately, it only made things easier for your king to turn you against us."

The crowd murmured some more as she stepped back, and then Mystogan stepped forwards again. "The Exceeds are a peaceful people and wish us no ill will. Therefore, it is up to us now to choose a new path. You can continue to support Faust, if he survives his injuries, or you can elect a new ruler…one who will seek peace and harmony for this country and rebuild it to be in balance with the magic we have. We have it in abundance around us." He gestured at the floating islands and rivers that streamed through the skies. "There is no reason to hoard it for use as weapons as Faust did, but it must also be considered a precious resource."

After his speech, disbelief finally began to circulate, and eventually someone shouted, "And just who are you to tell us all this? Why should we believe you?"

Similar cries were emitted, and with a sigh, Mystogan bent his head and slowly dropped his hood and the cloths wrapping his face. With the mask dropped, he stared out at the crowd, and for a long moment silence reigned. Then suddenly, a roar of noise erupted from the crowd.

"Prince Mystogan! The prince has returned!"

As the cries reached the members of Fairy Tail, jaws started dropping one after another as they all stared at him themselves in utter shock. Prince?

"Where have you been all these years?!" someone shouted, not angrily but just with a great deal of curiosity and happiness that he was back. More questions along that line were asked, and eventually he raised his hands. Everyone shut up so they could hear his quiet voice.

"Very well, I will tell you. I became aware of the situation and my father's power-hungry ways many years ago. As a young boy I also befriended the Exceeds and discovered the ruse behind their ploy to protect themselves. With all this knowledge, I became involved in a grand scheme to secret away a great deal of Exceed children to…another land, where they would be safe. In the process, I accompanied them and ended up…lost and unable to return until now."

That seemed to basically satisfy the crowd, and for a long time they cheered and called questions to him, which he answered, and soon more people had come to investigate the ruckus. Before long, the entire city had turned up.

…

After a VERY long night, lots of things happened.

For one, Mystogan challenged his father for kingship, which he won easily when it turned out his father had gone mad from the defeat. Then, before he set about cleaning up the town and making new laws – and all the other hundreds of things he had to do as the new ruler of Edolas – he took everyone from Earthland to the Anima room and offered them the reversed Anima as a way to return home.

It seemed their job here was done, and so they all prepared to leave, but first they had to say a proper goodbye to Mystogen. He would never return to Earthland, and so they gave him the Fairy Tail send off.

There, in the Anime room, Erza donned her ceremonial Fairy Tail Armor, complete with a Fairy Tail flag, and she conducted the Farewell ceremony.

"There are three conditions for anyone who leaves Fairy Tail! Listen well: One! You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail for as long as you live! Two! You must not have unauthorized contact with past clients for profit! Three! Even if we walk different paths, you must promise to live the rest of your life to the fullest. That means, you must treat every day as though it were your last in this world. Never forget your Fairy Tail friends, treasure them for as long as you live. Let the Fairy Tail Farewell, begin!"

At that, all the other Fairy Tail members present set off fireworks – small ones that could sparkle and burst within the room while not destroying it. Through it all, Mystogen smiled, and the extra glitter in his eyes might very well have been hidden tears.

Afterwards, he very softly said, "Thank you all. I have truly treasured my time as part of Fairy Tail."

And then, it was time for them to go home.

Along with them came a few surprise guests as well. Much to Gajeel's delight, Panther Lily decided to return with them to Earthland. He obviously felt intense guilt at betraying his fellow Exceeds and felt like he no longer belonged. And along with him came Frosch, who obviously cared for him a great deal.

However, it seemed that the big black cat didn't approve of the frog-loving green cat tagging along with them. They had a bit of an argument in the Anima chamber, while everyone else watched and wondered about the hold up.

"No Frosch! Your home is here! You should stay on Extalia and help to rebuild. I'm sure there was plenty of damage even though we stopped the island in time…."

"Fro is coming with you!" she insisted, as she had been doing for the past twenty solid minutes. She hadn't said much besides that, but she was absolutely adamant about it – even without an explanation. She reminded Lucy a little of Juvia with her use of second person pronouns and her devotion to this big grumpy Exceed.

"Frosch…what about your family…? Friends? …Boyfriend?"

She shook her head and seemed to scoff at the last one. "Fro is coming with you!"

"Come on, I know you must have friends. And what about your mother? Last I heard, you were taking care of her! How is she supposed to make it without you?!"

Again, she shook her head, but this time it was with a distinctly sad look on her face. She was silent and just stared at him for a long moment, before whispering again, "Fro is coming with you."

Panther Lily blinked. "Oh…I'm…sorry Frosch. I … I didn't know." It was obvious he had understood her silent communication.

Once again she just said, "Fro is coming with you…" though it was firmer again, as if she was putting away her sad thoughts.

"And your friends?"

There was another long staring contest, and then predictably…. "Fro. Is. Coming. With. You."

She was starting to get irritable, and her words were clipped and exasperated. They all got the feeling that she didn't really say much – or if she _did_ , it was by repeating the same words with different inflections.

Eventually Panther Lily seemed to accept the situation and slumped, then slouched his way over to them, looking disgruntled and browbeaten.

Finally, they were all assembled and could start going through the portal in twos and threes. Everyone said a last goodbye to Mystogan, and then started stepping through. Wendy and Carla were first, then Gray and Erza, then Gajeel and Panther Lily stepped up.

Gajeel was laughing at the big male feline. "My cat's pussy whipped…literally! Or is it frog whipped? Your girlfriend's kinda weird man…"

Panther Lily glared at him and growled. "First of all, I am not your cat! And second-"

Their argument continued as they stepped through the portal together. Frosch was just a little too slow to join them, and looked very concerned about it, running up to the glowing hole in the floor and staring at it forlornly. She was next in line, but fidgeted, obviously not happy or willing to go through alone.

With a sigh, Laxus stepped up next to her. "Come on Frog, let's get going. You're holding up the line." His tone was not unkind though.

She smiled and looked up at him with starry eyes. From her place behind them, Lucy couldn't tell if the frog/cat had sprouted a crush or idolization… but whatever the case, it was obvious that she liked him. With him next to her, she eagerly stepped through the portal, even reaching out to take his hand.

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were next, and they all stepped through together. Meanwhile, Amy poofed back to the celestial world.

The trip through the portal was not exactly pleasant. It felt almost like being somersaulted extremely fast through space - amidst blinding lights that flashed spastically even behind her eyelids - so by the time she was spit out the other side, she was in no condition to stand. She fell from a short height to land on the ground in an uncoordinated heap and a groan. Judging by all the other grunts, groans, whimpers, and whines, she wasn't the only one who hadn't enjoyed the trip. Natsu was plopped next to her in a similarly undignified tangle of limbs, and then Happy was deposited on his chest.

Once the world had stopped spinning quite so badly, and her stomach had decided it was satisfied being in her gut instead of attempting a vacation, she gingerly raised her head and squinted at her surroundings. They had all been plopped down on a grassy knoll overlooking Magnolia, and the first thing Lucy did once her vision cleared a little was to prop herself up on elbows and peer down towards her hometown. With a wave of relief, she realized that it had been set to rights and everything that had disappeared was back where it was supposed to be.

And then she glanced to the side to notice that they had been deposited in a line, which was somewhat amusing to see because the first in line were already staggering to their feet, while the next few were just sitting up. You could easily see a progression of feeling sick, from the first few - who were still a little unsteady but no longer looked like they were going to throw up - to Lucy, who still felt like tossing her cookies was a distinct possibility.

Wendy had mostly recovered, being the first through the portal, but she still looked weak in the knees and not entirely all together. Erza and Gray appeared to have recovered faster than her, but in fact were less steady on their feet and probably should have stayed on the ground a little longer. Gajeel and Panther Lily were attempting to do the same but were still stuck on the ground, and every time they attempted to stand they sunk back down with a groan and various cusses. The most interesting thing about that sight though, was that Panther Lily was now small, like Happy and Carla – and he seemed rather displeased by the fact. Frosch was also small but didn't seem perturbed in the slightest by it. If anything, Laxus was the more surprised of the two, and he was sitting up and blinking down at her with something akin to shock.

Lucy just let herself plop back down and didn't even try to sit up again until she was feeling less likely to throw up.

It took a while for all of them to recover enough to stagger down to the guildhall. As they passed through Magnolia, they saw how everyone in the street still seemed a little discombobulated from being transported back here several hours ago.

None of the townspeople remembered anything. To them, it just seemed like they had randomly lost the whole day – probably not even knowing that they were missing several days yet. The outer edges of the town knew though, and had already started converging into town, asking questions that the people there couldn't answer.

Lucy knew they would have to address that problem as soon as they'd checked into the guildhall and let everyone there know what had happened.

When they walked in, Fairy Tail was in a similar state of confusion, though they all had a good idea of what had happened. As soon as Makarov saw them he came over.

"We experienced an Anima didn't we?"

Erza nodded. "Yes."

"So what happened?" He seemed almost excited to hear all the details, and soon they had launched into the whole story, trying not to talk over each other and failing miserably. Gray and Natsu got into two separate fights when they tried to talk simultaneously, and Gajeel and Laxus butted heads with them on more than one occasion. Naturally Erza took over near the end.

"Well…." Makarov sighed and whistled through his teeth, sounding impressed. "Sounds like you kids had an adventure."

"Indeed." Erza agreed with a firm nod. By now everyone in the guild had gathered around to listen to the story.

"So what do we tell everyone in Magnolia?" Mira asked, looking concerned.

"Just summarize I guess. And maybe don't mention Edolas, because they probably won't believe you." Laxus grunted.

"So then…a dark guild took magnolia hostage by turning it into a lacrima and transporting it somewhere else, and we just now returned it to rights?"

"Yes, I suppose that would work." Makarov nodded. "As for the council… we might as well tell them the whole story, although they don't really deserve it after keeping the Anime situation under wraps and covering up the disappearances of entire towns."

"Aren't we doing the same thing?" Mira asked with a sweet smile.

"But only after we fixed the problem!"

Mira and Makarov got into a debate on the morals of covering things up and such, and everyone began to drift away. After that, a group of Fairy Tail wizards was put together to go out and tell everyone in Magnolia the story they had concocted to help everyone calm down. As for the mages who had actually gone to Edolas, they were given some vacation time to rest and recover from the ordeal… a reward that Lucy was only too happy to indulge in.

…

The first night back, she took a long hot bath and collapsed face first into bed with Natsu and Happy, who were out like a light along with her. They all slept like logs for a full 12 hours.

When Lucy finally woke, it was to the very familiar sensation of Natsu coiled around her in every way possible and acting like an overactive space heater. A less familiar sensation she experienced upon awakening, was the warm furry presence of Happy sleeping on her head. He normally slept in his own little cat bed next to hers, but it seemed that they'd all just piled into bed together and collapsed in a heap. It wasn't the most comfortable position in the world for any of them, and she wondered how she had managed to sleep through it. Reaching up, she shoved Happy off her head, and he slid down the pillow, still sound asleep somehow.

Once free of her unanticipated blue hat, she struggled to sit up – having to disentangle herself from Natsu as she went – and proceeded to spit out a surprising amount of blue fur. Natsu woke when she attempted to remove herself from bed entirely. He yawned with a slightly inhuman sound and then smacked his lips and looked around blearily.

"Oh yeah…we're back home. Cool."

She just laughed at him. "You're such a weirdo."

"Yeah, but I'm _your_ weirdo."

"Can't argue with that!" she said with a smile, and ducked to give him a good morning kiss.

…

For the next week or so, everyone worked on settling back into normalcy. Natsu of course recovered faster than anyone and seemed to practically forget the whole thing… or at least he shrugged it off like it was nothing. To him perhaps it _was_ nothing, since he was from a different world to begin with. But for everyone else, it took more than a couple of days to assimilate.

They were kept relatively busy though, particularly when the Council came to Magnolia and asked a lot of questions. Then, they took everyone who had actually gone to Edolas back with them to Crocus and asked even _**more**_ questions.

Mostly, they answered every question with complete honesty, but there was one thing that Master Makarov had asked them to fib about. For some reason, he didn't want them to mention Mystogen _at al_ l in their reports to the Council. And of course, they followed his directions to the letter and completely omitted Mystogen from any and all answers they gave the Council.

As for the questioning itself, it was an overall extremely frustrating experience.

The questioners seemed to be intent on treating them almost like criminals, as if they thought that Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Gajeel, Laxus, Gray, and Erza were somehow responsible for everything that had happened. They insisted on refusing to believe everything that the Fairy Tail mages told them about Anima and Edolas, and it almost seemed like they were trying to pin the whole thing on Fairy Tail.

The first day of it was bad enough, and then after a second day of being asked the _same stupid questions_ , Lucy was ready to kick someone. When she went into the questioning room on the third day, she was already in a bad mood from the very start. As she sat down, her teeth gritted harshly and she mentally prepared herself to go through hell again…doing her very best to convince herself that violence was not going to get her out of this mess.

Some young officer type fellow sat across from her on the other side of a sterile metal table and pulled out her file.

"Alright, let's go over your statements from yesterday and the day before." he said as he rustled some papers.

"You claimed that all of Magnolia was sucked up into some sort of giant vacuum cleaner called an 'Anima.' There, the entire city was turned into an enormous lacrima and spat out in another world called 'Edolas.' You, and some other members of the magic guild known as Fairy Tail, were left behind due to dragon magic being incompatible with the 'Anima.' Most of the mages who were left behind were dragon slayers, aside from you and…Natsu is it? Ah, yes. Natsu Dragneel. You stated that he is a celestial spirit contracted to you, and that you are a celestial mage. You also stated that he is a … 'celestial fire dragon?'"

At her nod, he continued. "You stated that he loaned you his 'celestial fire dragon magic,' which allowed you to stay behind as well. Along with you, two magic cats known as 'Exceeds' also remained, due to the fact that they originally came from 'Edolas' and therefore were immune to 'Anima.' The…seven of you then proceeded to jump through the 'Anima' _without_ turning into crystals and were transported to 'Edolas.' Once there, you all found the lacrima, transformed it back into people and buildings, and then sent it back through a portal to our world…where it was all put back like it was supposed to be. That about cover it?"

"Yes…" Lucy sighed, exasperated with this guy. He was a different questioner from yesterday, which was even more annoying, and he obviously didn't believe her one little bit. She could practically hear the air quotes around half the words he'd just read off her statement.

He nodded and grabbed a pen for taking today's statements. "So…the giant lacrima was just…lying around on the other side of the 'Anima'?"

"No, we had to find it."

"I see." He scribbled something and then flipped through some pages of the file. "And where was it?"

"Hidden on a floating island."

"Mm-Hmm…a 'floating island'…I see. And who hid it?"

Breathing in deeply through her nose didn't help to sooth her irritation too much, but it was worth a try. "King Faust."

"Ah. Yes. So it was the 'king' of this alternate dimension who was responsible for stealing Magnolia." He scribbled something down, and then asked, "And what was his motive for doing so? Was he planning to invade Fiore? Or…"

"No. He took Magnolia because it held a large concentration of mages."

"And he was targeting mages because…?"

"Once they had been turned into a lacrima, he could access all their magical power and use it for himself. Edolas is relatively low in magic power, and nobody there is born with it. Instead the magic they use is embedded into magical devises."

"Alright." He hummed and did some more note-taking. "So you're saying he was simply power hungry, is that correct?"

"Yes. Essentially. He wanted to horde all the magic for himself and use it in large magical weapons."

"Magical weapons? Who was he fighting?"

"He wanted to take over Extalia, the homeland of the Exceeds. They are the magical cats I mentioned, and they are the only race in Edolas that has inborn magic. He wanted to take them over, capture them, and then take their magic."

He pursed his lips. "So…the 'king' of this … _mysterious alternate dimension…_ stole Magnolia and turned it into a 'lacrima crystal.' He then planned to use the crystal's magic to make 'weapons'… which he then planned to use against a race of 'magical cats.'"

She just groaned, sensing the overwhelming sarcasm in his tone. "Yes…that's correct."

The only thing she could figure they were trying to accomplish by asking so many inane questions, was that they wanted to find some discrepancies between all of their stories and catch them in a lie. And it was getting incredibly tiresome. Really, she was shocked that something hadn't exploded yet, because somewhere nearby Natsu was going through the same tedious process.

The thought did manage to cheer her up somewhat. Picturing him blowing a fuse and burning down the building did a lot to sooth her frazzled nerves…. For some strange reason.

And so, she continued answering stupid question after stupid question, for hours.

She very nearly punched him though when he asked, "Did the Fairy Tail guild play any part at all in the disappearance of Magnolia?"

That seemed to be a favorite question of theirs, because it had been asked in several different variations over the last couple of days, and she was sick of hearing it.

"No! The only thing we did was return it!" she replied for what felt like the hundredth time…even though it was probably only the fifth or sixth.

"I see…" he scribbled some more and then flipped to a new page. "And do the disappearances of Tuly Village, Lupinus Town, Jennifer Hill, Daniel Park, and Marjoram Winley ring any bells?"

"Those are some of the places and people that Anima consumed before Fairy Tail. We were mapping them out and trying to find a pattern before one took Fairy Tail."

"So you were aware of this 'Anima' before it attacked Magnolia?"

"Yes, we were tracking it and trying to figure out how to stop it."

"I see…and where were you at the time of their disappearances?"

"Where was _**I**_? I haven't got a clue! Probably either on a mission or in Magnolia."

"I will need to know your whereabouts for these dates." He shoved a list at her, and she glanced it over. The dates went back to before she had even returned from Tenrou Island.

Scowling, she took the pen and drew a line. "Before this date, I was in a coma on Tenrou Island. And then…" she thought hard about the other dates and was able to dredge up the approximate missions she would have been on at those times.

He looked over the sheet once she was done, and then tucked it into her file. "Very well. Now, let's discuss Tenrou Island."

That took her aback. She wasn't expecting Tenrou Island to come up at all, and she frowned. "What about Tenrou Island?"

"Magnolia's disappearance isn't the first time that your guild has been responsible for the disappearance of a large amount of land."

Seeing where he was going with this, she gritted her teeth, feeling irritation turn into anger. "Tenrou Island is not connected to these other disappearances. In that case, we were under attack and an ancient protective spell got unintentionally activated."

She contemplated saying something about Tartarus, and how it was actually responsible for both incidents, but figured that bringing in yet another world/dimension to her story would just make it sound less credible.

…

Even more hours passed as they went back and forth like this, until Lucy was about ready to pull out her own hair. By the time she left, she was positively pissed off – more so than she could remember being in a long time. The fact that these idiots were trying to pin everything on Fairy Tail – and had even tried to connect Tenrou Island to it of all things – was driving her up the wall. Having anyone insult her guild was a sure-fire way to make Lucy mad as hell, so accusing them of something as ridiculous as this was certain to drive her batty.

Natsu was also in a distinctly bad mood when first coming out of his questioning room – which amusingly let out a wave of heat as the door opened. In his irritation, he must have accidentally turned the interrogation room into a furnace through sheer body heat, and the funny notion was confirmed when a sweat-drenched questioner staggered out after him. Steaming mad was an understatement when used in conjunction with Natsu, but of course as soon as he saw Lucy, his entire demeanor shifted to happy.

They met the others as everyone made their way out of the courthouse, and they all decided to go out for dinner together. It was a very quick dinner though, because they were all eager to head back to their respective hotel rooms and get some much-needed sleep. They were probably in for another long day of answering pointless questions tomorrow.

By the time Natsu and Lucy were back in their hotel room with full stomachs, she was moderately less irritable, but still found herself pacing a little as she walked around the room getting ready for bed.

"I just can't believe them! They're acting like it's somehow our fault and that we're trying to cover it up with a big make-believe story. I mean, who would come up with a story like this as a coverup anyways?! It's too unbelievable! We should have just fed them all the same lines we gave to the people of Magnolia. And you won't believe this…they actually tried to attach Tenrou Island's disappearance to it all too! It's like they just want to pin the world's problems on Fairy Tail and treat us like some kind of scapegoat!"

Her rant was cut up into small phrases as she went in and out of the bathroom. By the time she had her pajamas on, her teeth brushed, and her makeup off, she was all fired up again with pent-up frustration.

Natsu just sat on the bed and watched her, his head swiveling like a bobble head and following her back and forth across the room. It was probably a good thing that Happy and Carla had stayed at the guild … Happy might have gotten scared by her ranting. Sometimes he did, other times he didn't.

As for Natsu, he was trying to decide whether to be entertained, frustrated alongside her, or turned on.

On the one hand, he knew Lucy was pissed – and those stupid questioners had irritated the hell out of him too. But at the same time, seeing Lucy pacing and growling was also pretty interesting. It definitely had its funny parts – like when she'd come out of the bathroom with her toothbrush sticking out of her mouth and said a few choice words with foam sneaking out around her teeth.

He couldn't stop himself from laughing at that one, and when she got pissed, all he'd been able to say was, "Can't help it Luce…. you look rabid with all that toothpaste."

She'd snorted – which apparently got toothpaste up her nose somehow – and that had caused a whole scene as she darted back into the bathroom and spent the next few minutes choking, coughing, and sneezing frantically. That hadn't seemed to help her mood any either.

In fact, her mood went practically draconic, and the rant turned into rage at absolutely nothing and everything all at once. It looked like she was ready to wage war on the entire world for no reason – which he also found pretty hilarious – but by that point, another feeling was starting to assault him too.

Admiration and awe.

He couldn't help but admire the beauty of her fury, as strange as that probably sounded. But for a dragon, seeing all that passion and fire was fucking beautiful. He'd always been impressed by her temper, and it had always lit an answering fire in him …. as long as he wasn't on the receiving end of her anger. Angry Lucy was terrifying when he was the target.

But right now, watching her work herself up into a lather was a _major_ turn on. Sweat built up on her skin, increasing her scent to the point where he started breathing through his mouth to catch a taste. Her agitated pacing and nearly violent gestures made him wanna pin her to the bed…just to see if she would fight back. The idea of that made his dick twitch, and he bit his lip and squinted his eyes in pleasure.

Maybe he was weird, or maybe it was a dragon thing, but at this particular moment he was definitely getting ' _fired up_.'

Natsu was many things, but shy wasn't one of them. Neither was thinking things through. Mostly he was impulsive and went with what his gut told him, and right now his gut was balled up with the kind of fire that he wanted to share with Lucy in every conceivable manner.

So…he went with it.

Meanwhile, Lucy was seeing red – and that was pretty much all she was seeing. So, when her pacing path was suddenly blocked by a hard and very unmovable chest, she was not expecting it. Predictably, she walked right into Natsu, her nose bumping into his collarbone. She was mad enough that she immediately brought up both palms and slapped them onto his chest. Then she shoved – hard – intending to remove him from her path so she could continue to stomp around and vent.

He didn't budge. Instead, rough palms latched onto her biceps and gripped her hard, pulling her even closer to him and refusing to let her even push herself back.

"What are you doing?! Move!" she spat, pissed and not really seeing _Natsu_ in front of her. All she saw at the moment was an obstacle.

Again, he didn't move… he didn't even seem fazed actually. When he dipped his head down to her ear level, hot breath brushed her neck and shoulder, and she jerked back – definitely not in the mood.

And then he shocked her by murmuring, "You've sure got a hot temper there, Luce. It's firing me up."

The words were said almost too low for her to pick them up, so she was forced to strain to decipher them. There was also a discernable growl underlining his tone that she was pretty sure she'd only heard a few times before…and only when things had gotten particularly _rough_.

Her jaw dropped, and her eyes popped open wide, startled out of her foul mood for a long moment as she absorbed what had just happened. Natsu was turned on by her getting mad! She honestly didn't know what to think about that.

The adrenaline currently coursing through her wasn't gone though, and so the anger returned as soon as her shock passed. Suddenly, her irritation was partly directed at him for being so audacious. She couldn't believe he was turned on by her tirade…. It was almost insulting, like he didn't care about her long list of grievances or why they bothered her.

And if heat had suddenly sparked to life and settled low in her gut…. well, she just wasn't going to deal with it at the moment.

Instead, she reared back sharply enough that he flinched and pulled his head back up too. Their eyes met, and she did her very best to ignore the heated black burn in his charcoal gaze.

"I can't believe you! How can you be getting a hard on at my frustration?! That's just rude! Don't you even care about what we've all been put through today?! Didn't those jackasses piss you off? Or is being held here in Crocus all fun and games for you? Do you take _anything_ seriously?" she hissed, her tone poisonous and offended.

His eyes cleared for a moment and he fixed her with an unamused stare. "Of course I care. And those idiots pissed me off just as badly as you – probably more. You know I don't have the patience to deal with stupid stuff like that." he snorted, a puff of smoke escaping one nostril.

"Then why are you sporting an erection?!"

She could clearly feel it pressed against her belly right now, and it hadn't diminished in the slightest.

All of a sudden, his expression changed to one of absolute innocence, and she might have even bought it… if the situation was different and she couldn't see the sparkle in his eyes. His sudden mercurial switch in emotions was also paired with a change in the conversation.

"You know … you seem to have a lot of energy … like you can't sit still."

"I'm _PACING_! Because I'm MAD!" she seethed.

A lick of that previous fire made a brief appearance in his eyes before he tamed it. "Yeah… _that_. So…with all that pent-up energy, I'd say you could use an outlet. Like, a punching bag or something."

She was smart, but exasperation and anger had made her wits a bit dull, and she honestly couldn't see where this was going. He couldn't be asking her to punch him could he? Was he secretly masochistic or something?

"Damn it Natsu, would you get to the point already?"

She jerked, pushing against his chest again with her palms and trying to put some space between them. His heat was starting to affect her, and she had already been sweating from how mad she'd gotten. Getting hotter wasn't making her feel any calmer.

Suddenly a grin started sneaking across his lips, and that glint in his eyes sharpened. "I know a better way to work off all that excess energy."

She'd walked right into that one, and she really should have expected it when his head dipped and lips claimed hers. She accepted the kiss but kept her lips tightly shut and grumbled into it, not pleased, despite her body's automatic positive response. Frankly that only made her madder.

As soon as he released her mouth, she growled. "I'm really not in the mood right now Natsu!"

Once again, his lips ducked down and he whispered – more like growled – into her ear. "You're really hot when you're pissed."

"Oh for the love of-" She cut off on a sucked-in breath through her teeth when his mouth attacked her neck. It felt good of course and derailed her train of thought, despite her mood not really improving. The heat of her temper just took a slightly different path through her body.

" _Natsu_ …" She dragged out his name in warning. "I _just_ said I wasn't in the mood for-"

She was interrupted yet again when Natsu suddenly did three things in quick succession that shut her down. First, he yanked her to him using his grip on her arms and pressed her upper body against his, while his tail wrapped around her leg and tethered her lower body. Second, his mouth opened and a burning tongue licked up her neck. And finally, he bit down, but the wide set of his jaws left plenty of space for him to breathe fire on her skin, which licked out from the corners of his mouth and tickled down her neck all the way to her shoulder.

Her brain went totally blank for the space of several seconds, and she responded the way her body wanted to… by gripping his shirt and arching into it all. As soon as the fire stopped though, she remembered that she was mad at him. The fact that he was _still_ pushing – even after she'd said no – pushed some buttons that she didn't know she had… some of them making her angry and others making her wet, which was weird and confusing. By far the easier emotion to qualify was the anger, so she went with that, since it seemed to be the theme of the night.

So, she clenched her fists into his shirt even more, but used that grip to try and shake some sense into him. His head came up so he could stare down at her again, and she addressed him in an angry – if breathless – tone.

"Damnit Natsu! What do I have to do to make you understand that sex is not happening tonight?! I'm tired, I'm pissed … it's obviously _not_ an appropriate time!"

"You don't look tired to me…" he rasped, his eyes doing a sweep over what he could see – which included her heaving boobs. She flushed, mostly with irritation. Before she could comment though, he was adding to his previous remark. "In fact, you look like you're about to go ballistic. Why don't you use me as a release for all that anger?"

There was an edge to that suggestion, one that was heated with sex and lust, and Lucy almost fell for it. It made a weird sort of sense, but she just didn't quite comprehend what he was talking about yet. Angry sex still seemed like a foreign and bad idea to her…. Wasn't it some kind of abuse or something? Even considering it made her feel a little guilty, like it just wasn't something she was supposed to do.

Right as she was parting her lips to say some of these things, Natsu's lips crashed down on hers. He took full advantage of her open mouth and shoved his tongue in, which prompted an all-out tongue war as she did her very best to shove the slippery devil back out. His arms flashed, switching positions faster than she could track, and suddenly one hard hand was on the back of her head and the other arm was wrapped tightly around her back, holding her glued to him.

She tried to push him back, but failed, and so it was up to her mouth to get him to back off. She wasn't exactly winning there either though, and her irritation at the situation began to merge into the heat her body was shaking with now. By the time his fire spilled over into her mouth, her hands had switched to grabbing fistfuls of his pink hair. Horns filled her palms and she latched on as he growled into her mouth.

When the burning taste of even hotter flames filled her mouth though, she used her grip on his head to finally separate their lips as she realized that this was spiraling out of control. He didn't go without a fight though. Despite her yanking on his horns, his lips pressed back against hers, and this time she retaliated with a bite.

The bite must have shocked him, because he jerked back - all wide dark eyes and heavy breath - and for a brief second, she thought that maybe she'd finally made her point. But then a nearly feral grin took over his face, and she suddenly knew that things had only gotten worse – especially when his black eyes flashed burning gold.

"Yeah…like that. Vent on me, Luce."

She'd never heard of physically venting, but she supposed biting must qualify. Honestly though, he'd deserved the nip for being so damn pushy.

By now she didn't know where her anger ended and where her lust began, and it was a really confusing mix. She wasn't sure she liked it. However, the deeper they delved into this… _thing_ – whatever it was – the more she wanted to explore it. The past few days had been hell, and if this was any indication, her frustration had gotten pent up a lot more than she'd thought. Or maybe he'd just stoked her fires intentionally because he thought it was hot for some weird reason. Either way, she felt herself falling headfirst into it.

As his head dove down again, her fingers loosened without her permission, and she only had enough time to mutter, "…damnit," before her lips were sealed with his once again.

This time the kiss was still angry and nearly violent, but she wasn't trying to shove his tongue out of her mouth. It was more of a give and take wrestling match, and her anger shifted in her gut. Some part of her said, _"All right, he wants me to use him to vent my anger…he asked for it."_

When they naturally separated for air, it was brief and filled with gasps from them both as they stumbled towards the bed. The only speaking done was Lucy snarling, "Fine."

The word was met with a sharp-toothed grin from Natsu as he growled, "Good," against her lips in response.

Then clothes started to fly through the air like deadly projectiles. They managed to knock over a lamp with Natsu's balled-up coat, and one of his sandals banged against the wall and probably left a small dent. It certainly left a skid mark. Meanwhile, one of her high heels missed the mirror by a dangerously slim margin.

Neither of them was exactly gentle about anything, and as they tumbled into bed Natsu's head slammed into the headboard with a sound that made Lucy pause for a moment as she wondered if one or the other had been broken. When she glanced up, she noted a new splintered gouge in the headboard where a dragon's horn had ripped it a new one. Natsu though was apparently fine, which he let her know by tearing off the shoulder of her tank top with his teeth, and the rest fell away as ashes. She yelped and then protested.

"Natsu! Stop destroying my clothes!"

This wasn't the first time he'd burned away a garment or ripped one. Her irritation sparked higher than her lust for a moment as she glared hotly at him.

He grinned unrepentantly, a little piece of blackened material caught on his fang. "Only when you stop wearing them!"

"I'm not Gray!"

Saying Gray's name while she was in bed with Natsu might have been a very dumb move on her part, because suddenly his eyes flashed, and rough hands hooked under the sides of her underwear – easily ripping through it and then yanking it out from under her butt. His pants had already been left somewhere between here and there – or they might have possibly been dangling from one of his ankles – but whatever the case, Lucy abruptly came into direct contact with his burning core. With a hiss, she bucked against him, unable to help herself as her v-zone ground down onto his superheated erection.

"Unless you want me to get pissed too, don't say that Ice Prick's name right now."

She wasn't given a chance to respond, because her mouth was dragged down with a hand on the back of her head. The kiss consumed her, and soon they were engaged in another battle of teeth, tongue, lips, breath, and fire. His hips rolled, making her shudder each time as he pressed up hard against all her very sensitive bits.

When she really couldn't breathe, his mouth moved to her neck and then down to her chest, making it difficult to breathe for a different reason. Her hands dug into pink hair and she grabbed fistfuls, clenching hard as he proceeded to drive her nuts with his talented mouth. After a moment of that though, she suddenly remembered that she was still supposed to be mad at him for all this nonsense, and with a grunt, she grabbed onto his horns and yanked him away from her. He made a sound between a growl and a yelp as he tipped backwards, and she used his slight surprise to gain the upper hand and shove him flat onto his back on the bed.

He lay back, panting hard and staring up at her with slightly wide eyes…and then his lips curled up into a slightly smug and taunting grin. His gaze went heated again as the surprise melted away, and she could practically see the self-satisfied twinkle in them as he smirked up at her.

"Come on Luce…is that all you've got? I thought you were _mad_ …." he goaded, obviously much too pleased with himself.

She narrowed her eyes at him, dark amusement tickling her emotional state. Lust sat heavy in her gut, and mild irritation still shivered through her system…. So taunting her wasn't the best idea right now. For a brief second, she contemplated pretending to call an end to their activities, just to see how he would react to a sudden stop. Of course it would be an idle threat, since she had no intention of stopping.

She was distracted from her thoughts though, when his tail wound around her thigh, and she shuddered at the silky glide against her sensitive skin. Her hand shot down on instinct and she caught the offending red appendage as it slid out from between her legs and went for another pass. Giving it a tug and pulling it further out, she gave it an angry squeeze for being so impudent.

Natsu's cockiness instantly vanished as his eyes squeezed shut with pleasure, and his mouth fell open on a loud gasp. He arched and bucked sharply under her, groaning loudly, "Ah! … Luce … that's … shit! Feels so good…"

Heat stung her sharply in the groin at the sight of him at her mercy – as cheesy as that would have sounded to her sane mind. Right now though, she was consumed by lust, aggravation, and a very interesting kind of amusement that she wasn't sure she'd ever felt before. Cliché or not, she was thoroughly enjoying the sight of him writhing in her grip, and all thoughts of stopping flew out of her mind. She had a much better idea now.

With a grin, she followed through with her plan and tightened her grip on him before vigorously rubbing, squeezing, and tugging on his tail. With another yelp-like sound, his hands landed hard on her hips as he twisted under her, his tail arching stiff and trembling in her grip. After a few moments of that, she shifted down his thighs a bit and removed one of her hands from his tail… moving it to his erection instead.

The pillow under his head was immediately sacrificed to their pleasure and got thoroughly shredded by his horns as he tossed his head from one side to the other, his neck arched and straining with tension as he bucked. Words tumbled from his lips, mostly bit-off cusses, pleas, praise, and her name.

"Shit…Luce…feels so…I'm gonna…fuck… _Luce_ …please don't…oh shit, don't stop…oh god…Luce!"

Then with a roar - which was thankfully only accompanied by a little bit of flame - he arched tight and came across his stomach. She watched as fire zipped across his whole body, originating from the tip of his penis and then flashing across him, lingering especially hot in his hands, tail, and groin. And of course fire spilled out of his mouth on every heavy exhale. His cum was boiling hot too, and they had to be careful that it didn't land on anything too flammable or meltable.

This was why she had a fire extinguishing lacrima always at hand on the bedside table these days. Even before he shuddered to a stop, she had reached to grab the little crystal sprayer and was spraying down the bed and him, putting out all the little fires that had started.

By this point, her anger had tapered off, but she was still plenty frustrated and hugely aroused. So, as soon as their surroundings were no longer in danger, she shifted herself. One hand was still on his erection, and with a little adjusting she was able to sink down onto his length easily. She was certainly wet enough for it.

A fascinating squeak escaped him, and then it quickly turned into a full-throated moan as she started moving.

After that, she took the role of an angry bull rider…. but that lasted all of a few minutes before euphoria began to cut through any true irritation that might have remained. Making love to Natsu was one of her favorite things in the world…. so it was almost impossible to stay annoyed. She didn't really slow down though, because the almost violent pounding actually felt pretty damn good… although it _was_ starting to wear on her thighs. Natsu certainly enjoyed it and bucked up into her, meeting every one of her thrusts with an equally powerful one.

It was just barely not painful – but was definitely edging into discomfort the longer it went on. A sharp twinge went through her belly as he continued to bottom out in her and repeatedly smacked into her cervix probably harder than was really good for it. It felt so good though, that she didn't want to stop.

Something wound tight in her belly, and her hips curved into it, pushing down harder so she could rub herself against his pelvic bone on every downward thrust. Soon, grinding was thrown into the mix, and she started to slow down just a little. That tension coiled tighter – which meant she was approaching release – but it wasn't quite enough. Her hands were braced on his chest for stability, so it was only natural that when her fingers clenched, she ended up digging her fingernails into his skin.

His hands wrapped around her wrists, squeezing hard for a moment as he bucked up even harsher than before, obviously turned on by her scratches.

"Fuck…do that again…tells me that you're losing it…god…show me how good you feel… _damn_ …so fucking sexy Luce…" As usual, his mouth had been running the whole time, phrases dropping from his lips that only spiked the flames in her belly.

His hands flew to her waist when she did what he asked and scratched him from collarbone to belly button. A deep growl ripped out of his chest, and he bucked like a wild thing. His tail clamped tight around her, coiling up her body until it terminated around one breast. With the vice-like grip, she ceased being able to bounce on him, but he made up for that by pistoning up into her like a jack hammer, setting an even faster pace than she had.

It was a relief almost, because her thighs finally gave out and turned to trembling jelly…. partially due to the pleasure swarming her senses. Loud sounds escaped her lips, and she completely relaxed into his hold, letting him take the lead now and thoroughly on board for whatever ride he wanted to give her.

It wasn't long before Natsu's legendarily short patience ran out, and fire tipped fingers landed on her clit. "Alright…time to cum now Luce…" he growled, sounding almost exasperated.

She gasped and bucked as the fire immediately set the ball rolling, and his words just pushed her off the cliff she was already teetering on. It never failed. Dragon fire against her clit would send her into an orgasm within seconds of touching her.

It gave a whole new meaning to trigger finger syndrome, because Natsu had definitely developed it.

Of course, convulsing in orgasm put a hitch in her get-along, so it was a good thing that she wasn't in charge of maintaining their rhythm anymore. As it was, she was barely able to keep herself upright, and the only reason she stayed in her seat was the grip of Natsu's tail around her.

A sharp groan from him told her that he'd felt her contractions, and his hips bucked up and froze tight against her. Just in case she had any doubts though, he plainly told her that he could feel her orgasm… amidst plenty of cussing, praises, and other random statements of fact.

As usual, his explicit dialogue – which wasn't really ' _dirty talk_ ,' so much as a stream of consciousness that spewed from his mouth uncontrollably – sent heat spearing through her.

After a few seconds of sitting still, he flipped them – his tail keeping them locked together. His lips sealed over hers, shutting him up and spilling fire down her throat, which instantly revved her engines back up to full speed. She groaned into the kiss and swallowed his flames, her belly burning and her legs tightening around him as aftershocks quaked her whole body. There wasn't really any coming down from her high, so much as getting caught halfway down and then dragged right back up. The knowledge of what was coming only made her clench tighter on him and rock back up into his thrusts, picking up the rhythm again.

Sure enough, soon his thrusts started getting harder and his fire hotter, and then he seized up and came. With it, was the normal rush of heat that blasted her into another orgasm, and they swallowed each other's cries.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _When she reached Mira, she was pleasantly surprised to find herself behind Laxus and Natsu – who were eagerly talking to the white-haired barmaid about some sort of job as well._

 _"Hey, you guys got a lead?"_

 _Natsu turned and gave her a big grin. "Yeah! We did! One of Laxus's contacts is working in the police force over there, and he just reported that there was a break-in at the jail. Remember that Angel chick that you beat the snot out of? She was taken from her cell. Since she's a celestial wizard, it could be related."_

 _"Definitely sounds like it's worth checking out…" Lucy mused, and then realized something. "Oh! Hey! Look, I found a mission in Crocus too! Mind if I tag along with you two? We can split up for our different missions of course, but it would be cool to have some company."_


	38. Chapter 38

**Author's Note:**

Alrighty! It's Sunday! For another 40 minutes at least. ;P So it's time for a new chapter!

Special thanks to noseinabook145 for their medical consultation on this chapter's injury. It was a huge help. :D

As always, ginormous thanks and sparkles and cake to all my fabulous reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: stranger1999, TheJSmooth, Donthedarkdragon26, quidditchChick6, Anna5949, ravenqueen162, Lucinda, WisdomDragon27, Lady La-sara, SunnieDayys, Leomae2.0, and Firefly9917. Equally big hugs and kisses to my new reviewer: Mhilano.

Alrighty! On with the show! And stay till the end for a special sneak peek of next chapter. :D

* * *

It took a week of answering stupid questions before the Magic Council finally let them go, and by then they were beyond ready to go home.

When they all finally staggered back home and into the guildhall, they were met with a warm welcome…and a shocking sight.

Elfman and Mira's younger sister, Lisanna – who had supposedly died years ago – was standing there perfectly alive and well, and greeted them along with everyone else. Lucy herself had attended the funeral, so she was absolutely stunned and of course delighted to see the sweet white-haired mage again.

Of course, since they'd been in Crocus at the time of her arrival, they had missed the whole thing – including her explanation. So, she quickly launched into her story as they all bombarded her with questions.

"Well, you see, when I was hit by Elfman all those years ago, I actually ended up being pushed through a small Anima and ended up in Edolas."

"You've been in Edolas all this time?!" Gray asked, sounding shocked.

"That's what she _said_ , Droopy-Eyes." Natsu snorted.

"I heard her, ya mouth breather!"

With a sigh, Lucy separated the two so she could continue to hear Lisanna's explanation. "Sorry, please ignore these two, they have a habit of getting into fights. So, you were saying?"

She blinked in surprise and then stuttered, "W-well…um, ever since then, I've been searching for a way to come home of course. So… when I heard about everything that happened with you guys and the lacrima and King Faust, I went to the capitol and asked if there was any way for me to rejoin you. King Mystogen decided to reopen the portal and send me back. Oh, but uh, he did ask me to tell you that he promised not to make a habit of sending Edolians to Earthland."

Everyone chuckled, but there was still some appreciation in it. Having people randomly pop up would probably cause some problems, so it was good that this wouldn't be a regular occurrence.

They were in for yet another big surprise though when Makarov invited them all to his office after they had greeted everyone.

Firstly, he asked how the interviews had gone, and whether they had been able to keep Mystogan out of it. When they all confirmed that Mystogen's name hadn't been included in any of their statements, he immediately cut to the chase. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I asked you not to mention him."

They all nodded, and he resumed. "By keeping Mystogan out of it, we've now acquired a very important opportunity."

They silently waited for him to continue.

"As you have all been told… during our year-long absence, Jellal orchestrated his own release in order to help search for us. I'm sure you are also aware of his current standing in society, and that everyone considers him a criminal mastermind. Nevertheless, he is a legitimate member of society, despite the public's opinion of him. Which means…that if a legal guild wanted to make him a member, it would now be possible to do so."

Erza was listening with wider and wider eyes, looking confused at first and then gradually more hopeful. "Master…are you suggesting what I think you are?"

He smiled. "Quick as ever. You are correct Erza, I intend to bring him on as a Fairy Tail member. Of course, I offered him membership as soon as I found out that he'd been released, but he refused – saying that his reputation would tarnish ours. That was true enough, and I didn't push the issue. But now, Mystogan has provided us with the perfect solution. Given that man's habit for constantly wearing exceptionally concealing clothing, nobody ever saw his face. So, if Jellal were to wear those clothes, he could easily pass as Mystogan and join us under that alias."

Naturally there were no complaints from anyone assembled in his office.

Erza was ecstatic. Gray and Natsu both shrugged and grinned – mostly from watching Erza – and Lucy was beyond delighted. She was so incredibly happy for Erza that she couldn't quite contain herself, and quickly drew the redhead into a brief side-hug. Wendy was also happy for Erza, though she didn't know the history behind it all. And of course, Gajeel and Laxus couldn't have cared less.

"Excellent. I've already asked the other teams who have worked with him before, and nobody had any complaints." After a slight pause, he turned to Erza. "Very well then, I imagine that you would like to take this mission?"

"Yes, I would be delighted to."

"I expected as much. Do you wish to take your team with you, or make it a solo mission?"

She glanced at Natsu, Lucy, and Gray – seeming to consider for a long moment. "No…I believe I would like to do this alone. If that's agreeable to all of you of course?"

"Go right on ahead Erza, I'm still exhausted from everything that's been going on." Lucy quickly said, waving her hands in a shooing gesture. Similarly, Gray shrugged and gave an excuse about wanting to stay here and spend some time with Juvia.

After that, they all left Makarov's office, and Erza went to pack so she could immediately head out. She met them back at the guild for a last goodbye, and they all sent her off with hugs and 'good lucks.'

She left with a smile on her face, and they didn't see her again for the next several weeks.

Of course, in the meantime, everything went back to normal – or as normal as things ever got for Fairy Tail.

Lucy found some small jobs to take to pay for rent, and Natsu continued working to hunt down Tartarus. He had his connections in the celestial realm of course, but he had also teamed up with Laxus – who had taken over managing the information's base here on Earthland. It was impressive, the network that had been cast in their yearlong absence, but Laxus had managed to increase it even more since their return. The blond lightning dragon slayer had never really been good about dropping grudges, and he was just as determined as Natsu to find those bastards. They made a surprisingly good team.

…

About a week or two after returning from Crocus, Lucy and Natsu's two occupations crossed over.

Lucy was at the missions board, glancing over the very sparse selection. Their reputation still hadn't gone up since their return, and the missions hadn't exactly been flooding in. Probably having their hometown magically disappear for a couple of days hadn't helped them any. There had been plenty of rumors that it was somehow their fault – that some sort of big spell had been bungled really badly. Or else they were seriously looked down on for not being able to protect their city in the first place.

It was ridiculous how much things had changed. Just over a year ago, before the Tenrou incident, their reputation had been good enough that they would have been praised for being able to bring Magnolia back – instead of cursed for losing it.

Lucy did her best not to dwell on it, but it was sort of difficult to ignore when it seriously impacted work.

Not only were there _fewer_ jobs, but whenever she _did_ get a job, her patron always seemed shocked that they'd gotten a response so quickly – or at all. And from there, things typically didn't improve. Most were openly doubtful about whether she would even get the job done. They seemed to be under the impression that Fairy Tail wizards always bungled their missions or created more chaos and destruction than good. _That_ part of their reputation probably mostly originated from their past misadventures… since the worst of their stories were more frequently circulated these days.

Unfortunately, those rumors weren't unfounded, since Lucy herself had participated in plenty of missions that ended with extensive property damage.

As for the no-shows and failing to finish a job…. after all of the strongest Fairy Tail mages had been put into a coma, all of the others had to deal with jobs that were out of their class level, and it generally ended in failure. That wasn't their fault by any means, they had still been receiving jobs that were extremely difficult and dangerous – including S-Class quests. Plus, there simply hadn't been enough members to deal with the number of requests they had been receiving.

However, while she didn't blame her fellow guildmates for their current predicament, Lucy still wasn't happy about it. Being disrespected and having to scrounge for jobs was frustrating and discouraging…and most of those jobs didn't even pay well.

They were currently accepting every single assignment, no matter how ridiculously low the pay was, because they simply couldn't afford to turn away a paying customer right now. Because of that though, their reputation took yet another hit, and they were seen as the 'cheap option' by many of their patrons. And of course, that didn't exactly prompt those patrons to treat them with a lot of respect.

Lucy had been treated almost like a cheap hooker on more than one occasion

While she knew that some of the other guildmembers hadn't put up with it… she had to pay rent. Besides that, she was doing her best to help rebuild Fairy Tail's reputation, and getting mad at a paying customer wasn't exactly the way to do that. Although, it was possible that she was going about it the wrong way, and standing up for herself would actually be the better plan.

Heaving a heavy sigh, she plucked off one of the few missions up on the board today and took it to Mira, glancing it over as she walked. Naturally the pay was ridiculously low for what they wanted, but at least it didn't seem TOO difficult. Basically, a farmer was having some problems with magical gophers…or at least they thought it was gophers. Could be any number of things - squirrels, moles, even burrowing spiders. The last one wasn't fun to consider, so Lucy didn't.

The other irritating thing about it was that the mission was located in Crocus, ironically, and Lucy shook her head and rolled her eyes. She hadn't wanted to see the capitol again for a while after the whole Courthouse incident, but it seemed like that just wasn't in the cards for her.

When she reached Mira, she was pleasantly surprised to find herself behind Laxus and Natsu – who were eagerly talking to the white-haired barmaid about some sort of job as well.

"Hey, you guys got a lead?"

Natsu turned and gave her a big grin. "Yeah! We did! One of Laxus's contacts is working in the police force over there, and he just reported that there was a break-in at the jail. Remember that Angel chick that you beat the snot out of? She was taken from her cell. Since she's a celestial wizard, it could be related."

"Definitely sounds like it's worth checking out…" Lucy mused, and then realized something. "Oh! Hey! Look, I found a mission in Crocus too! Mind if I tag along with you two? We can split up for our different missions of course, but it would be cool to have some company."

Natsu of course was totally on board with the idea and Laxus just shrugged. Mira signed them all up for their respective missions and wished them luck.

And so, bright and early the next day, they all set off. Lucy and Laxus boarded the train to Crocus alone of course … Natsu would join them on the other side. Happy and Amy tagged along too though, so Lucy wasn't left totally alone with the older and grumpier Fairy Tail member. She liked him just fine, but he could still be a little intimidating to be around when it was just the two of them.

Funnily enough, Frosch also tagged along. It seemed like the little pink frog/cat had taken a liking to Laxus, and now went with him most places. Lucy never would have expected Frosch to pick Laxus to hang out with – given his prickly personality – but after watching them together, it was clear that he liked her just fine. While he addressed everyone else harshly, he was generally nicer to the green cat…gentler almost. It was kind of cute.

It was amusing really, each of the dragon slayers had an Exceed partner now…because Gajeel and Panther Lily had teamed up as well.

Unsurprisingly, there wasn't much conversation for the first hour or two of the train ride. Laxus just flicked his headphones on and closed his eyes, slumping in the bench across from her, and Frosch zoned out in that weird way of hers. It was like she fell asleep with her eyes open or something.

As for Lucy, she brought out her writing notebook. She was just finishing up her first novel ever and was excited to see it to the end. Her first few stories had all tapered off as she either hit a major writer's block or else messed up the plot so badly that the story just got too confusing to continue. This one was finally working out for her though, and she was eager to finish it and maybe – just maybe – get it published.

"Hey, what're you always writing about anyways?"

The abrupt grunt startled her out of her zone, and she jumped, getting a snort of amusement from Amy – who had her head out the window. How the wolf could see or hear anything going on in the cabin with the wind in her face, Lucy didn't know. Happy was asleep on her lap, so he said nothing, just continued to snore and drool on her skirt.

She blinked at Laxus, surprised that he had asked. "Um…I'm writing a novel."

"No shit." His eyebrows raised, and he leaned forwards to rest his elbows on his knees, seeming mildly interested. "You sure have been working on it a long time."

"Well…I started a few before this one and messed them up. But this is finally almost finished."

"Huh. Well good for you, Blondie."

And that was the end of the conversation…. Until Lucy decided to ask him a question too.

"Sooo, what music do you listen to?" She nodded at his headphones.

He shrugged. "All sorts. Whatever song I like I guess."

There was a pause in the conversation again, and then Lucy braved another question. "What are you listening to right now?"

He cracked open one eye and fixed her with a mildly annoyed expression. Then, to her surprise he jerked his headphones off, leaned forward, and clamped them over her ears. The whole thing had been done in one motion, smooth and quick and impossible to avoid, and she was left gasping and wide eyed in the aftermath. Then, the sound now filtering into her ears made her jaw drop again, right as it had been starting to close… which probably made her look like a fish. Her eyes popped wide open again too, and her eyebrows shot up her forehead.

She had fully expected some sort of headbanger metal band to blast in her ears, or possibly rap…or…she wasn't really sure. Given his tough appearance and tough guy attitude she'd made certain assumptions about his taste in music. Then again, Gajeel definitely looked like the heavy metal type, and he listened to shoo-be-doo-ba jazz – or whatever that stuff was called – so she supposed she shouldn't have had any expectations.

Still, the soothing cords of piano and violin that filled her ears was a bit of a shock. There was also maybe a cello too. It was lovely, gentle, and completely at odds with the disgruntled man sitting in front of her. He was all rough edges, and this music had positively none. It was smooth as silk and just as pleasing to the senses.

"Wow…"

Finally, amusement started to replace his irritation as he took in her expression. "I take it you weren't expecting that, huh?"

"Um. No."

"Then what did you think I was listening to?"

"I dunno…rock…or rap maybe?"

He laughed out loud. "Doesn't surprise me. And just for the record, I listen to those too. Like I said, I just listen to the songs I like, whether or not they really go in a playlist together."

His point was proven as that song came to an end and the next started up. A full-blown country song filled her ears – complete with twang and cowboy references. She gaped at him again, and this time he started to chuckle and leaned back in his seat, looking for all the world like he was now using her as his entertainment. When she got to the chorus, she spluttered and turned red – both with amusement and a bit of embarrassment.

"Seriously? Save a horse and ride a cowboy? Where the heck did you find this song?!"

At that, Laxus full-out started laughing at her, holding his stomach and tilting at a dangerous angle. She just shook her head and snorted in amusement at his laughter before unclamping the headphones and handing them back over. He slung them around his neck in between fits of snickers.

After that, the ride was less tense and the atmosphere loosened. Eventually Amy got her fill of wind in the face and pulled back in to curl up near Lucy's feet as she got back to writing her novel.

The rest of the train ride went quickly, and soon they arrived at the station. Once they had disembarked, had their luggage on the station, and were contemplating a map, Natsu popped up. He appeared behind Lucy without her knowledge and announced his presence by snaking his tail around her leg, where it coiled around and around and gave her a good squeeze. Almost instantly after that, he slung his arm over her shoulders, but the first sensation had already startled her into jumping a foot in the air and squawking as she looked down to see what creature was molesting her.

Unfortunately for Natsu, he timed it just right so that when she jumped in fright, her head slammed back into his, clocking him in the jaw. She heard teeth click together and him grunt in surprise.

Laxus raised his eyes at the commotion and then cocked an eyebrow as he watched the situation unfold.

"Damn Luce…. Your head sure is hard."

She turned as much as she could with the tail still gripping her thigh. "You're the one with a hard head! Don't go announcing your presence by sneaking up on me and doing _**that**_ with your tail!"

The other blond snorted as he noted the red scaly appendage wrapped around her thigh and covered his smirk with a grin and cough. Straightening his face, he added, "Generally you don't molest your girlfriend in public, Pyro. Save it for the bedroom."

Lucy turned red and glared at Laxus for just making the situation more awkward. Her pink-haired attacker just spared him a confused look and then seemed to dismiss him and turned back to his angry mate.

"I totally thought you'd recognize it as me. I mean, my tail's been all over you … shouldn't you be used to the feeling by now? Hell, we sleep with it-"

She cut him off by groaning and facepalming, her cheeks vividly tomato colored. His statement was true, but it really didn't need to be said in public. It didn't help when Laxus snorted again and then gave up on trying to contain his mirth and started to chuckle.

"Well that's not really something I needed to know…but whatever. How about you put it back in your pants for now dumbass?"

When Natsu didn't immediately follow through with the suggestion – which only made Lucy feel more self-conscious and irritable with him – she decided to take matters into her own hands. Literally. She reached down and grabbed onto his tail, aiming for the tip which was near her knee. Given her aggravation at the whole thing, she probably used more force than necessary, and essentially manhandled him to peel the bottom few coils off her thigh.

Natsu immediately hissed, flushed, and shuddered. As soon as he snapped out of his initial shocked response to having her grab and squeeze his tail, he quickly whipped it back to where it was generally located – wrapped around his own thigh and not hers. When she glanced at his expression, it was impossible to not notice the extra dark eyes and how his breathing had picked up, and she rolled her eyes. She'd unintentionally turned him on… but didn't really feel too badly about it under the circumstances. At his reproachful look, she just shrugged at him. It was his own fault for wrapping his tail around her in the first place. She knew it was a gesture of affection, much like a kiss to him, but this just wasn't really the place for that.

Laxus just watched the whole thing with raised eyebrows and couldn't hold back a few snickers as he noticed the distinctly hot and bothered aura the pink-haired man was now giving off in waves. Apparently he liked her messing with his tail, which Laxus just couldn't help but find funny, and he muttered under his breath, "The guy really does have a third leg…heh."

Natsu just had to suck it up though, because they were already setting off to get checked in to their hotel and then go on their separate missions. So, he was stuck with blue balls for a little while, and his disgruntlement was not missed by the others.

Happy and Frosch didn't notice though, and they remained blissfully unaware. The blue cat was much more interested in the fish vendors they passed by, and Frosch was equally interested in the sweets. Lucy gave in and bought her cat a couple of fish and Laxus's cat a couple of sweets, which pacified them for the rest of the way to their hotel. Just to be fair, she bought a snack for Amy and Natsu too, who both greatly appreciated it. For Natsu, it had the added benefit of completely distracting him from the state his body was in.

After checking in to their hotel, they split up to go their separate ways. Natsu and Lucy shared a brief kiss; and then she, Happy, and Amy all set off towards the outskirts of town where this farmer was supposed to be located. They arrived within an hour of brisk walking, and Lucy was shocked with what they found.

She'd been expecting a small farmer, based on the payment offered – which was tiny – but instead, she found a huge sprawling plantation as she crested the last hill. It reminded her uncomfortably of the Heartfilia lands, which were similarly huge, although they hadn't been all farmland. Casting a quick eye over the place, she noted that they had what seemed to be two crops – a large vineyard and a huge swath of flowers. She wasn't sure what sort of flowers they were, but it was obviously a lucrative business to farm them, based off the huge mansion that was located at one end of the plantation.

Anger started to burn in her gut, now knowing that this person had offered small payment not because he couldn't pay, but because he was just one of those rich people who hired cheap work to save a buck. She could already predict a bad attitude off this guy, and she hadn't even met him.

Her prediction proved correct when they arrived at the front door of the house, and she announced herself as Lucy from Fairy Tail. "I'm here to do this job?" She held up the job request she had brought from the board.

"Ah yes, Mr. Xavier has been expecting you. I am his Butler…Jeeves. Please come in."

She smiled, and they walked through the doorway, but were stalled as the butler stopped them. "Oh, and please leave your pets outside. There are no animals allowed inside the house."

Lucy scowled. "Happy and Amy are not pets. They're members of my team."

"Aye!" Happy chimed in, shocking the butler, and he took a step back as his eyes widened.

"Perhaps it would be best not to push the envelope too much." Amy added and glanced up at Lucy. "I'll return to the celestial realm for now."

"You really don't have to…"

"No, but I'd rather not cause problems for you, given the circumstance."

Lucy sighed and finally nodded, and Amy poofed, which left the poor butler speechless. As Happy and Lucy stepped into the foyer, he just wordlessly motioned for them to follow him and then led them down along hall and into some sort of large office.

He excused himself and went to get his employer while Lucy waited in the plush chair. Happy sat on the armrest, his arms crossed and still looking irritable.

"Don't worry about it Happy. I mean, you _are_ a cat. It's an honest mistake. Though it was definitely rude for them to ask you to stay outside."

He hmphed.

Before he could reply though, the door opened behind them, and in came an impeccable man in a suit, straw hat, and cane. The cane was obviously just for show, since he didn't actually lean on it at all. He took a seat behind the huge desk in front of them and then instantly scowled as he spied Happy.

"I'm sure my butler told you that no animals are permitted inside this house. I would have thought that even a Fairy Tail member could follow such simple instructions."

Instantly, Lucy found herself intensely disliking the guy, but gritted her teeth and swallowed the nasty comment on her tongue. "Yes, your butler did explain the rules. However, Happy is a member of my team, not merely a pet. He sits in on all my meetings for missions and needs to know all the information as much as I do."

Mr. Xavier visibly scoffed. "A _cat_ is your partner? I know you people are cheap, but honestly… I wasn't expecting _this_."

Happy puffed up with outrage, and his tail more than doubled in size. "If you don't like Fairy Tail, then we can leave!"

Lucy winced just a little, but mostly applauded his comment. Thankfully the jerk seemed too shocked to have been offended by the comment.

"You can talk?!"

"As I said, Happy here is a member of my team. He's a magical creature known as an Exceed, a species just as intelligent as humans. If his presence bothers you, then we can leave and send another team."

The man scowled and harrumphed, but eventually said, "Fine. He can stay. I need this problem solved as quickly as possible, and you two are already here. I should have had lower standards. However, I do expect the job to be completed properly, and with minimal damage to my property. Any property damage _will_ come out of your paycheck, and if it goes over then you owe me."

She gritted her teeth but forced a polite smile. "Yes of course. That is standard policy."

"Then let us get down to business. As you read in the job description, I am being plagued by some sort of burrowing animal, or a pack of animals. They are tearing up my fields, eating my flowers and grapes, and causing horrible damage all across the property. Some of my workers have even been injured."

She highly doubted that he actually cared if his workers got hurt, unless it affected their work. Which suggested that their injuries had been pretty severe for him to have mentioned it.

"So, you want me to get rid of it somehow."

"Yes. Obviously. Hunt it down and kill it."

She grimaced. "I'll remove it, but I'd prefer not to kill it if that can be helped."

"I don't care what you do with it, just get rid of it. Or them. Whatever is doing this."

She stood, figuring this meeting was over and wanting to get away from the unpleasant man as soon as possible. "I understand. I'll get out there right away and take care of it for you."

He nodded tersely and then cocked his head, eyeing her up and down. "It's a shame you're just a mage from Fairy Tail. Such beauty is wasted on you."

She was positively shocked. Sure, she'd been insulted plenty the past month or two that she'd been back, but she hadn't really seen that one coming. It was alarming how a guild's reputation affected how its members were treated…. Or perhaps accepting all of those low cash jobs was just attracting scum-balls.

It was ridiculous though, and she drew the line here. Slowly turning to face him fully again, she fixed the man with a stern look. "I'm happy to do my job here, but I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from saying such rude things. And while we're at it, I don't appreciate such blatantly disrespectful comments about my guild. In the interest of keeping our working relationship pleasant, please avoid saying such things in my presence. Good day sir."

His mouth was already opening, undoubtedly to say something unpleasant, but she didn't care to stick around and hear it. Turning sharply on her heel, she strode out of the room without a backwards glance. She didn't intend to see the guy again until she collected her money for completing the job. He could just sit there and stew on that for a little while.

…

As for Natsu, Laxus, and Frosch, they were dealing with someone significantly more helpful. Laxus's informant had agreed to meet them on his lunchbreak at a small mom and pop joint near the police department.

"So, you're saying that all the doors were opened without any sort of forced entry, and all the guards on duty were frozen solid?"

The informant – Rey – nodded and shrugged in sympathetic confusion. "Yep. The guy obviously has some ice magic. It's unlike anything I've seen before though… can't be broken or reversed by anything that we've tried. We don't have any answers about the doors though or how he got in."

"Probably made ice keys." Natsu grunted around a burger.

The policeman blinked at him in shock. "That…makes sense. I can't believe we didn't think about that…"

"You just haven't spent enough time around an ice mage." Laxus responded, but was similarly impressed. Even he might not have thought of that – and certainly not as fast. Maybe it was because Natsu was around Gray so much that he had thought of it so quickly.

"Well that potentially answers one question, but not the other. We still don't know how to melt the ice, and if we aren't careful about it they could break."

"I could try my flames on it." Natsu offered, once again surprising them both. But the policeman hesitated.

"I would be happy to let you try, but I'm not in charge of that part of the investigation. And I'm not even supposed to be talking to you two about this, so I don't really think it's a good idea."

Laxus shrugged, but Natsu wasn't so easily put off. It wasn't really in his personality to just leave someone behind who needed help. "Why don't you talk to whoever's in charge of that and suggest they put out a call for fire mages, or just any mages in general who could melt ice. If they like it, I'll respond to the posters or whatever."

"I'll give it a try. No harm in that I suppose. But you have to act like you don't know what's going on and pretend to buy whatever story they give you."

"Sure. We'll do that. Now back to the story. Are you positive that the only person taken was Angel?" Laxus rerouted the conversation brusquely, irritated by the detour.

"Yes. She was their target. They went straight for her cell and didn't touch anyone else. The whole operation was so quiet that none of the prisoners even woke up for it, and if they did, they're not talking. There's one or two who act scared when we question them, but they insist they were asleep and didn't see a thing. They're terrified though."

"Shit…it would really help to get a description of the guy. But at least we know that this isn't related to the Oracion Seis, because she was the only one taken. Unless it's personal to her, or there's someone else out there who's going after celestial wizards, I'd say it's a good bet that this is related to Tartarus."

"Fro thinks so too!" his Exceed chirped agreeably, but they all sort of ignored her for the moment. She agreed to just about everything.

"That's a lot of 'what ifs.' If I can get a whiff of that ice I'll be able to tell you if it's demonic, which'll tell us something at least."

"I'll be sure to suggest your idea to the head of that division, and hopefully we can get you an up-close look at the ice." Rey promised and then glanced at his watch. "I've gotta go though, my break's almost over."

Natsu and Laxus nodded and picked up the tab as thanks for his help. Once he was gone, they sat around and discussed it some more while they both ordered second helpings. Frosch quietly watched and listened, licking her vanilla ice cream cone and inserting an agreeable, "Fro thinks so too!" every now and then.

…

Meanwhile, Lucy was not having a good time.

As soon as they left the plantation, they got to work. The first order of business was to scout around and take a look at what they were dealing with – so she, Happy, and Amy took to the grounds and did some investigating. They immediately noticed the prolific holes scattered all over the fields and vineyard as they poked around. It was even worse than Lucy had expected, and she sincerely hoped that the majority of the holes were just tunnels… and not burrows… because if they had to deal with that many creatures, this mission could take a while. Amy had already identified the creature's scent as a mammal, which meant they were probably gophers, moles, ground squirrels, or something else like that. She also said she smelled quite a few, but couldn't tell just how many there were.

After snooping for a bit, they split up and looked over the whole plantation to try and pinpoint where the holes had started, and - with any luck - where this creature's home base was located. With some help from the workers they ran into, Amy's nose, and a bird's eye view from Happy, they found the highest concentration of holes relatively quickly.

Once they had found the hub of it all, the next matter was to try and catch one, so they could see what they were dealing with. Her first thought was to flood the holes with Scorpio's sand or Aquarius's water, but then she reconsidered. If there were babies down there, she didn't want to smother or drown them. Finally, she came up with Aries, realizing that they could use a wool ball instead of sand or water to push the critters out of their holes. It was even better, because the animals would be comfortable and stick around for examination.

"Open! Gate of the Ram! Aries!" she called, and instantly a puff of pink wooly smoke appeared, along with Aries.

She quickly explained the situation and her plan to the timid spirit.

"I'm sorry, but…I think I can do it Miss Lucy…" she said, not overly confident as usual, but happy enough to go along with the plan.

And so, she pointed her hands at the ground, aiming for one of the holes, and exclaimed, "Wool ball!"

A pink mass shot from her palms and into the ground. She kept it going until pink puffs were suddenly popping up out of the ground all around them – emerging from the holes – and Lucy, Amy, and Happy each ran to take a look at different holes.

"We caught one!" Amy exclaimed, and they all rushed over to where she was standing over a pink decorated hole.

Sure enough, snuggled up in the pink fluff was a white bunny.

"Oh my gosh! It's rabbits! Or bunnies! Or whatever…Wow, I can't believe they did this much damage…." Lucy murmured, glancing back to the mess of holes peppering the ground all around them.

"So now what? We've figured out what's doing it, but how are we gonna get rid of them?" Happy asked, leaning in close to look at the bunny.

"I don't know. I guess it depends on how many there are."

"A lot probably. ' _Reproducing like rabbits_ ' isn't a saying for no reason. And the scent is really strong." Amy said dryly, poking at the little bunny with her nose.

"I suppose we could try to push them all out of their holes like this one and then just…collect and relocate them? It would be a lot of work but-"

She cut off when the bunny stirred at Amy's nose-prod. "Quick! Grab it!"

They all reached for the rabbit, and Lucy managed to seize it. The fluffy thing was complacent for all of a minute before the comfort from the wool ball wore off and it woke up. And then it did an abrupt role reversal. Instantly, she was holding onto a white fluffy bomb as red eyes snapped open and it started to struggle in her grip. She hung onto it for a moment but yelped as amazingly sharp claws dug into her, and then she cried out as it bit her hand.

She dropped it, or tried to anyways… but it hung on with its teeth embedded deep in her palm, dangling like some sort of ornament.

"Let go! Let go!" she screamed, shaking her hand. That was not a good idea because it hurt her hand quite a bit more and she instantly stopped.

Her good hand hovered over its head, thinking about trying to pry its mouth open, but she jerked back when it growled. The bunny _growled_.She was pretty sure normal bunnies did not growl.

By now she was crying in desperation and pain. "Help me get it off!" she yelled to her friends, who were all hovering around her anxiously.

She went in again to try prying its jaws open, figuring it was the only thing she could do, but there wasn't really any good way to attempt it without sticking her thumb in its mouth, which she refused to do. She really did not want to lose her thumb, even if it probably didn't have teeth there. Happy grabbed it and tried to pull it off, but that had a similar result to her shaking it. It only ripped the bite open more.

Finally Aries tried putting a wool ball around Lucy's entire hand and the bunny attached to it, hoping that it would lull the creature back into a relaxed state. After a moment, she felt the vice grip on her relax and yanked her hand out of the ball of pink fluff that Aries continued to hold. The bunny stayed safely wrapped up in the wool.

Everyone gasped as they stared down at the damage to her hand. The stupid rabbit had essentially punched a hole in her hand, leaving a gaping wound that bled _profusely_. It dripped to the ground and was already forming a tiny puddle, and she immediately grew concerned. It wasn't so much that it was dangerous, _yet_ , but if they didn't get it to stop soon she might have a problem.

Aside from that, it also _hurt_. She could see bones in the wound and was ninety percent sure that at least one had been broken. Plus, it was instantly evident that the motor function in her hand had taken a serious blow. It wasn't like she was wiggling her fingers or anything – that would hurt way too much – but she could easily tell that if she tried, she wouldn't be able to. Even her wrist had gotten harder to move.

The sudden urge to vomit came and went with thankfully nothing more than a gag. Aries threw the bunny ball away as far as she could. Then she turned to Lucy and instantly made more pink wool, wrapping it tightly around her hand – but not so tight as to cause even more tissue damage. A wave of comfort soothed the pain, and the wool helped to stop the bleeding somewhat.

"We've got to get you to a clinic and get that fixed." Amy said seriously, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'll fly you there at top speed Lucy. We'll be there before you can say 'ow.'" Happy promptly offered.

"Good idea Happy, we'll be right behind you." Amy said, and both spirits popped out of existence. Lucy temporarily panicked, until she saw that the pink wool on her hand remained, while the rest of it poofed away. She could still feel Aries's presence as she sent her magic to Lucy through her cracked gate.

Suddenly a loud growl started up and she whirled around, her jaw dropping when she saw at least ten of the little white devils standing up on their hind legs from where they'd been deposited out of their pink beds. Red eyes fixed on her and Happy.

Dread shot through her and she yelped, but Happy was quicker than her. His wings flashed open and he launched forwards, snagging her and then flying them both up into the sky. It wasn't a moment too soon either, as the rabbits all charged, and the speed with which they hopped quite frankly terrified her. They probably would have been ripped apart if Happy couldn't fly.

That fear stuck with her all the way to the clinic, which luckily they found relatively quickly thanks to Lucy's map. It was hard to unfold with her bum hand, but she managed somehow, and they located the nearest clinic in a matter of minutes.

As soon as they landed, Amy popped back into existence, and they rushed inside and ran up to the intake desk. The wool was staunching the blood flow, but it was still running down her arm, and she had plenty of it on her clothes, which would hopefully get the seriousness of her situation across.

When she got to the desk, the woman there barely glanced up and said, "One moment please." She was on the phone.

Lucy impatiently shifted from foot to foot, trying to wait like the woman had said, but she was quickly running out of patience. Amy started up a low rumble of irritation in her chest. When the nurse – at least Lucy assumed she was a nurse – didn't look up again after about a minute of chatting, she reached her limit. It didn't even sound like she was talking to a patient. Based off what Lucy could hear, it sounded more like a social call.

"Excuse me, but I-" She tried the polite route and got shut down once again.

Without looking up, the woman heaved an exasperated sigh and just reached for a clipboard and some papers, which she slammed down on the top of the desk. "Fill these out."

Lucy growled, a sentiment which was echoed by her wolf companion, but she took the papers and looked at them. It asked for her name, date of birth, and other such important information, which she did understand the need for, but didn't really feel like filling out at the moment. Actually, she _couldn't_ fill it out, because her dominant hand happened to be wrapped in pink wool and was leaking alarming amounts of blood.

"I'm kind of in a lot of pain right now, and my dominant hand is the one that's hurt. Is there any way that I can have a friend fill this out while I'm being treated?" she gritted through her teeth, planning to call Loke to fill out this form for her.

The woman glanced up, appearing utterly disinterested, and looked at her over the desk. It was a tall desk, one of the kinds that hid most of the person's body on the other side. Lucy doubted this nurse could see any of the blood on her, which was a shame really.

"What sort of emergency happened to you?"

"I was bitten by a rabbit, but-"

The woman didn't even let her finish. "That isn't serious enough to skip the paperwork. Please come back up once it's filled out."

Lucy angrily tried again. "If you would let me finish, I was about to say that this wasn't just a normal rabbit. It was some sort of magical attack rabbit, and it tore my hand open."

The woman hid a scoff behind an almost polite cough. Once again she wasn't looking up. She was looking down at something she was working on behind her desk, and she had already picked back up the phone. Amy's growl kicked up another notch, but thankfully she restrained herself. Happy was equally beside himself with anger and she could see him shaking with it.

"I'm sorry Miss, but I cannot help you until the paperwork is filled out. I will tell the doctors that you're in a lot of pain and need a Tylenol."

"How about you just look at the wound and tell me if it's bad enough to get attention right away?" Lucy asked, waving her bleeding bandaged hand up so the woman could see it. The woman didn't see it though, because she was still looking down, and trying to talk on the phone.

"Like I said before Miss, I will let the doctors know that you're in pain. But there's really no reason for you to argue about the paperwork, because there are several people already waiting to be seen. You will have to wait either way."

Lucy had had enough. She unwrapped the wound, and naturally it reopened as soon as it was no longer under pressure. She winced at the sight again, and blood quickly began to drip to the ground.

Her intention had been to somehow get the nurse's attention with her blood – possibly by bleeding onto her desk – but she was somewhat distracted when Leo summoned himself to her side. He took one look at Lucy's hand and then glanced at the unobservant nurse and his eyes went cold and hard.

As for Lucy, she was supremely happy to see him, and instantly held up the paperwork she couldn't complete. "Leo! I'm so happy to see you. By any chance, could you fill this out for me?"

"Sure thing." he said, his eyes softening for a moment as he took the clipboard from her, but then his expression shifted back to pissed as he looked at the nurse again. "And why aren't you getting medical treatment?"

"I'm working on it." she grumbled and turned back to the nurse. "Excuse me…my friend has shown up and said he can do my paperwork…. So would you please look at my wound and tell me if I can go get it stitched up now?"

All she got in response to that was, "Your friend can fill out your paperwork, that's not a problem. And no, a rabbit bite probably won't require stitches."

And the woman still didn't even look up.

At that, Lucy finally lost her temper. "Happy, could you please get this woman's attention?"

"Aye sir!" he almost growled, and his wings popped open so he could fly up over the desk. He landed with an intentionally loud thud directly in front of the nurse. "Hey! You!"

That finally got her attention, and the nurse's head shot up, and she jerked back in surprise at the blue talking cat that suddenly landed on her desk.

"Wha-what in the world?"

"Look!" Happy spat, pointing back at Lucy.

She was so stunned and in shock, that her eyes automatically followed his gesture, before locking on to the bleeding hand that Lucy held up for her to see.

"Have I _finally_ got your attention?"

The nurse gaped up at her.

" _Something_ tells me that _this_ rabbit bite is going to need stitches. So could I maybe get someone to do that before I bleed out? And maybe check to see if I have any broken bones? I'd like the use of my hand after this you know…"

Despite her tough words, she knew tears were streaming from her eyes. Some of them were angry tears, some frightened, some from pain, but she didn't care at the moment.

Finally, the nurse seemed to snap out of whatever stupor she'd fallen into. "Yes of course! I am so sorry!"

She rushed out from behind the desk and yelled for some help, seeming to have forgotten about Happy in the face of Lucy's wound. Another nurse came from the back, and at the sight of Lucy's hand, she also rushed around the desk and opened the door for them to go into the back. Then she ran off to get a doctor. By this point Lucy really was getting a little lightheaded, so she was grateful for the support.

Leo followed, still working on her paperwork and periodically sending sharp looks towards the thoroughly apologetic nurse. At first the nurses protested having Happy come back with them, but after he did a little more speaking and Lucy insisted that he was her teammate, they allowed him to be in the exam room. For simplicity sake, Amy poofed back to the celestial realm.

The doctor took one look at the wound and said she would need emergency surgery to put it all back together, and she was rushed to the back. Happy stayed in the room for her to return, and Leo quickly finished up her paperwork – knowing that she would likely be knocked out soon under heavy sedation, and he wouldn't be able to stay out.

They did some x-rays and determined that some of her bones had been broken along with everything else. So, after numbing everything, they set about fixing her bones and then her torn tendons and whatever else they needed to fix. Thankfully the doctor was a mage and was able to reconnect everything that had been messed up, so she would be able to regain all her lost mobility.

…

While Lucy and her team had been busy in the fields for a couple of hours, Natsu and Laxus hadn't been doing much of anything. At least not until the informant suddenly called Laxus with a lacrima.

"I ran the idea by Axel to ask for any local fire mages for help, and he thought it was such a good idea that he just sent the call out. He also asked me if I knew anyone that could help, and I suggested you. So he's requested that I give you a call and ask if you'd be willing to come down to the station as soon as possible."

Laxus was shocked by the speed with which that happened. "Woah…this Axel guy must be really freaked for him to accept help so quick."

Rey nodded solemnly. "He knows one of the guards personally who got frozen. He's desperate to save them."

And so, they immediately headed to the station. They were just getting checked in and shown to the back when Natsu felt the first stab of echoing pain through his hand that told him Lucy had been hurt. He flinched and stared at his hand, then looked around wildly – as if he could see her, which of course he couldn't.

"What's up with you?" Laxus asked, giving him a weirded-out side-eye.

"Lucy just got hurt. Pretty bad too."

Immediately the blond lightning dragon slayer sobered. "Is it really bad?"

"I…don't know. I know it isn't life threatening, but it hurt her a lot."

"Alright. Well, if you think Happy and Amy and the rest of her spirits can handle it for now, let's stick around and just try to get through with this as quick as possible. We might not get another chance."

Reluctantly Natsu agreed, but from there on out he was brisk and rude to everyone, telling them in no uncertain terms that he had to get out of there as quickly as he could. He pissed several people off, and Laxus had to cover his ass by explaining that Natsu had just gotten a lacrima call telling him that his 'wife' had been admitted to the hospital with an injury. Almost instantly they always forgave him on the spot and hurried up the process to their best of their ability.

Within a few minutes he was shown into a room with the frozen people, and he got up close for a good look and sniff at them. He wrinkled his nose, smelling demon magic all over them, but didn't say anything about it. Instead, he hurried to blast the first frozen guard with fire.

It shouldn't have surprised him that the demon ice wasn't easy to melt. But he still wasn't happy that it took at least an hour just to melt one. Might have taken longer.

The police were ecstatic, but he was done. "Alright, look. I'll come back and melt the rest as soon as I've gone and checked on my, uh, ' _wife_.'"

He decided that going with what Laxus had already said was probably his best bet here, even if 'wife' wasn't really the right word for her. He just thought of her as his mate, and knew that she thought of him as both a boyfriend and mate…but not a husband. Not yet. That wouldn't happen until they got married the human way. And he was totally fine with that.

There were a few protests, but mostly he just got thanks, and they let him go without too much hassle. As soon as he could, he poofed back to the celestial realm and then poofed to Lucy's side.

…

Meanwhile…

Finally Lucy was out of surgery and was being carted in a wheelchair back to her room where she could rest and recover before being released. On the way there though, a sudden flash of fire and smoke appeared in the hall, and abruptly Natsu was rushing towards her. All the doctors and nurses yelled and scattered in shock and fright at the sudden appearance of a freaked out dragon – not that they knew he was a dragon… but they certainly saw the distraught young man with pink hair that nearly tackled Lucy.

"Luce what happened?! Shit!" he yelped as he got a good look at her heavily bandaged hand. "What did this to you?!"

"A rabbit on steroids." she said dryly, and Natsu responded hilariously.

He froze and blinked at her for a moment, then squinted and frowned as he worked hard to process the information, and finally his head reared back as her answer hit him.

"A RABBIT?"

"On steroids." she firmly repeated. "It wasn't a normal rabbit. Obviously."

"I guess not. Damn…I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner. I should have just ditched them and come as soon as I felt you get hurt…"

"Don't worry about it Natsu. I had plenty of help. And I'm sure whatever you were doing was really important. There's nothing for you to apologize for."

He still looked like he was about to cry, and she couldn't help but feel a warm bubble of love swell up in her chest. With her good hand she reached over and touched his cheek. "I'm fine Natsu. Really."

By now, everyone had started to recover from the shock of seeing him appear from nowhere, and the questions started up. Lucy explained as quickly as she could.

"This is Natsu, my boyfriend. He's also one of my celestial spirits, so he can summon himself to me. I'm sorry that he startled you all."

Eventually the hullabaloo died down, and they finally made it back to her room where Happy was still waiting for her. They found him curled up on the pillow on the bed, and it was obvious that he'd been crying. He woke up though as soon as she was wheeled in, and he immediately launched himself at her chest.

They were all told that she would need to stay for several hours for observation, and then she could check out. Natsu stayed with her for the first hour, and then she sent him back to the police station. He had explained some of what they'd been doing, and she wanted him to go save those people. She would be fine.

"I'm just gonna take a nap Natsu. I'll be here for a while, so go and do your thing, then check back in. You can take me back to the hotel when you're done. Okay?"

He reluctantly agreed.

…

It took Natsu the rest of the day to finish melting the ice, but he took a break after each one to 'check on his wife' – which meant he transported directly to her and then flew back over to the police station. About the third guard in, he went back to find her ready to go, and so he helped her check out and took her to the hotel before going back to the station.

Late that night, he finally finished melting the last guard's ice shell, and they left with many thanks and a nice tip. Of course, the most valuable part of it all was getting info… finding out that the ice reeked of demon magic and whatever their informant could get from the woken-up guards. Hopefully, Rey would have a description of the demon by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, as soon as Lucy was in her hotel room she summoned Aries, and of course Amy popped up of her own accord. The four of them put their heads together on how they would deal with the rabbit issue.

"They're vicious little buggers. As soon as you guys left and the wool ball disappeared, they all attacked like a pack of wolves or something…no offense Amy."

The white wolf sneezed in response, which Lucy took to mean, _'no problem_.'

"I'm so sorry Miss Lucy…I should have kept the wool ball up until you were safe…."

"Don't worry Aries. You kept it on my hand, and that was the important thing. Speaking of, thank you so much for that. It really helped."

The shy sheep girl blushed and ducked her head.

"But how are we going to get rid of them all? We still don't know how many there are, and what if there are little babies that won't come out? If we leave them behind, they'll die without their moms." Lucy continued.

"I can make sure to push them all out with my wool ball …. Even babies will get caught up in it and pushed out." Aries offered.

"Well that solves one problem. But what do we do with them once they're out?" Amy asked.

"Yeah…as soon as we remove them from the wool they become super nasty!" Happy added, and they all nodded in agreement.

"The only thing I can think of is to buy a bunch of cages."

"I dunno…that rabbit seemed pretty strong."

"Yeah Happy, you're right about that." Lucy sighed, running the fingers of her good hand through her hair and tugging on it in frustration. "So we just need really sturdy cages…or one really big cage. Is there anything like that in the celestial realm aside from Bartolomeo's shield?"

Both Amy and Aries shook their heads. Which left Lucy to heave a sigh. "Well, I guess that means we're going to have to go buy some cages. There goes the money I was going to earn on this mission."

"What're you gonna do with them once you've got them all caged up?" Happy asked, and Lucy felt another headache coming on.

"I guess we're just going to have to fly them out of here. Which means I have to go and do some research in the library…see if I can find some information on these crazy bunnies."

So decided, Aries popped back home in a puff of pink wool, but of course Amy stuck around. A while later Natsu returned, and they heard the door open and shut in the room next to theirs, which suggested that Laxus and Frosch had also retired for the night.

"So…how was your day?" Lucy asked, and Natsu told her some of the details he'd left out earlier. He rushed through it a bit though, so he could ask her the same question.

Exasperatedly, Lucy groaned. "Yeah, we're gonna have to figure out what to do with those stupid bunnies tomorrow. First thing in the morning, I'm heading to the library to see if I can turn up any info that could help, and then…well I guess we've gotta go buy a cage."

"Why don't you ask Bartolomeo to cage 'em for you? You know his shield is strong enough."

"Yeah…but our contract is weird. I can't summon him, he just turns up when he wants to."

Natsu scoffed. "That weirdo…"

By then, Amy and Happy were curled up happily in the comfortable chair together, and Natsu and Lucy were similarly entangled on the bed. After a long pause, Natsu leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers, whispering, "I hate that you got hurt when I wasn't there…"

"I know…" she whispered back. "But it's okay Natsu. In our line of work, it's bound to happen every now and then. Don't beat yourself up over it."

He grimaced and fell silent, only pressing his forehead tighter against hers. "I wish I could heal it for ya Luce…but I'm no good with bones."

"So that only works on flesh wounds? You helped ease the pain of my bruises on Tenrou Island though…."

He shrugged. "Yeah, but they've already got ya all bandaged up and I'd hate to unwrap it only to mess up and have you go back to the hospital."

She sighed, deflating a little. "Yeah…true. Well, maybe we can experiment with it some other time. But whatever the case I-"

She was cut off as his lips pressed to hers. She gasped, but eagerly got into the kiss a second later.

He pulled back for a moment, whispering against her lips, "I can still do something to help, maybe. I dunno if it'll work, but it's worth a try…"

"Sure…" she whispered back, fine with anything he wanted to try – just as long as it didn't involve burning down the hotel accidentally.

His lips sealed back over hers and he asked her to open up by deepening the kiss. She complied happily, sighing through her nose and sinking into his embrace. Very slowly she felt flames begin to trickle into her mouth, much more controlled that usual, as if he was doing it on purpose instead of just spitting them up uncontrollably like usual. She shivered as the heat tickled down her throat, feeling like a very slow shot of whisky, and oh did it feel good. It slid down into her chest and warmed her from the inside out, like the best cup of hot chocolate – more soothing in this small amount than arousing.

He kept up the thin line of flames, and she waited patiently, wondering what he was up to but enjoying it whatever the end goal was. It didn't take her long to figure out what he was aiming for, and she accidentally blinked her eyes open in surprise when she felt his flames shiver in her chest and then branch off down one side only. Usually his fire went straight to her belly – coating her throat, chest, and stomach all the way down to her pelvis before branching out to her limbs as it overflowed her core. This time it didn't even reach her stomach, it turned off and traveled down her shoulder and arm…all the way to her hurt hand.

With her now awkwardly open eyes, she could see his eyebrows scrunched together in deep concentration, as if it was taking a great deal of effort to keep his flames so tightly controlled. It was a little out of character for him to be so careful about it, but she supposed that he could sense her exhaustion. They both knew that if he pounded fire into her, not only would she get insufferably aroused – which couldn't lead anywhere with Happy and Amy in the room – but it would also fill her up with energy that would keep her from getting any sleep. By keeping it a gentle low burn like this and just sending it to where he wanted, it was like a soothing warm bath instead of being dunked headfirst into an aphrodisiacal energy drink mix.

Realizing that her open eyes were glassing over, she let them slide shut again and groaned into the kiss, feeling his fire finally reach her finger tips and then circle around the throbbing wound which – despite all her pains meds – still hurt a good deal. As his fire burned inside her, the pain eased… like a sore muscle under a heat pad. She could feel muscles that she hadn't known were tense from the stress of pain begin to melt. Since the fire was inside her, it didn't burn the bandages - which was a plus - and he kept it there long enough for a lot of the pain to ease, before he pulled back and cut off the supply of fire. Licks of it remained in her system, but they spread out before dispersing into mild heat.

"How was that?" he asked, sounding a little nervous and unsure, and his forehead once again pressed to hers. She could feel long eyelashes tick against her and knew he was peering at her through his pink bangs.

She let her own eyes slide open a little and smiled sleepily at him.

"Amazing. It took away almost all the pain. I hadn't even realized how much it hurt until you did that. Thank you."

A relieved smile lit up his face like he'd just gotten an awesome Christmas present. He ducked in to press a happy kiss to her lips before nuzzling his nose against hers. "Good…"

By then Lucy was slipping into sleep.

"…luvyoo…" she mumbled nearly incomprehensibly, and was already out by the time he whispered, "Love you too, Luce."

…

The next morning, she woke up to banging on the door and grumbled, burrowing her head further into Natsu's scarf that he'd forgotten to take off last night. Normally she made him take it off, for fear it would strangle one of them – despite him scoffing at the notion – but they'd forgotten last night. She had to admit, it made pretty great earmuffs … as did his arm as he snuggled her head. The only problem was that she couldn't breathe, but with the loud thunderous sound still assaulting her ears, she didn't really care.

Maybe those pain meds had affected her more strongly than she'd thought, because she didn't even bother to listen to the increasingly loud tirade from someone trying to wake them up. Apparently it woke up someone though, because the pounding suddenly stopped as the sound of the door unlocking and opening clicked through the room.

On the other side of the door, Laxus was starting to get pissed. He had told Natsu that they'd be getting up early the next day, and it was almost noon. After pounding on the door for at least five minutes, it finally opened to reveal Happy, who was rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Frosch waved hello to her fellow Exceed and he sleepily waved back.

Meanwhile, Laxus glared down at the blue cat, but it wasn't like he could really cuss the little guy out. His voice was still pissed though as he asked, "Where's the flame brained idiot?"

Happy just blinked up at him, looking confused for a moment, and then he pointed at the bed. Laxus leaned to the side and peered in the direction Happy had pointed, and then he recoiled a little at what he saw. In all honesty, he wasn't sure how the hell those two love birds were managing to sleep in the position they were currently in – which he could clearly see since they'd apparently fallen asleep on top of the covers.

Lucy had her head buried somewhere under Natsu's chin and arm – and couldn't possibly breathe. His other arm was tucked up under his head with the forearm folding back down in front of his face, which allowed his hand to tangle in blond hair. Her head was likewise pillowed on her arm…and she had draped her forearm on top of her sleeping partner's face. Her clunky bandaged wrist was resting on his cheek, and Laxus couldn't imagine that was comfortable. Her other arm was wrapped around his waist, and a red coil looped loosely around her forearm. Another coil of the red snakelike thing draped over Natsu's waist and disappeared between them, only to reappear much lower, where her leg was hiked over his hip. The tail emerged from between her legs to wrap around the thigh that was on the bed next to his. Then the red appendage looped back between Natsu's legs, hooked around his hip, and wrapped around her other calf on his thigh. The tip was wrapped around her toe.

That thing was fucking long. Laxus probably shouldn't have stared so long, but it took at least three minutes to track Natsu's tail, which he did just out of sheer shock. Again, he wondered how they slept like that.

After a moment of gawking, he shook himself together and fixed a frown back to his forehead.

"Oi! Get up, Dumbass! We're gonna miss our meet-up with Rey for lunch at this rate!"

Natsu grunted and raised his head – which caused Lucy's hand to slip off his face and land on his neck instead. The dragon stared at Laxus standing in their open doorway, his expression still half-asleep and dull for a moment, but then pink eyebrows slammed down hard over black eyes. Laxus had the distinct impression that he'd just crossed a line he shouldn't have and triggered a reaction in the fire dragon that was going to be rather nasty.

He honestly couldn't care less – he was too pissed to really give a shit.

As for Lucy, she had no idea what was going on, and was still about eighty percent asleep …. up until she was successfully roused by Natsu's body temperature suddenly spiking to dangerous levels. A positively terrifying growl ripped from his chest – which was right under her nose and nearly deafened her. She flinched violently as she woke and poked her head up, which forced Natsu's arm to relocate from on top of her head. He wrapped it instead around her shoulders and grabbed her tightly, while she felt his tail – which was tangled all around her as usual – tighten significantly too. It was only just barely not painful, and edged strongly into uncomfortable.

"Get out!" Natsu snarled, and Lucy craned her neck to look over her shoulder, where she saw a very irritated looking Laxus standing in the doorway.

It took her all of a second to realize that her sleep shorts had ridden up, and he could definitely see way more of her butt than she wanted. She instantly yelped and squirmed to try and cover it up. However, Natsu's tail and arms were utterly absolute in their immobilization of all her limbs, and there was no wiggle room for her to adjust anything about her position or clothing.

Her squirming must have startled Natsu out of whatever rage he'd flown into, because the anger slipped out of his eyes for a moment as he stared down at her in confusion.

When he still didn't let her rearrange herself, she hissed, "Natsu! My ass is on display!"

He blinked down at her for all of a moment before fire flashed through his eyes and another one of those really horrifying growls shook her chest – since it was pressed tight to his. His eyes snapped back up to Laxus and he snapped, "I said get out!"

"I'm not going anywhere till you get up and get moving Flame Ass! We're gonna-"

He was probably going to say something about being late, but he was shut up when Natsu reacted very badly to his refusal. Another blast of heat singed every inch of her, and she felt his body ripple against hers. Her hand was solidly on his waist – urging him to let her go so she could flip the covers over her butt – and so she felt some muscles do really interesting things as they shifted under her palm. Suddenly his wings popped out, one tucked tight against his back along the bed and the other one arched up angrily in the air. It hung there for a moment, almost like a coiled viper in an obviously aggressive pose, and then it fell over her – completely cloaking her body from head to knee.

It took Lucy a moment to realize what had happened when the lights suddenly went out and she found herself in a wing tent. The temperature heated up dramatically, but with her still being sleepy, she found the warmth soothing instead of insufferable. Now that her brief panic over having her ass on display was over, she relaxed back into Natsu and decided to let him deal with it…. Which might not have been the smartest idea.

Meanwhile, Laxus was frozen in place, shocked by the display of possessiveness. Before he could get himself back on track, Natsu made a face that made even him take a step back. When he didn't immediately leave or close the door, the dragon apparently reached his limit. With another growl, flames suddenly coated his body, licking over every inch of him.

"You idiot! You're gonna burn Lucy!" Laxus bellowed, taking a step into the room, ready to pry the unreasonable dragon off her.

He could clearly see fire burning around the bit of her he could see – which was just a calf and foot really – but before he could get to her she had started yelling. Her screams were not of pain though, but of irritation.

"Damn it Natsu!"

She must have thrown an elbow into his gut or something because he suddenly coughed and lurched – spitting fire as he did – and then his wing was shoved off of her. Laxus was horrified when he saw the rest of her and the fire that coiled around her entire body, and he was halfway to the bed before he skidded to a halt. His jaw dropped as she lurched to the side and grabbed up an aerosol lacrima from the nightstand, and then returned to her previous position next to Natsu within a split second – as if it was a well-practiced move.

Then she stood up on her knees and grabbed one of the black horns that were now curling out of Natsu pink hair – which had popped out at the same time as his wings. She gave him a good shake using her grip on his horn, and her free hand brandished the unknown aerosol lacrima almost threateningly.

"How many times have I told you not to set the bed on fire! Look at this! We're going to have to pay damage fees again! Now put it out this instant!"

To Laxus's shock, despite the tongues of flame still flickering around her, she was absolutely unharmed, but he couldn't say the same necessarily for Natsu. His head was at a _very_ submissive angle, tilted according to her grip on him, and his eyes were squeezed shut. The flames flickered and then died with a hiss, but the bedding was still on fire. She released him to spray the leftover fire with the lacrima – in an extremely fast, efficient, and accurate manner that said she'd done this way more than once before.

It was about this time that Laxus realized her clothing hadn't survived the experience nearly as well as she had, and it was starting to flake off in big black pieces – which finally prompted him to spin on his heel and march out of the room, slamming the door behind him. It was only after he had walked down the hall that he realized the implications of what she'd been shouting, and he had to pause for a moment to slam his palm to his face and do his very best not to bust out laughing. Apparently having a fire dragon as a lover was not all fun and games.

Back in the room, all the fires had been put out and they were both getting dressed. Lucy was a little flushed after having realized that her clothes were coming off and Laxus had gotten a really interesting show. Hopefully he hadn't stuck around long enough to see anything important.

"What made you go off like that anyways?!" she finally asked, not sure if she should still be aggravated with Natsu or not.

He pouted, his horns and wings back to normal and his clothing straightened out. Not for the first time Lucy eyed the apparel with more than a little jealousy. While a close encounter with Natsu's fire always left her clothes as ashes, his clothes never even got slightly scorched. They were obviously special and fire resistant, which made sense for a dragon to wear, but that didn't mean that she couldn't be jealous of him for it. It sure would be nice not to lose an entire outfit whenever he got sparky….

Her thoughts were brought back to the conversation at hand when he responded to her previous question.

"It's…a dragon thing I guess…" he mumbled, looking like a kicked puppy.

She just couldn't stay mad at him when he had that look on his face, and she walked over to reach up and rest her hand against his cheek.

"Wanna explain?"

His pout lessened, and he risked a glance up between his pink bangs. "Even though it's temporary, this room is our territory. He busted in here without permission, didn't leave when I told him to, and upset my mate. I was half asleep and my instincts kicked in before I knew what was happening."

That all made perfect sense, and suddenly Lucy was a little sorry she'd gotten so mad at him. Not too sorry though, because he _had_ caused a lot of damage that they would have to pay for.

Still, she reached up on tiptoe and kissed his nose. "Alright. I'm not mad anymore. But please stop destroying stuff. We really can't afford it right now. I'm barely getting paid at that stupid job, and I'm going to have to take a pay cut to buy cages today, so we probably aren't going to go home with any rent money as it is."

"I got a big tip from the guys at the police station for melting all those guards. It should cover _this_ easy enough." Natsu offered, jerking his head at the ruined bed.

A tightness lifted from Lucy's shoulders. "Really?!" she sighed in relief. "Thank Mavis for that."

Suddenly Natsu's attention was diverted. "Hey, how's your hand? The bandage burned off."

She glanced down to see that he was correct, the big bulky dressing had indeed come right off. The wound itself was still pretty ugly, but it looked like it had healed much more than it should have over night.

"Wow…you know, I think whatever you did last night really helped, because it's definitely better. I should probably stop by the pharmacy though and pick up a cheap hand splint, since my bones were broken."

He picked up her hand. "Before you bandage it up again, at least let me take care of this part."

He lit one finger on fire and gently ran it over the nasty deep wound, which had been stitched up. She felt intense heat and winced when it stung a little as her flesh was cauterized, but as before, it just sealed the wound shut without hurting too much, and now she wouldn't have to worry about it opening up again. The stitches also burned out, which meant she didn't have to go back to the clinic to get them removed.

Once he was finished, she inspected it, impressed by the job he'd done, and then grinned up at him.

"Thanks, Natsu!" She reached up and kissed him enthusiastically.

He would have pulled her in closer to deepen the kiss, but a loud clearing of Happy's throat distracted them.

"Ahem! Luuuucy…. I'm huuungry!" he whined, and a loud growl confirmed it from his stomach.

Natsu's stomach answered with a snarl of its own, and Lucy couldn't help but laugh at her two boys. She glanced over at Amy and grinned, sharing a female moment of amusement at men in general.

"Okay boys. Let's go get you something to eat before you wake up the neighbors."

…

After breakfast – which was very much rushed by Laxus, who was eager to get to lunch and their informant – they separated again, and Lucy was off to the library for some research. Naturally Amy had to go back to the celestial realm once they got there, but thankfully Happy was able to come in without any hassle, and they hunted up and down the stacks for any books on uncommon or magical pests. Eventually they had collected a pile big enough to sit down at a table and set to work. Lucy slipped on her magical quick reader glasses and began skimming through the textbooks, hoping to find something of use.

After a couple hours of tedious work, they finally stumbled across the information they needed, and Lucy yelped in excitement.

"Look! Here it is!"

Happy yelped – but for a different reason. Her sound of excitement had startled him awake and caused him to fall off the table, where he'd been sprawled taking a nap.

"A rare but vicious pest known as the 'Bunnicula'…" Lucy paused here to snicker at the stupid name. "…is a vicious white rabbit with red eyes. They normally live in large packs, but do not reproduce as fast as normal rabbits. At any given time, a pack could consist of 20 to 50 rabbits, the largest colony recorded being 62."

At this, both Happy and Lucy went a little pale and shared a horrified look.

"62?" Happy whispered, his eyes wide and terrified. "How would we deal with that many?"

"I don't know Happy." Lucy answered, shuddering before turning her eyes back to the passage. "Let's see…um, right. So, they generally live far away from human population, in the Atlana Mountains, where their natural food source is found – a rare flower called Antixopolin…oh. No wonder this guy is having problems. Check out this picture."

She turned the book a little and Happy crowded in close, staring at the photo of a very familiar looking flower. It was the exact same flower that Mr. Xavier was growing on his plantation.

"It says, this flower is extremely difficult to procure, given that it grows hidden in the Atlana Mountains and is surrounded by colonies of Bunniculas. It's highly sought after though, and used for…wow that's a long list. It can be used for all sorts of medicinal purposes, and also as an aphrodisiac. Of course. No wonder Mr. Xavier is so wealthy. He's probably got the cornerstone on this market and is making bookoo bucks."

"Yeah, but I don't think it's worth it. Not if it attracted those things to his house."

"Good point. So let's see…ah. The Bunniculas are fiercely protective of the flower fields they guard, and are extremely aggressive, strong, and fast. They're exceptionally dangerous and have been known to kill entire groups of adventurers bent on finding the flower. Normal cages, traps, and weapons are useless against them."

The description went on, but it was just more of the same. The long and the short of it was that they were screwed.

Finally, she let the book fall closed with a snap and sighed, resting her forehead in her palm.

"Lucy…" Happy asked, coming up and resting a paw on her shoulder, sounding as worried as her.

"Yeah, Happy, I know. It looks pretty hopeless doesn't it? The only thing we know for sure that works is Aries's wool ball, but it's not like we can really transport anything with that…at least not safely. We need some sort of trap or cage capable of holding them for the entire trip to the Atlana Mountains. And we should really get one big enough to carry all of them, otherwise we'll have to make several trips, and that's just not really feasible."

"How are we going to transport them?"

"I guess…. I guess I'll just have to ask either Natsu or Amy and the pack to fly them there. I hate to ask them for something so strenuous and time consuming…not to mention dangerous…but I really can't think of any other options."

They exited the library and sat in a nearby park, both rather dejected and frustrated by this turn of events.

"Well…I suppose we just have to give it our best shot, huh? Maybe we can knock them all out, and they'll stay out."

Happy shrugged, and Amy – who had popped up and been informed of what they'd found out – likewise shrugged. Then the three of them proceeded to trudge around town, trying to find a place that might have magically reinforced cages. They started at a hunting shop.

Lucy didn't bother looking around the aisles, she just went straight to the front register. "Excuse me. I'm trying to trap a bunch of Bunniculas. Do you have any really sturdy, magically reinforced traps or cages by any chance?"

By the blank confused look on the young man's face, he had no idea what a Bunnicula was. "Um…we do have some very strong traps. But nothing magically reinforced."

Lucy sighed, figuring as much. "By any chance do you know a shop that might sell something like that?"

He thought about it for a moment and then took out a piece of paper and wrote down several names of shops. "These are the only ones I can think of."

She thanked him and left.

Now that they actually had destinations to get to, Happy flew her to save time and Amy trotted along in the sky next to them. The first few places didn't have anything, but after several hours of dedicated searching, they finally hit a shop that sold magically reinforced cages – ones supposedly strong enough to hold Vulcans and such. The only problem was the price…which was pretty steep.

So, Lucy resorted to haggling, which was always a little demeaning, but in this case necessary.

After checking the price tag of the cage she wanted, she took a quick glance in a shiny metal container to check her appearance and spruce a little, making sure her shirt was positioned just right to show off her assets. Then she sauntered up to the register, and leaned forwards to rest her elbows on it – which of course pushed her boobs together.

The guy manning the register glanced up and then down, where his eyes stuck and bugged out of his head. Lucy had to restrain a smirk, knowing she had him.

"Hi there…" she purred. "I'm looking to purchase that big shiny cage over there…the one that's magically reinforced?"

"Uh huh…" he mumbled, then glanced up, his eyes clearing for a second as he realized what she'd said.  
"Wait what? _You_ want to buy _that_?"

She nodded and pouted her lips, making sure to squeeze her elbows in a little to push up her boobs. His eyes flashed back down to where they were supposed to be, much to her relief. But he still mumbled, "What on earth could a pretty girl like you want with that?"

"Well I'm a mage from a guild…and I've been tasked to catch some really big scary monsters." She did her best to look cute and innocent and maybe scared…hoping that she could play off several of his gut instincts.

He glanced back up to her face and noted her big intentionally watery eyes, gleaming with unshed tears – fake of course – and he scowled lightly. "You got stuck with a job like that? How cruel…"

"I know right?" She stood up straight and made a production of running her fingers through her hair in a fake aggravated way, but one that she knew showed off her curves and fanned out the golden strands. When she risked a glance over her shoulder, his eyes were raking her up and down and she made sure to pop her hip out a little to enhance her figure.

She flashed him her fake 'poor me' look – pouting lips and big eyes with a little frown. "I just don't know what to do…. I need that cage, but it's so expensive…. I just can't afford it. I don't suppose you could help me out?"

Of course by now he was catching on a little, but thankfully he seemed only too happy to play along. "Oh you poor thing. Well…I suppose I could do something about the price, but only if you do something to cover the money I cut off."

"Like what?" There was no way she'd be giving out any 'favors,' so she really hoped it was something tame.

"Well, I've been trying to make some advertisements for Hunter's Monthly Magazine – Magic Edition, and I need a model. If you agreed to be my model for a couple of hours, I could give that cage to you for say….5000 jewel."

That was a steal. It was more than 80 percent off, which meant he intended to basically pay her for this modeling job with the cage. Instantly she was in business mode.

"You've got yourself a deal. As long as I don't have to be in underwear or something indecent."

He grinned and cocked an eyebrow. "I won't put you in anything more revealing than the outfit you're currently wearing. Deal?"

They shook on it and agreed to meet after he closed, which was in a couple of hours. So, she set off with a bounce in her step, heading to the small restaurant that she, Natsu, and Laxus had all agreed to meet at for dinner. She arrived first, but it wasn't long before the others showed up, and then they traded progress updates while they ate. Natsu and Laxus told Lucy that they'd finally gotten a description of the demon who had broken into the jail, which was fabulous news.

All Fro had to say was, "Fro thinks so too!" when they all expressed how great it was. She also commented on how good the pie was that she was currently eating. Lucy had grown to really like the cute, mostly quiet, and amazingly positive Exceed over the course of this mission.

After the guys were done describing their success, Lucy shared how her job was going. When she told them about how she'd struck a deal with the cage seller, Laxus busted out laughing.

"You're something else, Blondie. I'm gonna have to watch out for you."

Unlike most boyfriends, Natsu was just amused as well and shot her a proud smirk. "That's my Luce alright."

They all laughed over it, and by the time they were done eating, it was actually time for her to head back over to the shop to fulfill her part of the agreement. Laxus and Natsu decided to tag along for fun.

When they got to the outdoors shop a 'closed' sign was hanging on the door, but the lights were still on and they could see the shop owner bustling around inside. He rushed over to the window and posted up something, then rushed back inside, looking super busy – probably trying to do normal closing up stuff as well as get ready for the photoshoot. Lucy glanced at the poster he'd pasted up in the window with some curiosity. It was an advertisement for the Grand Magical Games.

"Huh. Check this out guys." She pointed it out, and Natsu crowded in immediately to peer at it. Laxus looked at it much more casually over the pinkette's shoulder.

"Looks like a lot of fun!"

Laxus rolled his eyes at Natsu's excited exclamation but looked a little closer. Even he looked intrigued. "Actually…it might not be a bad idea."

By then though, Lucy had moved on and was walking over to the door.

As soon as she tapped on the door, the owner opened up with a big grin. When he caught sight of her guy friends, he just smirked and let them in too. He also had a gleam in his eye as he looked them up and down … and she had the funny feeling that she might not be the only one modeling today.

"Welcome back!" he enthused and bustled around, grabbing stuff and setting everything up. "If you'll just change into this, we can get started."

He handed her a black catsuit, one that was skintight but didn't really show any skin, so she couldn't exactly complain about it. Shrugging, she stepped behind a curtain and switched her clothing, having to basically pour herself into the pleather outfit. She had to admit she looked hot when she glanced it over in the provided mirror, and when she stepped out, all the guys let out some whistles and catcalls. The owner of the shop – who had introduced himself as Greg – gave her a black mask for her eyes and a pair of black cat ears. Once she was all decked out like a cat burglar basically – he set her up, ironically, in a cage.

He'd already cleared out a corner of the store where he had a display earlier, so it left a white corner and a few pedestals for the photoshoot. As soon as she got into the set-up, she was directed through a series of somewhat provocative poses as Greg clicked the shutter.

She started out on top of the cage, perching in various poses – from crouching to draping. Then he asked her to pose in front of the open cage by looping her arms through the door and slinking against it in a sexy manner. Naturally after that, she ended up inside the closed cage, acting as if she had been captured. He asked her to wrap her hands around the ceiling bars and strike several different poses, then grab the door bars and press up against them, and other similar things. It wasn't all that different from the shenanigans she'd been asked to do for Sorcerer Weekly, so she felt perfectly fine doing all the stuff he asked her.

After that set was concluded, he asked if one of the guys would be willing to join in, and offered to give them the cage scot free as an incentive. Natsu agreed and bounced in with a grin. He was given a hunter's outfit…a white tank top that showed off his muscles, loose camo pants, and sturdy hunting boots. A big fancy hunting knife was sheathed on his thigh – which Lucy was sure the shop probably also sold. Then Lucy was given a leopard version of the cat costume, and Greg dragged out some props he used for the window displays – some fake trees, plats of fake tall grass, and a jungle background.

Then, once his makeshift backdrop was set up, he had them pose together like Natsu was hunting her or had caught her. He was given a bow and blunt arrows, and Greg asked him to act like he was aiming at her. Meanwhile, she was either pretending run away or surrender – naturally striking provocative poses while she was at it. They also did a similar set with a magic gun instead of the bow. Then they did a series of photos where he had caught her and was brandishing some sort of weapon the shop sold. Those pictures were a little more embarrassing since they involved a whole lot of dominating poses that normally she wouldn't have put up with – including him throwing her over his shoulder, some hair pulling, and him standing over her. It was mostly embarrassing though because of the stupid comments from the sidelines – thanks to Happy – and the smirks and chuckles that came from Laxus.

She was much more comfortable when they switched positions, and she got to hunt him in his humanoid dragon form, which Greg was absolutely thrilled to discover. She ended up in an outfit similar to the one Natsu had just had on, and he ended up completely naked, covered in red scales, and wearing a loincloth that Greg provided. It wasn't really necessary, because all his business was tucked away when he went full coverage with the scales…but still. His get-up caused plenty of snickers from everyone present, and even he laughed at it. Naturally he was completely unselfconscious about the whole thing, which made the experience amusing and fun rather than awkward or embarrassing.

She got to use a couple of magical whips – once Greg discovered that she had a talent for it – and also a magic gun and some magic chains in that set. In all honesty, she probably enjoyed tormenting Natsu a lot more than she should have, though of course she didn't actually pop him with the whips or do anything to hurt him.

The next series of photos had them modeling various traps, and they repeatedly switched roles as hunter and hunted depending on the trap they were modeling. One had Lucy back in her cat-costume with a foot trap gently clamped on her ankle. That particular trap was meant to rig from a tree, so it was looped over one of the fake branches in their set-up…. though of course the fake tree couldn't possible hold her weight. So instead, she was draped over Natsu's shoulders, her upper half hanging down his front and her foot up in the air like she had been caught in the trap.

After those, he asked if Amy would mind posing in some of the live traps, and she agreed… though she wrinkled her nose a little at the prospect. She was a good sport about it though, and those photos were snapped quickly, since Greg could tell she wasn't too comfortable with them. Then, Greg switched to fishing gear when Happy wanted in on the fun.

All in all, the whole experience ended up being mostly fun and games, and by the end of it they had definitely given him enough pictures to pay for the cage several times over. He was positively delighted by the photoshoot and promised to list their names and say they were from Fairy Tail, which would hopefully give them some good press. Of course, it was in his interest as well, since this was for a magic edition of the magazine. He also threw in a free fishing pole, which made Happy ecstatic.

Then, they returned to their hotel room, lugging the big cage with them.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _The next day, Natsu decided to come with her on the very dangerous bunny eradication job – and to also help her lug the super heavy cage. Plus, she definitely needed his help to transport the little buggers to their mountain home once they'd been captured._

 _Laxus opted out, uninterested in tagging along for fun, so it was just the four of them as they made their way out to the edge of town and the plantation where Lucy had been chewed up only a day ago._


	39. Chapter 39

**Author's Note:**

Hey everyone! Sooooo it's Thursday! Which means I'm one day behind! Oops! I'm sorry!

As always, HUGE thanks to all my fantastic wonderful amazing reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: TheJSmooth, WisdomDragon27, valerioux, Daisy73, Anna5949, Lucinda, SunnieDayys, Lady La-sara, stranger1999, and Wolves silver wind. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewer: Stubenhocker.

Again, so sorry for the late posting. Ack.

So anyways, on with the show! And be sure to stay till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

The next day, Natsu decided to come with her on the very dangerous bunny eradication job – and to also help her lug the super heavy cage. Plus, she definitely needed his help to transport the little buggers to their mountain home once they'd been captured.

Laxus opted out, uninterested in tagging along for fun, so it was just the four of them as they made their way out to the edge of town and the plantation where Lucy had been chewed up only a day ago. They made their way to the tunnel hub like before, and spent some time setting up the cage.

Before they started though, Lucy decided that it would probably be prudent to plug up all the scattered holes throughout the grounds, so she summoned up Scorpio and they all split up looking for holes. Whenever one was found, Scorpio and Natsu would converge on it and work together to plug it up so securely that even a Bunnicula couldn't get out. Scorpio packed it super tight with sand, which Natsu then heated up until it solidified into glass.

They started with the holes furthest away from the hub, hoping that they could fence them in without angering the little irritants too badly right off the bat. It worked, up until they attacked a hole that apparently had a bunny nearby. They certainly didn't know there was a bunny down that tunnel, but they sure found out about it when Happy suddenly yelled a warning from the air that one had just leaped out of a nearby hole and was hightailing it their way. They could hear it coming too. That frightening deep growl was unmistakable, sounding almost like a rabid dog bearing down on them… and a _**loud**_ , _**angry**_ one at that. Natsu and Scorpio did a rush job on the hole and whirled around right as it sprung, aiming for Scorpio's throat.

Lucy was faster though, and she'd been ready for it. She snapped her whip out and popped the little white monster right on the nose, sending it careening away from Scorpio before its sharp teeth could get him. It let out a loud roar – which was simply shocking coming from a rabbit – and that triggered an all-out attack. Suddenly rabbits came from every direction, and they had to make a hasty withdrawal, Scorpio popping back to the spirit realm and the rest of them taking to the sky.

They retreated up the hill and waited for the commotion to die down. Apparently – though they were super aggressive – they also had an attention span comparable to Natsu's. As soon as the enemy was out of sight and smell, they milled around for a bit and then ducked down into their holes again.

Once again, they all gingerly made their way back down into the field, and Lucy re-summoned Scorpio once she was sure the coast was clear. They successfully filled in another handful of holes before the process repeated itself. This time though, one of the rabbits actually managed to bite Natsu on the leg, which predictably infuriated him. By the time that bunny was dashing back to its hole, it was no longer white but charred black and its tail was still smoking.

The third time they went in, they barely got two holes covered before they were under fire. The first Bunnicula flew out of nowhere, aiming right for Lucy's head. Amy intercepted it though, launching herself forwards and grabbing it out of midair with wide open jaws. They proceeded to have a battle of wills then as the white wolf landed with the bunny securely gripped. Of course it fought back, tearing at her muzzle with sharp claws. She quickly unlatched her jaw, swinging her head to throw it away from her. However, it clung to her and kept scratching and biting rabidly at her face. Other rabbits poured out of the woodwork by that point as well, so it wasn't like Natsu or Lucy could rush to her aide.

"Open! Gate of the Ram!" Lucy screamed, and Aries popped into being.

Thankfully she knew what to do and sent out a massive wool ball that calmed down all the Bunniculas, and then she wrapped a cloud of the stuff around Amy's head. That allowed the wolf to easily shake the barnacle-bunny off her face, and they all made a speedy getaway. Once they were safe, everyone crowded around Amy, taking a look at her scratched up face. Thankfully none of the scratches were too bad, and her eyes were safe, but Lucy still firmly sent her back to the celestial world to heal up.

The remaining three rested on the hilltop, relatively pleased with the progress they had made, but still quite shaken. They had only managed to fill up half of the holes, and they not only still had to fill the rest of the holes, but also catch the bunnies themselves – which was infinitely more dangerous.

Unknown to the three on the hill, a certain infuriated wolf paid a little visit to a very stubborn turtle spirit in the celestial realm.

…

Lucy, Natsu, and Happy were just gearing up to go down into the bunny minefield once again, when suddenly there was a green poof and Bartolomeo popped up.

Lucy gasped, first with surprise and then excitement. "Bartolomeo! It's so good to see you! We could really use your help, if you wouldn't mind."

He huffed and flushed a little – which she'd noticed he did a lot oddly enough – and glanced away from her. "Of course I'm here to help. Why else would I have shown up?"

"Uh…right. Of course." she deadpanned, blinking a little to recover from his snarky reply.

Natsu scoffed.

"You are such a jackass!" he laughed and gave Bartolomeo a friendly punch in the shoulder.

The celestial tortoise was utterly unaffected and just raised an eyebrow and smirked sideways at Natsu as he cussed and shook his hand, as if he'd hurt himself instead – which chances were, he _had_ , given Bart's impenetrable shield.

Smirk still in place, he shook out his maroon trench coat and tugged on the lapels in a, _'that's right, I'm bad_ ,' sort of way.

Watching the two of them interact, Lucy couldn't help but feel they were relatively well acquainted with each other… possibly even friends. Snorting her amusement, she herded the two ornery celestial spirits with her back down into the valley of bunny death.

"All right, with your shield we should be able to do this no problem."

"Right. So…what exactly are you guys fighting?" Bart asked, absentmindedly scratching a pointy elf-looking ear.

"Rabbits." Lucy said dully.

He looked at her for a moment with a totally blank expression. Then he busted out laughing.

"You're kidding right? Rabbits?!"

"They're not your everyday bunnies though … they're killer bunnies. I don't suppose you're familiar with Bunniculas are you?"

"Nope!" he snorted, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes as he continued to snicker uncontrollably.

Natsu was just rolling his eyes and snorting at Bart's amusement… up until the turtle decided to taunt him. "Seriously? The big bad fire dragon is being beaten up by bunnies?!"

That got a scowl from her fiery partner as he glared at the newcomer to the situation. "Oi! Like Lucy said, these are killer bunnies! Just wait till you see them…then you won't be laughing."

"HA!"

"Alright, alright, whether you believe us or not, you'll get to see for yourself. Now, how do we want to go about this? We've still got a bunch of holes to fill."

Bart shrugged, and she supposed he'd just figure out what to do with his shield when the time came for it. So they all headed down into the valley – mainly because Natsu had lost his patience and looked like he was going to try punching the green haired snickering spirit again.

As before, Lucy summoned Scorpio, and they set about filling in the hole furthest away from the hub while Happy stayed airborne to keep a lookout. It wasn't until the next hole that they got a result from the bunnies, and their lookout yelled the warning.

"Here they come!"

Right on cue, at least ten of the little suckers charged at them, their speed taking Bartolomeo somewhat by surprise. He still managed to get a shield up around them as Natsu and Scorpio continued to fill in that hole, but it was a close call and more than one rabbit smacked into the light green see-through barrier at full force.

"Woah!"

"See?! They aren't exactly cute and cuddly are they?!" Natsu shouted over the loud snarls and roars of the enraged bunnies, who were doing their absolute best to try and chew through the shield.

They managed to fill in that hole, and then shuffled their way to the next, all hunkered down under the shield and taking it with them. By now, the bunnies were tearing at the ground too to try and get under the shield, so Bartolomeo had to constantly adjust it. It was just a good thing that – while they were insanely strong and fast – they didn't seem to be especially speedy diggers. Happy hovered in the sky over them, directing them to the next hole from his higher up, bunny-free perspective.

In this manner they managed to fill in the last of the outlying holes, and then decided to withdraw and let the bunnies calm down for phase two of their plan. Bart opened up a hole in his shield so that Natsu and Lucy could fly out, and then he constructed himself stairs out of the barrier. As soon as he was off the ground, he terminated the barrier below him, and once they were high enough, he just constructed a road to walk along beside them as they flew back to the overlooking hill. The barrier behind him fell away as he walked, so only the road directly under him stuck around.

As soon as they landed on the hill, they went over the next phase of Lucy's plan. "So now that we have all the holes plugged except for the ones in the main bunny hub, it's time for phase two."

"What's phase two?"

"I'm going to summon Aries and she'll send her wool ball down into the holes, collecting all the bunnies and funneling them up out of the holes in the hub. We'll wrap them with wool and then deposit them into the large cage we've already put down there. Hopefully we won't have any problems, but if you don't mind sticking around Bart, it would definitely make me feel better about it."

He just shrugged. "Sure."

So, as soon as the bunnies had all gone back down into the holes, they converged on the hub. As planned, Aries smooshed her wool ball down into about half of the holes, while the other half were shielded by Bartolomeo, just in case a rabbit decided to run from the incoming pink mass.

Soon enough, the wool had traveled through every bit of tunnel, and Aries assured them that she had collected anything that was in those holes. Bart removed the shields so that the wool could start coming out, and they each took a hole, scanning the wool that emerged for rabbits very, very carefully. The empty wool disappeared as soon as they had inspected it. Every time they found a rabbit though, they grabbed up the wool, wrapped it around the bunny, and took the whole bundle over to the cage where they deposited it through a small hole in the top. It took a long time before they had collected every single bunny and piled them into the cage. At that point they closed it off and Aries poofed back to the celestial realm, totally tuckered out after the huge wool ball she'd just created.

As soon as the wool disappeared, the bunnies went ballistic inside the cage, bouncing around it like crazed super balls, and pausing to gnaw and scratch at the bars. The metal creaked warningly, and Bart instantly wrapped it with his shield to help make sure they didn't escape.

The next step was to fly them to the Atlana Mountains and then release them back into the wild, but to do that Natsu had to actually get a grip on the cage.

"Don't suppose you could make a handle or something?" he asked Bart, who just smirked smugly and waved a hand. A handle popped out of the top.

With that, Natsu grabbed the cage, Happy grabbed Lucy, and Bart parked himself on top of the cage – much to Natsu's displeasure. His red wings spread and arched up, blasting a hot gale through the fields and sending Happy and Lucy twirling through the air a little.

"Note to self, take off after Natsu." Lucy muttered to herself, and Happy responded with, "Aye sir!"

They dove back down to the two guys, who were in the middle of arguing about Bartolomeo's perch.

"Get off! You're heavy!"

"Oh please, like you can't carry twice this weight."

"In my true form I could carry a hundred of you easy!" He took off, grunting dramatically. "Damn…you weigh a ton though."

"Are you calling me fat?!"

"Maybe! Most turtles are round you know!"

They bickered the whole way, Natsu threatening to drop him more than once. It was a long flight, and they were all more than a little cranky by the end of it. None of them were sad to see the rabbits go when they finally reached the Atlana Mountains. The rabbits had already chewed through the cage, so Bartolomeo just opened up a hole in the bottom of his barrier and they dropped all the Bunnicula into a promising looking meadow. Then they promptly hightailed it back to the plantation.

They arrived late evening, but not so late that Lucy felt she couldn't ring the doorbell.

The butler met her, Natsu, and Happy at the door and politely led them into a sitting room. He disappeared for a moment, and then reappeared a while later to lead them into the office that Lucy had met Mr. Xavier before.

When they got there, he was already sitting behind his desk, and didn't look too happy. His eyes glanced over Natsu derisively. "Couldn't complete the job by yourself I see."

Lucy scowled. "Natsu is a part of my team."

"Hm. Well, the pay remains the same either way. I hope you didn't think to get more money by just bringing in a new 'team member.'"

Natsu tensed up next to her and she could feel a wave of irritated heat escape him. Before he could say something stupid, she hurried to speak. "Right. Understood. Speaking of payment, we've just completed the job. You were infested with a pack of Bunnicula, which we returned to the Atlana Mountains. You might have problems with them again sometime in the future though, because those flowers you're growing out there are their natural food source. With that many, it's bound to attract more at some point."

Mr. Xavier narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't be saying that to cover your tracks, now would you? Are you unsure as to whether you completely eradicated the population?"

"We are Fairy Tail wizards Mr. Xavier. Fairy Tail wizards don't lie about completing a job, and we don't do jobs half-assed." Lucy gritted out, starting to wish she _could_ sick Natsu on him.

"If you don't believe us, how about you go out there and check yourself? Or are you too scared of a few rabbits?" Natsu taunted.

"If you have done your jobs correctly, there won't be a few rabbits for me to be scared of."

"I can assure you, we've done our jobs correctly." Lucy countered.

"Hm. I will have my workers ascertain that fact. Come back tomorrow at 1:00 PM sharp. That will be plenty of time for them to conduct a thorough inspection."

With a terse nod, Lucy agreed silently and spun on her heel, marching out of the mansion at top speed. They continued down the road and into town, and soon Natsu burst.

"What the hell was with that guy?!"

She sighed. "Unfortunately, Fairy Tail doesn't command the respect it used to."

"What d'you mean?"

She cringed a little. Lately they hadn't gone on a lot of jobs together, since he'd been doing more recon to find Tartarus. And on the ones he _had_ been on, she had sent him to the celestial realm and conducted the business part of it – talking to the people who hired them – by herself. Precisely for this reason. She'd rather not have her money docked after he threw a temper tantrum and burned the place to the ground. At the moment, she just didn't have the kind of cash flow necessary to deal with his destructive tendencies.

She supposed she did owe him an explanation though, so with another sigh she admitted, "On almost every job I've gone on lately, the patron is suspicious, shocked that I even came, and even more shocked when I complete the job. It's like they expect me to fail at every turn, and they usually aren't nice about it. Like this guy. He's obviously only hired us because we're the cheapest option, and he's treating us that way."

"So on all the jobs you've been taking, people have been treating you like shit?!"

Judging by his tone, she could predict a dragon temper tantrum in the workings.

"Yeah. Basically."

He growled, and a blast of hot air came off him. "There's gotta be a way to get back the respect we once had."

"Hopefully. But I just don't know how…. Natsu? What are you doing?"

They were walking down a somewhat busy street, bustling with the dinner crowd, and he had stopped to stare at something pasted on the wall of a small restaurant. He ripped it off and bounded back towards her with a broad grin.

Shoving the piece of paper in her face, he exclaimed, "This! This is how we'll get back respect! If we win, nobody'll mess with us."

She grabbed the thing and pushed it back some so her eyes could actually focus on the writing. She was blinking down at a poster advertising the Grand Magic Games. "Oh. This again…" As she stared at it a little more and read the description though, she also started to get excited. "You know…this might actually work."

Without second guessing herself, she folded it up and tucked it in her purse, definitely intending to show it to Master Makarov as soon as they got home. At the moment, she was just too tired to really give it any hard thought though, and they plodded back to the hotel room where they promptly passed out.

…

The next day, they arrived back at the mansion at the appointed time and were shown directly to Mr. Xavier's study this time. He was waiting for them, and promptly launched into speech as soon as they stepped through the door – but he didn't look up from whatever papers he was dealing with on his desk.

"Ah. You. My workers were able to conduct a thorough search of the premises and concluded that you have indeed successfully eradicated the pests."

"Right. Like we said." Natsu grumbled … and then grunted when Lucy elbowed him in the ribs.

"Excellent. So now that you're satisfied with the job, could we discuss the matter of payment?" she asked instead, using her best polite but no-funny-business tone.

"Yes. Here is the agreed upon amount. Count it if you wish."

He held out an envelope, and Lucy took it. Since he hadn't trusted them to properly complete their job, she decided not to trust him on correctly dishing out the jewel, so she did count it. It was missing half. The payment was only 10000 jewel, but he had given her 5000.

"Um, you're missing half of the 10000 jewel."

"That was for damages to the flowers, which likely happened when you were so crudely plugging up those holes."

Lucy gritted her teeth, but Natsu was more verbal. "We barely touched your precious flowers! Which – by the way – were the reason those rabbits were here to begin with!"

"My workers keep a very close tally on all the plants, and at least three were burned and another looked like it had been sat on. You were warned when you took this job that any damages would be taken out of your paycheck."

"You've got thousands of plants out there! Four or five won't hurt you at all! And Lucy spent about 10000 at the hospital! If you're gonna dock her pay for five burned flowers, then you'd better pay the hospital bill!"

Mr. Xavier cocked an eyebrow, unamused. "It's not my fault that you were hurt. You have your own ineptitude to thank for that. I am certainly not going to pay for your mistakes out of my pocket."

Fire burst around Natsu's fists and he snarled, looking like he was second away from setting the whole place ablaze. Lucy hurried to clamp her hand down on his forearm. "Natsu. It's fine. I did agree to pay for damages, and those plants do produce an expensive crop. It's fair. The pay is ridiculously low for a life-threatening job, but we did agree to this contract. However-" She turned back to Mr. Xavier. "Fairy Tail will not be accepting any more of your jobs unless the pay is appropriate to the service requested. Furthermore, if in the future, a job that you post turns out to be much more dangerous than advertised, there will be a large fee. This was almost an S-Class ranked mission, and beyond life-threatening. So consider yourself warned."

Mr. Xavier scoffed. "Oh please. Like you would be able to command a price any higher than mine. You'll all starve if you turn up your noses at low prices."

"We'll see about that Mr. Xavier. Good day."

As always, she found herself spinning sharply on her heel and storming out of the mansion, more than happy to leave it behind and never return.

"I hope he gets more of those Bunniculas!" she growled as they stomped through the fields and back into the city towards their hotel. They were all packed and ready to head back to Magnolia.

"He probably will. And deserves it too…the dick."

"Aye Sir!"

"You know what?! We _**are**_ going to enter Fairy Tail in the Grand Magic Games! Let's show that bastard what he was messing with!" Lucy snapped, pulling the flyer out of her pocket, and rousing cheers of agreement met her statement.

When they met up with Laxus, he agreed as well, and as the grandson of the current master – and probably the next master – he went ahead and signed them up.

After that it was time to head home, so they all headed to the train platform to purchase tickets back to Magnolia. Lucy grimaced though and gave the prices a hairy eyeball. She'd already spent everything she was going to make on this stupid misadventure on hospital fees and had even gone into the red and spent more than what she'd made. So purchasing another train ticket was not exactly appetizing to her wallet.

"I don't suppose what you made on your scouting mission would cover the hotel bill, the damage fees, and the train tickets…" she mumbled.

Natsu cocked an eyebrow. "If you don't wanna ride the train, I can always just fly you home. You know I'd rather that anyways."

Her mind was blown. Shockingly, the thought had never actually occurred to her…maybe because it seemed really unfair – like she was using him or something. Also, it could be rather tiring.

"Well…Happy? Do you think you could make it as long as you didn't have to carry me?"

"Oh yeah, no problem." Happy shrugged, seeming perfectly fine with the idea.

"Then…I suppose if it's not too much trouble…"

At that, Natsu actually laughed out loud. "You're kidding right? Come on, get on already and let's get the led out!"

"Oh, wait…. what about my luggage?"

"Just send it with Sparky."

There had to be a story behind that nickname, especially when Laxus didn't verbally respond. Without even looking up, he just snapped his fingers and a rather sizable bolt of electricity jumped from his hand to Natsu. The dragon yelped and his hair poofed out. He rounded on the lightning dragon slayer with a series of cusses that would impress a sailor.

All Laxus had to say about it was, "I warned you Fire-Breath…. Don't call me that."

"Fro remembers!" his Exceed backed him up with a perky voice completely at odds with her partner's menacing glare.

Lucy would have probably keeled over laughing… if it hadn't looked like Natsu was about to actually pick a fight with Laxus. That was one bill that she _really_ couldn't pay, so she snagged his scarf as he started stomping in the other blond's direction.

"Natsu…don't you DARE start a fight here."

He froze in place and then slowly turned his head to eyeball her over his shoulder with a slightly apprehensive expression.

Thankfully, that successfully derailed the impending collision, and Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as her boyfriend fully refocused on her.

Eventually they did set off, and Lucy, Natsu, and Happy all flew, while Laxus and Fro rode the train. They reconvened on the other side so Lucy could get her luggage, and then they set off for home. They ran by the guildhall first though to let them know that the missions had both been a success, and Laxus also had the fun job of letting Master know that he had signed them up for the Grand Magic Games. Makarov wasn't exactly happy that they'd done it without his permission, but after a big blustering yelling fit intended to scare the absolute bejeesus out of them, he perked back up to his normal self and agreed that it was a good idea.

They staggered out of the guildhall a while later, shaken but overall pleased with the outcome.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _The Games were set to take place in one month, which would give them all ample time to train…. an endeavor which Lucy did her best to not liken to the time directly before the S-Class Trials, for fear that she might jinx it all._

 _The two teams split up, Team B heading into the mountains to train, while Team A decided to isolate themselves on a tropical island getaway._


	40. Chapter 40

**Author's Note:**

Alright! Back on schedule people! Yay!

As always, a HUGE thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Anna5949, Donthedarkdragon26, Lucinda, valerioux, Leomae2.0, TheJSmooth, Firefly9917, Stubenhocker, quidditchChick6, WisdomDragon27, and ravenqueen162. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Littlepurplething and tataland.

Without further ado, on with the show! And you know the drill, there's a sneak peek at the end, so check it out. ;D

* * *

Shortly after their return, Makarov announced to the rest of the guild that they had entered the Grand Magic Games. He also announced who would participate.

According to the rule book, they were allowed to enter up to two teams of five, for a total of ten guildmembers, into the competition. After further research, thanks to Levy, they found out that many guilds – particularly large ones – did send two teams, but both rarely made it through the preliminary elimination round. Naturally it was a unison agreement that they should send two teams, since Fairy Tail operated under a, " _go big or go home_ ," sort of mentality. It was also good to know that – aside from the master – anyone from their guild could be a backup in case one of the official team members got injured.

And thus, Fairy Tail Team A and Team B were formed. Team A consisted of Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Juvia – while Team B had Gajeel, Mira, Wendy, Laxus, and one last surprise member.

Erza had returned with the new 'Mystogen' in tow. There was some trepidation about including Jellal in such a public endeavor – after all, there was a chance that he could be exposed – but he was determined to prove himself as a new part of the guild. Normally, there would be little chance of discovery while wearing Mystogen's very unrevealing garb … but in a fight, there was every possibility that his hood or mask could be ripped off. However, he seemed relatively secure, and Lucy suspected he had more than one trick up his sleeve to disguise himself should the worst come to pass.

The Games were set to take place in one month, which would give them all ample time to train…. an endeavor which Lucy did her best to not liken to the time directly before the S-Class Trials, for fear that she might jinx it all.

The two teams split up, Team B heading into the mountains to train, while Team A decided to isolate themselves on a tropical island getaway.

When they got there, Lucy certainly wasn't unhappy about the arrangement. Frankly, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to get _any_ training done… what with all the sunbathing, swimming, sightseeing, and relaxing that this beautiful place was practically demanding of her.

In contrast though, Happy was _**not**_ pleased with the situation, because he was sulking about being separated from Carla for a whole month. It had been his choice to tag along with Lucy instead of Team B and Carla, but he seemed to be potentially regretting that decision. She knew that the blue and white cats had actually just started dating – whatever that meant for the felines – so she could understand him being mopey about getting separated so soon after becoming a couple.

To cheer him up, Lucy pointed out, "Hey Happy, look at all those jumping fish out there! I bet that outcropping of rock would be a perfect place to fish."

Thankfully it worked, and her little blue companion instantly perked up at the thought of both his favorite pastime and his favorite food. He immediately chirped, "Aye Sir!" and set off down the coastline, already pulling out his fishing pole.

Meanwhile, the first stop for the rest of them was to check out the cabana that came with the island.

This island getaway had actually been lent to them from an anonymous donor who had simply said they wanted to see Fairy Tail return. It was incredibly generous gesture, and they certainly weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth…. aside from Erza, who immediately conducted a thorough inspection of the entire island from top to bottom, to make sure it wasn't a trap. The only thing abnormal about it that she could find was the incredibly lush and diverse vegetation, as if this whole island was the private tropical greenhouse of a really talented gardener.

The rest of them were all satisfied when their temporary home met her strict requirements, and nobody else bothered to do a search, despite her disapproving stares.

Once she had concluded her investigation, they all headed to the cabana that was located in the center of the island. As soon as they came within sight of it though, Lucy had to stop and stare for a moment, feeling a sensation of familiarity wash over her. It was a small two-story house and looked almost exactly like a small copy of their original guildhall…. so much so that it took her breath away.

She wasn't the only one to pause either. Both Gray and Erza also stalled a little and stared at it with equally surprised looks.

"Um, guys? Is it just me, or does that look a whole lot like….?"

"Our guildhall. Yes it does." Erza responded firmly. "I passed by on my inspection of the island, but I was so preoccupied looking for traps that I didn't notice the similarity."

"Wow. Holy shit." Gray muttered, shaking his head a little. "Do ya suppose whoever built this was a member of Fairy Tail or something?"

"It's possible. Whoever built this obviously loved Fairy Tail a great deal. Perhaps they left the guild and got homesick?" Juvia suggested timidly.

She and Natsu had hung back a little while the others gawked at the building in front of them. Since they hadn't spent any time in the old guildhall, it didn't affect either of them nearly as strongly as it did Erza, Lucy, and Gray – who had spent a large part of their adolescence there.

After shaking off the momentary nostalgia, they all crossed the last distance between them and their loaned home…. Largely because Natsu lost his patience and started forwards without them. With a groan, Lucy followed – slightly worried he might break something – and the rest followed.

The inside was homey and comfortable, with a small kitchen and sitting area downstairs and one small bedroom. There were two big bedrooms upstairs, and each had its own bathroom – even the small one downstairs.

Surprisingly, Erza volunteered to take the small downstairs bedroom.

Everyone blinked at her in surprise. When given a choice in the matter, Erza was notorious for picking the largest room available for her sleeping space, and she had a tendency of being very picky about it. It was similar to how she liked larger pieces of cake. Save the soul of anyone who tried to give Erza a small piece of cake…. unless it was the last piece of course.

When everyone stared a little too long, she frowned and asked, "What seems to be the problem? Did one of you want this bedroom?"

"Oh, uh…I just thought you would want one of the larger rooms. You know, for all your armor and…luggage." Lucy said quickly, sensing irritation from the redhead.

It was true. As usual, Erza was lugging behind her a cart piled high with luggage of every shape and size. It was no wonder why she always favored larger accommodations. It was practically a necessity.

Erza's scowl smoothed. "Oh, is that all? Yes, it's true that I tend to sway towards the larger rooms…. However, in this case it only makes sense for me to take these quarters. You two are couples, and therefore will house together, am I right?"

Lucy slightly flushed at the implication, but not much because everyone already knew that Natsu slept with her…even long before they became a couple. In fact, Erza had given him multiple lectures on the matter in the beginning, attempting to teach him proper manners when it came to women and their beds and sleeping with them without their consent. For once though, she hadn't been able to get through to him, and the rest was history. Natsu had never stopped sneaking into Lucy's bed. So by now she was hardly embarrassed by the notion. Juvia, on the other hand, flushed a bright pretty pink and got all flustered, acting very shy, silly, and excited about the whole thing.

Meanwhile, neither of the guys blinked at it. Gray simply shrugged in silent agreement, and Natsu grinned at Erza and said, "Sounds like a plan!"

Then he spun and tugged Lucy up the stairs behind him. "Come on Luce, let's drop off your bags and get back out on the beach!"

Gray and Juvia followed at a much more reasonable pace.

By the time she had done as he suggested and dropped off her luggage, she'd managed to calm him down a little – at least reining him in enough to reconvene with the others back in the kitchen instead of dragging her to the beach.

"Alright, now that we're settled, let's discuss our training regimens for the next month." Erza barked as they assembled. "First, let's all list our goals here."

She whipped out a light pen and drew up a chart with their names listed across the top. For each name, she used a different colored light pen, and then handed out those pens once she was done.

When nobody else stepped up, she started them off by writing her goals underneath her name in bright red. Then, when it was done, she tapped the first item on her list and said, "I think we should all aim to access our Second Origin as one of our goals."

"Second Origin?"

"Yes. You see, every mage has an 'Origin' – which is the technical term for your reservoir of magic. It's the container inside your body that you store magic in. Your 'Second Origin' is essentially a part of your magic reservoir that you normally don't have access to. However, if you can unlock this second part of your reservoir, you can almost double the magic you have access to. You can choose to constantly use it or store it for a tramp card in a battle. In either case, it's exceptionally useful."

After hearing it explained, achieving their respective Second Origins did sound like a really good thing to aim for.

Predictably, after Erza, the next person to approach the chart was their resident hyperactive dragon.

"I'm fired up now!" he yelled, and then bounced out of his chair and started writing on the chart. Almost instantly, he pulled back and glared at the pen. "Why is mine pink?!"

Erza wasn't even fazed. "I figured it was appropriate."

Natsu seemed dangerously ready to start a fight, so Lucy stood up and joined him at the chart to distract him. "Our goals are probably going to be the same right? Or at least one of them is, because I know we've talked about aerial training before."

Thankfully the tactic worked and Natsu turned back to the board with a grin. What he wrote though, didn't really translate well, because what he put was, _"Teach Luce how to ride me."_

Everyone stared at it for a long moment. And then Lucy face-palmed, Gray busted out laughing, Juvia cringed, and Erza turned as red as her hair. As for Natsu, he just looked confused by everyone's reaction. "What?!"

"Are you really that stupid Flame-for-Brains?!" Gray guffawed, almost crying because he was laughing so hard.

Even Juvia was a little flushed and seemed like she was having a hard time keeping a straight face. "Natsu…that sounds kind of…inappropriate." she said a little timidly and then her eyes brightened, and she turned to whisper something into Gray's ear.

He turned red, choked on his spit, and his laugh switched from guffaws to chokes. "N-no! We can't put that on the board!"

She pouted, and Lucy couldn't help but wonder just what she had suggested. Most of her attention though was on erasing the words from the board. "How about you write it differently?"

He just looked at her strangely. "What, you want me to reverse it? Because I'm not gonna be riding you."

And once again everyone devolved into fits of giggles, groans, and blushing.

"What is wrong with you people?! She doesn't have wings! I can't ride her!"

That only made things worse, and it was a long while before things were calm enough for Lucy to haltingly suggest, "How about just write, 'flight training'…okay?"

He shrugged and did as she suggested, shaking his head and muttering under his breath the whole time about how everyone was a bunch of weirdos. He also added in, "get stronger," and, "train in dragon form." When she looked questioningly at the second he explained, "You said you wanted to learn how to fight with me in that form. We can't do that unless we train."

"I don't know if the Arena for the Grand Magic Games is going to be big enough to handle your dragon form." Lucy mused, having never seen it.

"Actually, according to Levy, the arena is large enough for an entire city to be placed within it." Erza said.

"Really? Wow… I never imagined it would be that huge. Alright Natsu, we'll work on that too."

When it came to her, she wrote on the board in glittering gold, "Urano Metria," and, "get stronger," just like Natsu. He shared a grin with her when she wrote it.

Then Juvia and Gray took their turn at the chart and wrote similar sorts of things, listing specific attacks they wanted to work on or just generalizations.

After they had all written down their goals, they set off to start training. Gray and Juvia went to train in the ocean far down the beach, Erza went in the opposite direction but stuck to the sand, and Natsu and Lucy parked relatively close to the cabana.

To start with, Lucy decided it would be best to train with her newest spirit, Capricorn, who she had met on a mission not too long ago. At the time, he had been possessed by a dark mage, but as soon as she managed to free him, he had immediately given her his key. Even more amazing, he had told her that he'd been one of her mother's spirits – just like Aquarius. They were both delighted to meet, and Lucy was looking forwards to working with him.

Of course Natsu wasn't ecstatic to find out that she wouldn't be training with him, and he set off after Erza to try and pick a fight. So she was left alone to summon Capricorn.

"Open! Gate of the Goat! Capricorn!"

With a puff of white smoke, the impeccably dressed goat spirit appeared out of nowhere and bowed. "Hello Lady Lucy, how may I be of service today?"

Like most of her spirits, he was human in shape – but in his case, he possessed the head, tail, and feet of a goat. His choice of dress was similar to Leo's – since they both wore suits – but Capricorn's was quite a bit fancier. He wore a tux with the full accoutrements, including a waistcoat and coattails, which made him look almost like butler. The pitch-black sunglasses though made him look more like a body guard…. which was appropriate, since his specialty was hand-to-hand combat. Similar to Taurus, he possessed a great deal of physical strength – though not as much as the bull spirit – and he utilized that prowess to wield his mastery over all hand-to-hand combat styles with devastating effect.

"Hello Capricorn! I called you today hoping you would be able to help me train. We signed up for the Grand Magic Games and have a month to prepare for it."

"I see. In that case I would be honored to help you prepare for such an important event. We should start with meditation and increasing your magic intake."

With a sigh Lucy nodded, and folded her legs up under her to park on the warm sand.

"I take it you have done this before?"

"Yeah. In fact, I did it not too long ago in preparation for the S-Class Trials."

"Then this should be simple. I will observe and offer advice."

She nodded again and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Quieting her mind, she forced herself to focus on her breathing and trying to feel for the magic inside her. As usual, it took forever and a day, and she was still straining to find it when Capricorn began to guide her.

"Feel the land, the wind, the air. Focus on that sensation. You must control your breathing and try to become one with nature."

Refocusing her attention the way he described, she started to feel her magic well up inside her all on its own, and she focused even harder… until the wind began to circle around her. It picked up sand on its way but was gentle enough that she didn't feel distressed or uncomfortable, and she simply assimilated that sensation into her meditation as she melded her magic even more tightly with the surrounding nature.

"That's it Lady Lucy. Well done."

They continued in this manner, with Capricorn urging her to release more magic from time to time.

By the time they were done, Lucy was exhausted. She had filled her reserves only to expend them, over and over, absorbing magic from her surroundings before turning around and releasing it back to nature. It was a completely different sort of meditation than the kind she was used to. It was a constant in and out, making her feel a little like a busy train station – which was extremely tiring – but she could definitely feel her Magic Origin being exercised.

She was definitely ready to call it a day though after doing it for most of the afternoon, and Capricorn dispersed in a white puff and a bow. The sand was warm and soft, and she let herself indulge in laying down and resting on it for a long moment to catch her breath. Her magic slowly settled down to a low hum and then eventually went back to its normal gentle glow.

Her rest was abruptly interrupted though when a particularly aggressive boom sounded from across the island and shook the ground enough that the coconut trees around her started dropping their loads. She'd been hearing the sounds of battle from the direction that Natsu had run off to, but the noises of violence had been ignorable up till now. However, it sounded like their fight was getting closer, and it certainly _felt_ like it. Lucy yelped and jumped to her feet, then dodged the coconuts now falling heavily from the trees by hopping, skipping, and jumping around like a crazy person.

One zipped by her nose and she squeaked, rearing back and throwing herself off balance. She wind-milled her arms desperately, but still fell backwards onto her butt. Then she quickly spread her legs as another fell right between them. She stared down at the coconut wedged into the sand between her thighs, and then scowled, feeling irritation well up inside.

She grabbed the coconut and then stomped towards the sounds of battle nearby. Soon enough, she came across Erza and Natsu roughhousing on the beach.

"Natsu!" she yelled, but he was too busy having fun fighting Erza.

With a growl, she hefted the coconut in her hand, and then lobbed it in his direction. Being a whip master, she had a good aim and managed to bean him right on the noggin. Of course Lucy wasn't exactly a weight lifter, so the coconut didn't really hit him hard, but it definitely shocked him and he reared back.

"What the…?" he sputtered, looking around wildly to see what had just popped him on the head. He finally glanced down to see the coconut in the sand, and Lucy stood still and quiet with her arms crossed as he scowled and picked it up.

"A freaking coconut? Where the hell did this come from?"

Erza was just watching the proceedings with a somewhat confused and slightly amused expression on her face, while Lucy cocked one hip and let her foot start tapping on the sand – waiting for Natsu to look up at her.

When black dragon eyes finally landed on her, his eyebrows shot up on his forehead. "Lucy! Hey, what's up? Do you know where this coconut came from?"

She pursed her lips and pointed back the way she had come. "Yeah…. It came from a tree and nearly brained me! You two have been fighting so hard that it shook the ground and made all the coconuts fall from the trees! How about let's _not_ destroy the island or kill each other while we're training?!"

He stared at her and blinked, and then a broad grin spread across his lips and he laughed. "Oh yeah…"

Exasperation flooded her, and she threw up her hands. "Really?! That's all you have to say for yourself!?"

"What?" He glanced between her and Erza, who was now pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing.

"I am sorry, we got a little carried away." the redhead apologized to Lucy, and she calmed down a little.

Natsu just continued to look hopelessly confused. Maybe it was just because a coconut couldn't do all that much damage to him – dragons were impervious to projectile fruits and vegetable apparently… and most other sorts of projectiles really, with those tough scales of theirs.

As if to prove her theory, he asked, "It was just a couple of coconuts! What's the big deal?"

"If one of those things landed on my head, it could have killed me!"

He winced. "Oh…um…right, sorry."

Lucy just rolled her eyes and sighed. He was hopeless sometimes. "Whatever … just be a little more careful next time alright?"

"Sure." He agreed easily, and she walked over to join them as they started heading back towards the cabana together.

"Hey, where's Happy?" Natsu asked as they stepped inside the cabana.

As she headed to the sink to grab some water, Lucy replied with, "He seemed really sad, probably because he's going to be separated from Carla for a whole month, so I pointed him in the direction of a good fishing spot."

"Good idea Luce! That oughtta distract him."

When he turned to head out the door, Lucy called after him. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go find him. Duh. Fishing sounds like fun."

"Oh, I'll come with you then. I want to check on how he's doing too." She guzzled her water and hurried to join him.

And so Lucy and Natsu headed out, leaving Erza behind to grab a snack and then probably train some more.

They trekked along the beach and eventually came upon the little rock jetty – at the end of which a familiar blue cat perched with his fishing rod.

"Hey Little Buddy! Didja catch anything good?!"

Bright eyes turned towards them, and Lucy was relieved to see the cheerful smile on his face. He seemed to have completely forgotten all about his sadness and was entirely absorbed by his favorite hobby like she'd hoped.

"Yeah! Check these out!" He carefully set down his fishing pole – the one they'd gotten for free on their last job – and led them to a small tide pool where he had cleverly been storing his catches. There was an impressive selection there. Some of the fish were quite large.

"Woah! Look at all this fish! They look tasty! Can I eat some?"

"Not unless you help me catch a bunch more! You'll eat all my fish!" Happy protested, looking worried and a little irritated. If there was one thing that could get the normally cheerful blue cat mad, it was someone taking his fish.

Natsu pouted for half a second and then beamed. "Alright then! I'll catch even more than you!"

"You're on!"

The two males started to compete with each other over who could catch the most fish or biggest fish, while Lucy just joined in and fished for the fun of it. Being Happy's friend and partner, she was adept at fishing but took it much less seriously than him of course. She wasn't having much luck today though, and it took her a whole hour before she caught anything.

Finally though, she felt a tug on her line and excitedly leapt to attention and started reeling it in, squealing, "I got one! Finally!"

A big flat fish with a yellow streak came popping out of the water, and she stared at it for a long moment. It was the weirdest fish she'd ever seen, with a strange smiley mouth and a huge round body that was super thin and flat. It almost looked like a flounder, but the eyes were on separate sides of its narrow face.

"What the heck is this?"

"That's a smiling sunfish!" Happy exclaimed, sounding excited. "They're super tasty!"

She perked up at hearing this. "Oh yeah? Awesome!"

As she lugged it over to the tidepool – which was getting a little crowded by now – Happy started snickering. When she threw a questioning look over her shoulder, he just snickered some more, before eventually saying, "Hey Lucy? Has anyone ever told you that you kinda look like a smiling sunfish?"

She blinked, glanced at the large fish, and then back at Happy. A vein popped up on her forehead and she practically felt steam erupt from her ears. "What are you talking about?! I don't look anything like this fish!"

Happy's cheeks puffed up with laughter as he covered his mouth with a paw. It was obvious he was doing his, _'Lucy is fat,'_ joke, or something like that, and she was not amused. Dropping the fish unceremoniously into the tidepool, she stalked back over to her blue friend, cracking her knuckles.

"Are you calling me fat again Happy?"

He yelped and then leapt into the air, before snickering a little and chirping, "Aye Sir!"

"Why you little…! Come back here!"

She proceeded to chase him around, completely ignoring Natsu who was still fishing. He was concentrating fiercely, and then gave a shout as he apparently hooked something. "It's a big one!"

Happy and Lucy continued to ignore him as she did her best to catch the flying cat, intending to tickle him or possible give him a noogie for calling her fat. Her attention was grabbed violently though when Natsu suddenly pulled back hard and yanked a huge fish out of the sea. That normally wouldn't have distracted her so thoroughly…. however, considering that the thing came flying through the air and smacked her right in the face, she felt justified in paying absolute attention to the fish. It was so big that it knocked her back on her butt, and she ended up flat on her back with a flopping fish plastered on her face, smothering her.

As soon as she'd gotten over her shock, she immediately started screaming – close-mouthed of course since she didn't want to get a mouthful of fish – and started thrashing her limbs to try and get it off her head. Eventually she managed to shove it off her and sat up with a gasp, only to see both Happy and Natsu rolling around on the ground in a fit of giggles.

"You could have helped me you know!?" she yelled, standing over them with her hands on her hips.

"Couldn't…it was too funny!" Natsu gasped around a mouthful of laughs, and Lucy felt that blood vessel from before start to pound on her forehead again.

She kind of wished Erza was here to knock their heads together.

"Well while you two were busy laughing your butts off, your fish just got away." She pointed at the little ripple in the water where Natsu's fish had just hopped back into the sea.

That got his attention, and he yelped, running over to his fishing pole. "Damn it all! It freed itself! And it was a big one too."

It was her turn to laugh at him. "Well that's what you get for just sitting there and watching me get smothered by a fish. Maybe next time you'll come over and pick it up!"

He pouted.

The rest of the evening was spent in this manner, and by the end of it they had amassed enough fish to feed everyone who had come to the island – even with Natsu and his huge draconic stomach.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek:**

 _After a long moment, he shot straight up, and this time she did have to grab onto his shoulders so she wouldn't end up tumbling off. "Natsu! What are you doing?!"_

 _At an insanely high height, he stalled out and then turned to her. "You're going to practice falling." he said with a smile that was way too gentle for the words coming out of his mouth._

 _"I'm sorry…what?"_

 _"You're going to fall, and I'm going to catch you. Simple. We'll do it over and over until you get used to it and stop freaking out."_

 _Logically, it made sense – but it was a crazy Natsu sort of sense that Lucy just wasn't sure she could get on board with._


	41. Chapter 41

**Author's Note:**

First of all, lemme just say sorry about the late post, AGAIN. This time though I had a good excuse, my computer was down till today, so I couldn't post. Thank heaven for IT repair people.

But anywho, I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. ;D It's gonna be pretty fun.

As always, a humongous thanks to all my wonderful, amazing, fantabulous reviewers. Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: tataland, TheJSmooth, Sunnie Dayys, quidditchChick6, Donthedarkdragon26, valerioux, Firefly9917, Lucinda, Lunar13, Leomae2.0, and moeruhoshi. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewer: ThatWriterGirl715.

Alright, you've waited long enough, on with the show! And you know the drill, keep an eye peeled for the sneak peek at the end. ;D

* * *

~A week into training ~

"Ah! I'm gonna fall! Natsu! Stop!" Lucy screamed, pinwheeling her arms and then falling forwards to grab him tight.

"Stop freaking out already. You're doing great."

Currently, Natsu was flying through the air with her riding piggyback on him, but she was only holding on with her knees. It was one of the many, many ideas Natsu had thought up to help her train for aerial combat. They had done all sorts of terrifying things that she was simply not comfortable with, like having him fly around with her dangling from his ankles or hands. The only comforting thing was that Happy sat on a nearby hill, ready to snag her out of midair if she fell. So far he hadn't had to, but his presence was the only thing keeping Lucy from panicking.

She'd been flying with Happy for years and years, and she was perfectly comfortable with him, but Natsu was still terrifying to fly with, more often than not. He was just way too aggressive about it, going too fast or doing maneuvers that made her feel like she was going to be thrown off him.

Thus, the need for training.

"Come on, let go. Just hold on with your legs." he urged, while doing a pinwheel through the air that did nothing to make her want to let go with her arms.

"I will if you stop doing that!"

He groaned but straightened out and hovered. Slowly she released him again with her arms and sat back, tightening her legs around him firmly. "Alright…now let me get used to it before going crazy okay?"

"But that's no fun…" he whined, but thankfully wheeled in broad slow circles.

She'd already gotten somewhat comfortable riding him during the whole Tenrou incident, it was just his wild unpredictable maneuvers that still scared the bejeesus out of her. As long as he stayed steady like this, she could handle it just fine.

"You ready yet?"

"Alright…fine. But not too wild okay?" she groaned, squeezing her thighs.

He shot a grin over his shoulder, and then arched, one wing folding tight to do a barrel roll. At the apex of his barrel roll – when they were upside down – his other wing tucked in and they went nose down, straight at the ocean. He dove, and her stomach was left behind somewhere in the clouds, making her produce a very squeaky scream. Then with a loud pop that sounded like a firecracker, both wings snapped open and he curved back up, while the velocity shoved Lucy down. It was only with a great deal of self-control that she didn't grab on with her arms again, but instead just pressed her palms to his back and pushed back up as he straightened out over the water.

They zoomed around a bit more, and then he pulled up and stalled, slowing down a bit. "Hey Luce?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you always ask Happy to sit nearby?"

"You know why. So he can catch me if I fall."

A dark eye looked over his shoulder. "So it's falling you're scared of? Are you seriously worried that I wouldn't catch ya?"

"Well I mean, you're fast but…"

A sharp fang showed as he grinned. "You really have no idea how fast."

After a long moment, he shot straight up, and this time she did have to grab onto his shoulders so she wouldn't end up tumbling off. "Natsu! What are you doing?!"

At an insanely high height, he stalled out and then turned to her. "You're going to practice falling." he said with a smile that was way too gentle for the words coming out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry…what?"

"You're going to fall, and I'm going to catch you. Simple. We'll do it over and over until you get used to it and stop freaking out."

Logically, it made sense – but it was a crazy _Natsu_ sort of sense that Lucy just wasn't sure she could get on board with.

"Um…" She glanced over his side and stared at the water far, faaaaar below them.

On the upside, there would be plenty of room to fall and plenty of time for Natsu to catch her, but on the downside…it was terrifying. She couldn't even see Happy from this high up. She was sure he would zoom over and catch her if Natsu couldn't, although she honestly didn't have any doubt that he would catch her…in theory at least. It was an entirely different prospect to test it out in reality though.

"So…you want me to just let go?"

"Yep. And I'll catch you."

Really, it came down to whether she trusted Natsu, and the answer to that question was, of course, yes. Still…she wasn't exactly ecstatic at the idea of jumping off into oblivion.

Leaning to the side again, she peered down and pursed her lips. "Yeah…I'm not liking this plan."

"What's wrong with it?" he asked in a tone used by someone oblivious to how it felt to fall through free space without wings.

"Look, you've got wings. I doubt you'd understand how scary it is to jump out into thin air without a pair."

"Actually I do. It's how my dad taught me to fly."

"You mean he…dropped you?!"

"Yeah. Until I could figure it out." He laughed, not sounding disturbed about it at all. "Besides, you _do_ have a pair of wings. Mine."

The broad happy grin he flashed her over his shoulder somehow soothed her nerves somewhat. After a long pause she finally decided there wasn't getting around it, and she shouldn't even try.

"Okay…" she finally said, taking a deep breath and holding it. "I'll do it."

"Alright! I'm fired up now! And don't worry, I'll catch you."

"Right." She nodded and then took another deep breath. Gritting her teeth, she let go.

"Here we go!" Natsu said happily and flipped upside down in another barrel roll, dropping her off his back.

She couldn't help but scream a little as the first sensation of gravity clenched her gut like a clawed fist and twisted her insides all up into a little knot. Her eyes squeezed closed and she remained stiff as a board, trying very hard to not cartwheel her arms like an idiot. That would only result in smacking Natsu when he tried to catch her.

"Oi, Luce! You doin' okay?"

At the sound of his voice bellowing over the wind in her ears, she opened her eyes and looked around wildly to find him. When she saw the idiot free-falling right next to her, she did indulge in a little flailing.

"What are you doing, Idiot?! Catch me already!"

He glanced down, considering. "We've still got some time! I took you pretty high, and the longer you drop, the more you'll get used to it!"

The grinding of her teeth was audible over the roaring wind. "Just catch me before I have a heart attack over here!"

Her pulse was pounding so hard and fast it felt like a panicked bird was stuck in her chest, beating her insides with its wings to get out. A slightly concerned expression crossed his face, and he immediately swooped in and wrapped his arms around her. His wings opened and dragged them to a halt _wayyyy_ too fast, and she felt every single organ in her body relocate to her toes all at once, making one heck of a traffic jam.

"Isn't there some way to do that a little more gently…?" she asked weakly after catching her breath, which had also flown out at the abrupt aerial stoppie.

"Geeze…first you want me to catch you, then you complain when I do it. You can be so whiny sometimes."

A flash of fury singed her rattled nerves, and she reared back in the hold he had on her so she could look him in the eye and give him a piece of her mind. As soon as she got a look at his teasing expression though, her irritation melted away to almost nothing.

She was still ticked enough to pout though. "Yeah, keep teasing me, Natsu Dragneel, and see what happens in bed tonight."

An eager gleam lit his eyes. "What?!"

That was almost too easy, and she couldn't hold back a subtle smirk. "Big fat _**zero**_."

The gleam and corresponding grin on his face lingered for half a second and then dropped to be replaced by a frown. "Hey!"

Now it was her turn to laugh as he pouted. Unable to resist, she used her grip on his neck to drag herself up far enough to give him a kiss. He gasped, obviously surprised for a moment, and then his lips curved up against hers and she felt the slight sharp poke of a fang press into her bottom lip as he grinned. When she pulled back, he pressed forwards to keep their lips together.

She was absorbed by the kiss for all of a few seconds, but then the constant wingbeats and the airy sensation around her feet once again made themselves known and reminded her that they were airborne. A surge of adrenaline rushed through her, and she gasped, pulling back as a dart of fear zipped up her spine. It couldn't be a good idea to get wrapped up in a kiss while in the air. That had to be about as smart as making-out while in a moving vehicle – which is to say, not at all.

Natsu sensed her fear and questioned her with dark eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have kissed you while flying. That was stupid!" she gasped, glancing back down at the water, which had gotten much further away again. Natsu must have flown upwards while they were kissing, and it looked like they were even higher than last time if that was possible.

"Why's it stupid?" he asked, and buried his head in her hair, kissing her shoulder.

"Because it's dangerous!"

At that, he busted out laughing. "What?! What's dangerous about it?"

"B-because we could fall! Or we could run into a mountain or something! Or end up super far away from the island! Or…I don't know! But it doesn't seem safe! That's for sure!"

He just cocked his head at her and grinned. "Dragons make love in the sky all the time. It's not dangerous at all. There's no way I'd fall, flying's like second nature to me. And…do you _see_ anything for us to crash into up here?"

She looked around to see nothing but clouds as they rose up so high that they entered the cloudbank. "Well I can't see anything right now." she grumbled in response, sneezing as a little mist tickled her nose.

It had been overcast today, so there was plenty of cloud cover to go through, and she ducked her head into Natsu's scarf to guard her face as the clouds pushed water droplets into her eyes. She continued to mumble protests into his chest though and remained convinced that kissing while flying was a bad idea. Suddenly the coldness of the clouds fell away and she risked a peek, only to gape at the sight that met her. She had never once been this high before, and the sight was breathtaking.

Clouds rolled out under her in all sorts of spectacular shapes, creating a magical landscape she never could have even imagined.

"Woah! It's so pretty!"

"Yeah it is isn't it?" Natsu snuffled into her neck and nuzzled her. "But you're prettier Luce."

"B-wha?" She whipped around to get a look at him, shocked by the unexpected compliment. He caught her surprised mouth with his own and deepened the kiss easily since her lips were already parted from shock.

She attempted a protest, but this time he didn't let her pull away. Instead, he pulled her closer and sealed his lips over hers, kissing with a passion that easily overwhelmed her. By this point, he knew all the ways she liked to be kissed and knew how weak she was to the fire that was already trickling out from between his teeth. That made it pretty much impossible for her to deny him, and she shivered, her arms clenching around his neck as fear spiked her in the butt again. It was an odd mix, lust and fear making crazy amounts of adrenaline that forced her heart to get on a treadmill and run at a super high setting.

He must have been able to feel her pulse against his own chest, and probably the way her muscles quivered as she latched onto him. And if he missed those signs, there was no way he could have possibly missed the way both of her dangling feet tried to find purchase on his feet, ankles, and shins – what with the way she was unintentionally kicking him and all. There was something really disturbing about just dangling in the air like this while kissing.

When one of his supportive arms let go from around her waist, she yelped loudly into his mouth, squeaking out a protest that only made him chuckle. That hand slid down to her thigh and hitched it around his hip, gripping her firmly and taking some of her weight that way, but when her other leg tried to do the same, he knocked it off with his tail. The red appendage twined around her hips tightly and then down that leg, tying it so tight to his leg that she suddenly felt glued to him. It also abruptly took most of her weight, making her feel like she was standing on solid ground again.

When she pulled away for a second to stare down at it in surprise, Natsu nipped her ear and chuckled. "Better?"

"Yeah actually…I don't feel like I'm gonna fall anymore."

He just rolled his eyes. "We've still got some training to do."

In direct contrast with what he said, he just kissed her again for a long moment and poured so much fire down her throat that, by the time they separated again, she was clutching at his hair and had basically forgotten they were airborne at all. She was reminded though when a particularly tall cloud drifted by and gave them a cold shower as they passed through it. Gasping, she pulled back, completely befuddled and in heat, and it took her a long moment to remember what they were doing up here in the first place.

"Um…we should probably get back to training…" she suggested, her eyes stuck on his lips while she chewed on her own, really just wanting to kiss him again.

His eyes were dark as he licked his lips. "You don't really look like you wanna train."

She groaned. "No. But we should."

He flashed fangs in a smirk that just increased the heat still simmering inside her. "How about we just have sex up here instead? That'd be plenty of training."

That suggestion had two very different reactions clashing strangely inside her. On the one hand, she was already aroused enough to be intrigued and fired up by the idea, but on the other… it terrified the dickens out of her. The inner conflict served to sober her up a bit at least.

"What exactly do you mean by 'plenty of training.'" She was highly suspicious of the way he'd worded his proposition.

"Well, from what I've heard, doing it in the sky is half flying and half free-falling."

She blinked at him, in a state of shock once again. "What? Free-falling? There's no way in hell."

For a second he pouted, but then a mad glitter sharpened his eyes in a way she didn't like. "How about this then? We train, and if I can get you to like falling with me, then we'll have sex up here tonight."

She could feel the unimpressed look all over her face as she scoffed. "Sure. Why not? There's absolutely no way you're going to get me to like falling. I mean, not being afraid of it is one thing, but liking it? Not gonna happen."

"What about it don't you like besides the fear?"

"Well, for one, I don't like the sensation of my stomach tying itself in knots."

"Oh that?!" he laughed. "I'd forgotten about that! Just relax."

"How can I relax when my stomach's trying to escape?!"

"No, I mean you have to relax your stomach. That'll help stop the discomfort. Part of it is all your muscles clenching up."

She wasn't sure she believed him on that, but she was willing to give it a try. "Well…we'll see."

"Alright! I've got a fire in my belly now! You ready Luce?"

"What?! Now?!"

"Yep!"

Before she'd given a reply, his tail had unwrapped from around her and he'd let her go. She went down with a screech and a few choice words that she normally wouldn't have said to him.

She hadn't realized her eyes were closed until something tapped her on the nose, and then she jerked and her eyes snapped open, to show Natsu on top of her. She gasped and looked around to see that she was plummeting back-first towards the ground, with him directly above her. It felt like they were both motionless because they were falling at the same rate, but she could feel the wind whipping at her and the swooping sensation in her gut that told her they were definitely falling.

"Relax!" he called, sounding slightly exasperated.

At the reminder, she did her best to force her muscles to go lax, realizing that he was right about one thing at least. Her stomach was clenched hard enough to protect her from a punch. It took a really long time, but eventually she somehow managed to unclench a little when nothing else happened for several minutes. Immediately she felt some relief from the unpleasant sensations inside her, and sucked in a deep breath, amazed at the lightness she now started to feel. As her tension eked out, the falling started to become much more pleasant as the sensation of complete weightlessness started to come through.

That changed though when Natsu reached out and slipped his arms around her, looping his tail under her butt too, and started angling them down. His wings came out but they continued to fall because of how he'd angled them. Then, he started to pull up, and she felt gravity pressing her down again, gradually increasing this time as he led them into a gentle swoop – which passed insanely close to the waves, judging by the sea spray that caught her back as they evened out. They were going so fast that he didn't have to flap his wings even once as he pointed them up again and swooped back into the clouds. Somehow the velocity was invigorating instead of terrifying though, maybe because she could feel his arms and tail around her like steel bands – which she knew could literally lift mountains, so her weight should be insignificant.

As they popped out of the cloud cover again, she managed to catch her breath and gasped out something that sort of resembled a laugh. That had still been terrifying, but it wasn't all bad. Towards the end there, it was actually pretty nice if she was honest.

"You ready to go again?"

Somehow she wasn't surprised that he wanted to do it again right away, and nodded, figuring she wasn't going to get a say in it anyways. Sure enough, they were already dropping. She clenched up again but was able to relax relatively quickly this time around. That might have had something to do with the fact that Natsu hadn't completely let her go. He'd relaxed his hold on her, and didn't do diddly to support her weight, but his hands were still on her back and his tail tangled lightly around her legs as they fell. That feeling of weightlessness once again overtook her as she relaxed more and more, and it was amazing as she sunk into it. The sensation was comparable to floating in water almost, in a weird way…but with a lot more G-force and wind.

Her eyes were open this time, and she was able to see the smug grin that started to work across Natsu's lips as he watched her. Immediately, she pursed her lips and forced a frown, because undoubtedly a look of wonder had been stamped across her face. As much fun as this was turning out to be, she was still positive that sex was not safe when free-falling from above the clouds was part of the equation. He laughed out loud at the abrupt change in her expression, and she could feel it sour further.

As before, they stalled out above the water and then swooped up again using the momentum of the dive. Unsurprisingly, as soon as they'd peaked above the clouds, Natsu was letting them fall again. But this time, a wide swing of his tail rotated them so that _he_ was the one falling backwards, which freaked Lucy out a little. She didn't like the idea of him not knowing how far away the ground was.

He rolled his eyes at her expression and bellowed, "Don't worry! I can sense our height by the scent of the air! I'll know when to flip us!"

She pursed her lips, once again feeling a little foolish for doubting his ability – a situation she was growing more and more accustomed to as this training progressed.

They repeated the simple exercise a few more times, and then he started introducing her to other sorts of maneuvers, like flipping, spinning, and twisting through the air as they fell. Then they worked on getting Lucy more comfortable with falling by herself while he flew around, though he always swooped back in to catch her with plenty of time to spare – knowing that she was more nervous about it when he wasn't right beside her. He also showed her how to angle her own flight through the air so she could actually fall towards him. By the end of it, she really felt like _she_ was flying too, not just Natsu. Even though she couldn't go back up.

It was exhilarating, and she suddenly knew why people liked to go sky diving. It was something she never would have been interested in before, but now she got it. It was so fun that she completely forgot about the agreement they had made.

Later that evening, after they'd all finished training for the day, they convened back at the cabana for dinner and discussion. Often they talked about what they had worked on and accomplished that day, as well as anything that was giving them trouble. It was a good way to keep everyone on the same page, which was important since they were all on the same team. Of course their conversations weren't just about training, they also talked about other random interesting things that happened during the day.

Today, Erza mentioned that she and Gray had made progress on unlocking his Second Origin, and Juvia and Lucy both congratulated him. Erza had been helping them all with that, once she gained access to her own Second Origin within the first few days of training…which didn't exactly surprise anyone.

Of course, training with the redhead was extremely hard work. Lucy simultaneously felt happy for Gray, a little jealous, and also extremely grateful that she hadn't been doing Second Origin training today. Flight training with Natsu might be utterly terrifying and exhausting, but at least it wasn't painful. For most mages, until you got the hang of it, you practically had to be in a life or death situation to access your Second Origin…which was not fun to say the least.

Meanwhile, Juvia gushed about how amazing Gray had been, while also fussing over his lingering injuries from the training session. He would obviously be taking a few days off to recover…as they all did after a training session with Erza.

Then, after a moment, Happy spoke up to complain. "Well I was bored stiff all day long!"

"Oh yeah? What did you do today Happy?" Gray asked, turning to the whiny cat.

"I just had to watch Lucy and Natsu fall over and over and over and over and over and over…"

"Fall? Out of the sky? What kind of training is that?!"

"Natsu's trying to get me used to flying with him. Since I'm scared of falling, he's trying to break me of it by dropping me over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over…" Lucy jokingly mimicked Happy, messing with him and Natsu at the same time.

Natsu took the bait and scowled. "Hey! You were having fun by the end of it!"

She just pursed her lips.

He squinted at her and leaned in. "I saw you laughing and smiling…don't lie."

With a long-suffering sigh, she finally admitted, "Okay…so maybe it was a _little_ fun."

Juvia frowned worriedly and seemed very surprised and disbelieving. "Um…how could falling be fun? It just sounds frightening to me…"

"At first yeah, it's absolutely terrifying. But eventually, once you get used to it…it's actually pretty amazing. It's like flying! Once you get over being afraid of hitting the ground, you just…I dunno…it's kind of like you're floating or weightless or something. But it's definitely very windy. I don't know how I'm going to get these tangles out…I'll probably have to summon Cancer."

She hadn't realized how much she admitted to liking it, and when she glanced over and saw Natsu's exceptionally smug grin she felt like smacking herself. Originally, she hadn't intended to admit how much she eventually ended up enjoying the exercises today…mainly because they really had scared the bejeesus out of her to begin with. And even after learning to like it, the whole thing was _still_ pretty scary and nerve-wracking. If he discovered how much she liked it, he'd undoubtedly push for even crazier training.

But it was obviously too late for that.

His smug grin sharpened and widened even more, showing off plenty of fang. "Good to know…."

…

Later, after they had all retired for the night, Lucy was getting ready for bed in the bathroom. But when she turned to head into the bedroom, she encountered a wall of unmovable dragon – which she promptly ran into since she wasn't expecting the roadblock. Natsu was leaning against the doorjamb… and was taking up the whole doorway really.

When her nose, chin, and chest came into unexpected contact with hot skin, she jerked back and nearly fell over backwards in surprise.

"Natsu! What the hell?"

Natsu jumped a little in surprise too – probably from her overreaction – and then started to snicker. "Wow Luce…watch where you're going…"

She scowled. "It's not like I was expecting you to suddenly be there! You're a freaking dragon! Huge fire breathing lizards are not supposed to be sneaky!"

He laughed and bounced aside as she walked into the bedroom – shoving her way past him with probably more force than was strictly necessary. She stalled though when he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her back flush against his chest. His thin sleep pants and her sleep shorts did absolutely nothing to hide his interest as it pressed into her rear.

Suddenly it made sense why Happy was sleeping downstairs on the couch instead of in their bedroom.

Smiling, she leaned back into him, arching her back so that she pressed harder into his erection and ground against it. He rumbled a mixture of chuckles and growls against her shoulder as he pressed an open-mouthed kiss there, letting his fire lick and his fangs nip. She sighed and reached up to wrap an arm around his neck as her head fell back to rest against his shoulder. When his mouth left her, and his chin nudged her cheek, she responded appropriately and cranked her head to the side so she could kiss him.

Hot hands slid up under her tank top, finding a very happy home on her breasts, and she gasped into his mouth and arched even more to push her chest into his touch. Fire and tongue slipped into her open mouth and she happily welcomed both, groaning softly and eventually turning to face him so they could continue the kiss without her neck cramping.

He herded close, pushing her with his body and forcing her to walk backwards. She stumbled a little as she tripped, but his hard arms around her kept her upright – though their teeth did clink together a couple of times. Burning thumbs hooked into the waistband of her shorts and they got yanked over her hips to drop down and tangle around her ankles. She gasped and fell against the chest of drawers with a crash, with Natsu following close behind. He pinned her against the large piece of furniture, creating yet another loud bang as his hands slammed against the drawers on either side of her body.

Lucy clumsily freed her feet from the clinging sleep shorts, while simultaneously dealing with Natsu's clinging mouth. She sighed into the kiss when she finally untangled herself. Her full attention returned to where it should be…and she more actively participated, her fingers running through his hair while her other hand slid down his overheated chest and stomach to the waistband of his pajama pants. Slipping under, she reached down to grip his length, stroking it a few times, and he growled into her mouth and sent a flash of heat through her. Fire poured into her belly and stoked the coals already burning hot there, making her v-zone pulse.

Her fingers in his hair deftly found a horn, and soon she was gripping a second hard length and stroked both in rhythm. That got a reaction from her dragon, as she knew it would, and a blast of heat shivered over her skin. The quick thought that they might set the dresser on fire ran through her mind, but was quickly displaced by the touch of claws pressing into her ass as he gripped her hips. The shockingly sharp touch surprised her, as did the heated sensation of scales instead of skin as his palm slid over her. He'd never actually gotten scaly before while they were having sex, and she didn't know what had riled him up so much to do it now.

She didn't have time to figure it out though, because they were relocating again. One hand fisted into her tank top and used the grip to pull her to the side with him as he pushed with the other still on her hip. She followed easily enough as they started walking backwards again, but when her back was suddenly pressed to cold glass instead of a soft bed, she stiffened.

Her hand yanked out of his pants, and she pulled her lips from his so she could look around and see where they were in the room. Sure enough, they were plastered against the glass door leading out to their balcony.

"What the…Natsu?"

He flashed a grin and reached for the doorknob. Lucy's free hand shot out and grabbed it first, holding it still.

"Natsu what the hell?! We're not going out there."

"Sure we are…how else are we going to fly?"

"Fly? What are you…" And with all the clarity of a bucket of ice water being dropped over her, she suddenly remembered the agreement she'd made with him earlier. Which also explained his partial transformation. "No way. Not happening."

"Luce…you promised we'd have sex in the sky if you had fun falling with me today, and we both know you had fun…so…." Judging by his confident tone and the gleam in his burning gold eyes, he wasn't going to let this one slide.

"I said no! Having fun while training is one thing, but…!"

He cut her off with a kiss that seared every one of her senses and made her go blank long enough for him to get the door open. When the support from behind her slid away, she fell back with a yelp that he swallowed, and then he was shoving her back while keeping his lips sealed over hers. Her fingers dug into his shoulders to keep herself upright and also to try and shove him back – and she absentmindedly noted that she was touching scales, not skin.

Still staggering back a little, she managed to yank her mouth from his and protested again. "I said no! We are not flying!"

Another blast of heat and his wings spreading with a snap said otherwise, as did the nearly evil grin he now sported.

With a growl of her own, she somehow managed to separate from him, and stumbled back to put a few steps between them. One of her hands ended up braced against the railing of their balcony, and her other came up to point at him. "Don't you even think about it! I'm telling you, this is _**not**_ happening. Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

Something told her _'no,_ ' based off his expression and the way he was stalking towards her.

Usually she could talk sense into him, but from the looks of things he was dead set on this. Looking around wildly for something to stop him, she met two pairs of shocked eyes, and all her brain functions came to a screeching halt as she realized she was staring at Gray and Juvia on the balcony next door.

Well… this was awkward.

She didn't even have a chance to say anything, because Natsu had already pounced. One clawed hand had slid into her hair, pulling her head around so he could latch onto her mouth again and fill her with his fire. The fingers of his other hand latched onto her thigh and yanked it up around his waist. Then a familiar snake-like appendage coiled over her hip, down the crack of her ass, and between her legs, where it wrapped securely around her other thigh.

Simultaneously, she felt his wings spread, and then they were airborne. She screamed, latching onto his neck with her arms in a death-grip.

The wind whipped her skin as they flew up fast, and then a shower of cold told her they had passed through the cloud line. She shivered and clung to him, but as soon as the wind died away and his wing beats became steady, she yanked her head back and fixed him with a glare.

"Natsu! What has gotten into you? No means no!"

He pouted. "Aww…come on Luce…just give it a chance please? If you don't like it, we'll go back down, okay?"

That was more like the normal Natsu, and she felt her momentary panic simmer back down to a normal level. She was still aroused enough that it was hard not to consider it, and she glanced down as she licked her lips, eyeballing the cloudscape around her. Above them was a ceiling of bright stars, and a full heavy moon dangled so close that it felt like she could reach up and touch it. Below, the fluffy white clouds made amazing mountains and valleys that were truly magical, and she couldn't help but be entranced. It was probably the most romantic sight she'd ever seen, and it wooed her a little.

Still…she looked back at Natsu who was waiting not-so-patiently next to her. The clawed fingers of both hands had landed on her butt and were kneading her like a cat – thankfully not in a way that hurt – and his tail was fidgeting, shifting its grip on her constantly as it coiled and uncoiled and gave her a massage in the process.

Uncertainty still beat hard behind her breastbone, but as she met his heated stare and he licked his lips – a little flick of fire following his tongue – she decided it might be worth trying.

"All right…" she sighed. "But if you scare me then we stop-"

He barely let her finish before he was saying, "Deal!" and his lips were sealing over hers.

She moaned softly as fire once again slid down her throat, and her fingers dug into his shoulders. She'd already scratched herself up pretty good when she clung to him on the ride up, thanks to the spikes now lining the back of his neck, and she wasn't interested in doing any more damage to herself. Normally he could retract them so she could ride piggyback, but he was fully transformed right now, so he couldn't pick and choose what to keep.

Meanwhile, most of her mind was caught up in the heated kiss going on and tangling her tongue with his as she swallowed his fire – and all while still breathing – but never once did she forget that they were airborne. The constant up and down shift of his wing beats wouldn't let her forget, nor would the breeze all around her. She couldn't even properly wrap her legs around his waist…not with those spikes running down his back. She could only hitch her knees over his hips and sort of cling to him – but couldn't lock her ankles. His tail helped hold her weight, as did his hands on her butt, but it was still nerve-wracking.

The adrenaline ran thick and hot in her veins alongside lust, and once again she felt like she was running a marathon … but strangely it added an edge to the excitement thrumming through her. She'd heard that having sex in public places was thrilling because of the danger of being caught, and she supposed the danger of falling was acting in a similar sort of manner. The adrenaline, lust, and anxiety was a potent mix, and she quickly found herself having trouble catching her breath.

Eventually she had to part her lips from his to try and gasp in some extra air… but ended up expending it on a surprised yelp and moan instead as his tail did something totally unexpected. It shifted so that it was lying directly in between her legs instead of just in the crease of her panty line – carefully keeping the spikes facing away from her of course. She squeaked when it started up a rippling motion that felt shockingly good pressed up against her like that.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" she asked breathlessly, for some reason a little shocked that he was doing something like that with his tail.

"Trying to make you feel good. Why? Is it bad?" he asked, chuckling a little at her surprise.

"No…but…I just, uh… you've never done anything like that with your tail before…"

"It's been all over you, ya know… even your boobs. So why's this different?"

"I dunno…I guess you're right."

To be honest, she couldn't really continue the line of thought anyways, because she was a little too busy trying to decide if grinding in midair was okay to do. What movements were safe? And how much exercise could her legs take and still keep her grip on him?

Of course she didn't really _have_ to grind…his tail was pretty much doing all the work for her.

And Natsu knew it too. "Fuck Luce…I can feel you…all wet and pulsing against me…my tail must feel pretty good, huh?"

As usual, he spoke whatever happened to be on his mind – which was obviously sex right now. By this point he had also started to grind himself into her pelvis and his own tail, which answered the question of whether that was safe or not.

Soon, things started spiraling out of control, quite literally. After pressing a hot kiss to her lips, he said, "Trust me…" and then let her go with his hands. She dropped a few inches until his tail cinched tight around her hips and she got locked into place. She still screamed though, especially when he knocked her hands off his shoulders so he could drag her tank top over her head.

He rolled his eyes when she screeched, and then as if to prove a point they dropped about a hundred feet, which made her scream yet again. Her scream got swallowed though when his lips latched over hers, and he suddenly filled her with so much fire she didn't have space to scream. It also wiped away all her fear and turned it into pure adrenaline and pleasure. They stopped falling gradually and then swooped back up.

"Loosen up Luce…we're gonna be falling every now and then, and a lot once we start actually having sex."

She just groaned in response, but it turned more into a moan of pleasure as he took her mouth again.

Her underwear was disposed of during a free-fall as well. For that, he let her go entirely, and they started dropping together as he slid down her form and yanked her underwear off. They came to a halt again with him holding her upside down by her ankles, which prompted quite a few protests from her.

"Now wait just a minute! Turn me right side up this instant! I don't like this!" she shrieked at him and grabbed onto his knees.

"Oh I dunno…I think it's a great view."

"What?!"

She craned her neck to look up and immediately saw that he was staring down at her netherlips with a broad grin. That prompted her to scowl – although she also found it kind of funny to be honest. Still, the principle of the thing was that he was ruining the mood a little.

"That's not very romantic you know…" she pointed out, deciding to just let go of his knees and cross her arms in irritation – letting him take all her weight. He could easily hold her with one hand, so she wasn't worried. And right now irritation had taken over her fear.

He rolled his eyes and smirked. "Okay fine, how about this then?"

Suddenly they dropped again for a split second, and he yanked her up so he could grab onto her hips instead. When they stopped, Lucy abruptly found her nose tip to tip with his still-clothed penis, which didn't bother her in the slightest…. However, she _did_ have an issue with his mouth being equally close to her lady parts.

At the first brush of his breath, she freaked out, not happy at all with the threat of orgasming in this particular position. She just didn't feel secure at all, even with his hands tight on her hips holding all her weight easily. Her legs instantly snapped forwards so that her knees could hook over his shoulders and give her some sort of stability. Then her thighs clamped down on his neck to hopefully immobilize him somewhat, and she made her displeasure known by lightly clunking the heel of one foot down onto the back of his head – careful to avoid his horns.

"Natsu! There's no way…don't you dare! I can't…you can't possibly think that…hey!" she sputtered, but cut off when he completely ignored her words and kicks. Instead, he just buried his face in her thighs and proceeded to move his head in a side-to-side motion that made it possible for him to worm his way up between her tightly clamped legs until his mouth ended up where she didn't want it to be.

When his tongue and fire licked across her private bits mercilessly, she didn't really have a choice in the matter. She continued to shriek protests and call him every name she could think of, alongside cussing in ways she normally never would and threatening to bite him in some very sensitive places, but it was all for nothing as her body quickly seized up. The sensation of dragon fire paired with the slick boiling heat of his tongue felt too good, and when he latched onto her clit she was done for.

Her fingers dug into his hips, clawing a little for purchase, as her orgasm hit her and she jerked in his grip, convulsing helplessly. It was mildly terrifying to be so out of control while probably thousands of feet above the ground and dangling upside down, but weirdly that only seemed to make the orgasm stronger.

"Damnit Natsu…" she finally growled as it tapered off.

He pulled back and nipped her thigh, "Sorry Luce, I couldn't resist."

She snorted and thunked her forehead into his hipbone. Something next to her cheek twitched, and she chuckled before sighing in acceptance and affectionately nuzzled her face into his groin area. She was still mildly irritated with him, but she couldn't stay _really_ mad after an orgasm like that. A lot of her fear had been washed away by the mind numbing pleasure…leaving her somewhat limp and a lot more relaxed.

He was ridiculous, and she honestly should have expected this.

"Alright fine…" she sighed, chuckling again as he continued to twitch under her cheek, nose, and mouth.

She unclasped her nails from his hips and grabbed onto his waistband instead, shimmy his pants down over his hips. She gasped when they started dropping again, and a shot of fear stung her, but she relaxed pretty quickly and finished dragging his pants off – with his help – and they righted themselves once again face-to-face.

"What? You didn't want me to give you an airborne blow job?" she questioned with a teasing grin. "That's kinda hypocritical of you…"

He snorted and grinned at her. "You wanna flip again? I don't mind, but I'd kinda rather be inside you here…" He emphasized what he meant by 'here' with the tip of his tail slinking inside her.

She jerked and her fingers dug into his shoulders in shock as she felt the appendage enter her for the first time ever. Only the very tip could though, because after that it had small spikes that would be way too dangerous for delicate tissue.

He seemed irritated by that and sighed, saying, "Damnit…if I wasn't so fucking excited I could control my form better and withdraw my spikes…maybe I can shift back after cumming a couple of times…"

"I'm sorry…what? Did you just say a _couple_ of times? Just how long do you plan to be up here?!" she protested, already tiring from the somewhat extreme exercise.

"A while, but whenever you get tired we can relocate to the bed if you want…" he mumbled, pouting a little at the thought. It was obvious he wanted to be up here probably a lot longer than she did.

She contemplated it for a moment, but was distracted when he shifted, his tail slinking around both thighs in a tangled assortment of figure eights and coils. It also slunk around his hips and thighs to keep her locked to him, and the entire set up took most of her weight. If she didn't have to hold onto him with her legs and arms, she would undoubtedly last a lot longer… which he had probably just figured out, explaining why he'd tangled his tail so thoroughly around her.

And then one of his hands was sliding down between them and lined him up, while his other hand braced her back.

"Ready Luce?" His voice was little more than a growl against her throat and she responded with a pleasured sigh.

"Yeah…"

By this point she wasn't really afraid anymore – or if there was any fear still in her, it was just being channeled straight into excitement.

When he slid up into her, she groaned and then sighed again into his mouth as she sought out his lips with hers. He started rocking, a motion assisted by his tail which pulsed in time with his hips, and she just thrusted to the best of her ability. What started out slow and deep got faster and rougher by the second, and with it, his flying got more and more erratic.

He flipped over backwards, loosened his tail till she had almost disconnected, and then looped it back around her completely differently. Then he did a barrel roll till he was on top of her. His hands pressed her close, one on her upper back, the other on her tailbone, and she braced her elbows on his shoulders and bracketed his neck and face, gripping his hair with her fingers.

Constant words and growls that were starting to sound more and more feral spilled from his lips, and fangs bit into her shoulders and neck almost painfully as he edged into more animalistic territory. Perhaps it was because they were up in the sky, mating like dragons apparently did, but she'd never quite experienced him like this before…and it was strangely thrilling. Even his bites felt deliciously good, despite the sting – or maybe because of it.

His claws raked her back, and she knew she'd probably sport some scratches, but none felt deep. If anything, she might end up leaving him with deeper scratches, considering how she constantly had to scramble for purchase on his body as he kept rearranging their position. She had already gotten him pretty good more than once across his chest when he rolled backwards, and a few times she got skin instead of scales on his neck or back. He hardly seemed to mind… if anything, it just apparently aroused him more.

His thrusts were a bit disjointed – especially whenever he switched their positions – but they were powerful and more than enough to drive her nuts. She was definitely clawing at him for more than one reason. Plus, now, every time they free-fell, she felt a thrill go through her, until it was almost pleasurable in the weirdest possible way – like the trembles in her stomach got translated to her vagina instead. Not that any of the falls were particularly far. This entire time, they had stayed above the clouds.

Still, it felt like she was having sex with a roller coaster.

Eventually he finally stuttered to a halt and fire washed over him, signaling the start of his orgasm. They had slowly been spiraling up even further above the clouds, and then when he finally seized up and roared, they fell. Lucy swallowed his fire and scrunched her eyes closed, arching into him too as his orgasm and the subsequent blast of fire sent her into her own. His wings clamped around them like a tent, blacking out the sky as they plummeted towards earth.

They plunged thousands of feet in what felt like a death spiral, but Lucy couldn't care as she experienced one of the fiercest orgasms she'd ever had, and she left it completely up to him to pull them out of it. Eventually, with another roar, his wings snapped open, and she felt what she could have sworn was sea spray on her back as they pulled up sharply, nearly disengaging for a second before thrusting him deeper inside her than he'd ever been before. That set them both off into another mini-orgasm that they barely stayed airborne for.

They eventually started to slowly drift back up, but before they got too far Lucy had to gasp, "N-Natsu…how about we go back to the room now…? I don't think I can do that again so soon."

As her orgasm faded, she could feel a wave of exhaustion washing over her, and she didn't think she was up for round two in the sky.

He seemed mildly disappointed, but still headed back down towards the cabana.

"That's fine…we'll work up to it." he told her with a grin, and she just rolled her eyes at him. How she had found herself 'the energizer bunny' as a mate, she wasn't sure.

Thankfully Gray and Juvia weren't on their balcony when Lucy and Natsu made a touch down – stark naked now – and they hurried inside. Natsu wasted no time in initiating round two in bed, and Lucy happily went along with it.

The next morning, they had some awkward explanations – particularly when shredded and burned clothing was discovered scattered across the island.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Capricorn nodded at her question. "Yes, Lady Lucy, with enough practice you can cloak yourself in all of our magics and gain our powers temporarily. But it will take intensive training with each spirit."_

 _After that, naturally she added, 'mastering more Star Dresses,' to her list of goals. She spent her days switching back and forth between training with Erza, training with her spirits – starting with Aquarius, and training with Natsu on flight and fighting alongside him when he was in his other forms._


	42. Chapter 42

**Author's Note:**

It's Sunday! You know what that means. ;D

An important note: This chapter is a little all over the place timeline-wise during their training, so pay attention to when times and dates are mentioned – it'll make it a little less confusing.

As always, big sparkly happy thanks to all my wonderful reviewers. Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: WisdomDragon27, stranger1999, aliciacevbra, moeruhoshi, TheJSmooth, thetrywriter, valerioux SunnieDayys, quidditchChick6, Lucinda, Lady La-sara, Firefly9917, and Leomae2.10. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewer: xXCharmKingXx.

Now on with the show! You know the drill, check out the sneak peek at the end. ;D

* * *

The next few weeks were filled with tough training.

As for Lucy, she largely focused on training with Natsu, but tried to at least get a little training in with each of her other spirits as well. During the first week, she worked a lot with Capricorn on increasing her magic through meditation, which also tied in nicely to her Second Origin training with Erza. However…Natsu turned out to be a little possessive of her time, and after the first couple of days that she spent meditating with Capricorn, he threw a little bit of a hissy fit.

Midway through the first week, he pulled her off with him, saying, "If you're determined to do this meditation crap, then you're gonna do it with me today!"

She followed, rolling her eyes at his eagerness, and he led her into the middle of the island, where a tropical forest grew thickly. "Hey Natsu, where are we going?" she asked after a while of being dragged behind him.

"Dunno! Somewhere that you'd like to train I guess." he said with a big grin over his shoulder, and she sweat-dropped.

"Then shouldn't I be leading?" she muttered, but he didn't seem to hear her, or else just decided to ignore her.

They kept walking for a while, and then suddenly something caught Lucy's attention. The forest opened up to the right of them to show a pool of clear water and a waterfall…so similar to the one she had trained at in the mountains with Natsu that she was pulled to a stop.

"What's up?" Natsu asked as she dragged him to a halt as well, and she just pointed at the waterfall.

"Doesn't that remind you of the pool at the mountain resort? You know, where we trained for the S-Class Trials?"

"Yeah!"

Of course the plants were completely different and the waterfall itself was much bigger, but she was romanced by the idea of training next to it. If possible, it was even more beautiful than the mountain resort, with lush tropical flowers everywhere and crystal clear blue water filled with sparkling fish of every color.

"Alright, you wanna train here then?"

"Yeah, come on." She pulled him behind her this time as she went to investigate the pool. Soon they were perched on a mossy rock facing each other and holding hands.

"So what are we going to do exactly? Transfer your power to me again and practice summoning spirits?"

"Sure, if that's what you wanna do." he shrugged, looking antsy. It was obvious he wanted something a little more active.

"Tell you what, if you train with me like this for a while, we can go swimming. Okay?"

His eyes lit up. "Alright! I've got a fire in my belly now!"

And so they started. Natsu sent his magic to her, and then she summoned her spirits and held them out as long as she could. However, after a while of sweating and feeling feverish, Lucy was panting and more than uncomfortable. She had gotten used to him just topping off her magic origin when she was running low, but right now they were trying to stretch the capacity of her reserves so she could take more at once, and it was like his fire was cooking her from the inside out.

During the fifth time of being filled and emptying herself by summoning spirits, she flopped back and shivered as the cool stone pressed into her sweaty shoulders. "There has to be a way to do this without baking me alive." she groaned.

Capricorn was there, since he was the last spirit she had summoned, and he cleared his throat. "If I may make a suggestion Lady Lucy?"

She looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah sure. What is it?"

"Why don't you try to meld your magic with his, the way we have been practicing melding your magic with nature. You may be surprised at the results."

She blinked up at him and smiled. "Thanks Capricorn! I'll try that."

Sitting up, she focused on Natsu's magic still thrumming strongly within her and – using the techniques she had learned the past few days – she tried to mesh her magic with his. It took a little work, and Capricorn urged her to focus entirely on Natsu … on his breathing, on the sensation of his hands in hers, on the fire in her blood that pounded his name across her being. It was like when she had focused on her surroundings and drew the magic out of the air and earth, but this time it was Natsu she was entirely focused on.

Her magic followed suite and rose up in her, twining around his and accepting it in a completely different sort of way. Before, he had just shoved his magic in her and she had used it like a completely different part of her, keeping it separate. Now though, it was mixing with her own magic, almost like when they'd done the mating ceremony and their souls and magic had aligned. It was a similar sort of bond that suddenly sprung to life between them, a rope of twining magic – his and hers – that linked them.

As with her meditation training, she didn't just absorb his magic…she also gave some of hers back, which tied her to him even more strongly. It was a give and take, like breathing almost – or sharing breath.

As with the mating ceremony, it was intoxicating to feel Natsu so close as their magic tied them together. It got to the point where she couldn't tell the difference between them, and suddenly it felt like Natsu's magic was her own. The fire didn't make her feel feverish anymore, as if it was supposed to be there.

The connection between them wound ever tighter until it suddenly seemed to peak, and a fresh wave of warmth washed over her body, making her skin prickle. Tingles erupted everywhere, and she felt her clothing start to shift weirdly. When she glanced down, her eyes widened to see light glowing brightly around her and her clothes getting switched out for a completely new set. When the light faded, she was left with a vest like Natsu's, but hers ended around her rib cage. It gaped open in the front, but shiny red scales coated her like armor over her breasts and down her ribs a little ways, leaving a pale gap down the center of her chest. The scales were firm and acted almost like a bra, keeping her boobs in place and pressing them down just a little. More red scales coated her forearms all the way down to her hands, which looked like they were wearing gauntlets with the ridged scales on her fingers and knuckles. She also sported short, very sharp claws.

Her midriff was bare, and around her hips was a black skirt that went to midthigh and looked very similar to the kilt-like thing that Natsu often wore over his pants. It had a slit up one thigh and was belted with a golden sash that matched the gold trim on both articles of clothing. Sandals appeared on her feet that laced up her calves.

"What's this?"

"That is the Star Dress of the Celestial Fire Dragon." Capricorn answered, and both Natsu and Lucy turned to look at him for answers. "When you mesh your power so closely to one of your spirits, you can absorb some of their magic and this is what happens. Their magic forms a celestial dress, and you gain some of their power. I suspect you have increased strength right now, and probably fire magic."

"Woah! This is awesome! Hey Luce, try making some fire!"

She blinked and then looked down at her hand. It took a moment, but she quickly figured out that she could summon the fiery magic that flowed through her veins to her fist, and suddenly flames licked at her palm as she managed to conjure a weak flame.

She gasped excitedly. "Look Natsu!"

He beamed and leaned in to look at it closely. "That's so cool!"

"So I can do this with my other spirits? Can I do it with you too?"

Capricorn nodded at her question. "Yes, Lady Lucy, with enough practice you can cloak yourself in all of our magics and gain our powers temporarily. But it will take intensive training with each spirit. I suspected that you would be able to do it with Natsu since you have worked together so much."

After that, naturally she added, ' _mastering more Star Dresses_ ,' to her list of goals. She spent her days switching back and forth between training with Erza, training with her spirits – starting with Aquarius, and training with Natsu on flight and fighting alongside him when he was in his other forms.

The second week was the first time they tried training while he was in dragon form. To do that, they waited till the tide was out and they had a long stretch of beach to work with, since it would not be good to set the forest on fire. The others also stayed safely away and trained on other parts of the island for the day, not wanting to be anywhere near Natsu when he was full-on dragon.

"Um…should I step away from you while you transform?" she asked, a little worried at the prospect of being close to him while he was transforming.

"It should be fine as long as I can see you."

"Okay…"

When the expected blast of heat came from him, she still cringed a little, and nearly got bowled over by the overwhelming typhoon of power that was released during his transformation. Natsu kept his eye on her the whole time and angled his body away from her as he grew. In the end, she ended up almost sitting on his hind foot, which he had shifted back so his talons wouldn't stab her as they grew in, and his forepaws came down behind her, placing her squarely under his belly. When she spun around to face his head, she noted with relief that he was still looking at her, upside down and from in between his front legs.

As for Lucy, she felt a little shaky after being so up close and personal with such an intense force. It kind of felt like she had just survived a tornado.

With a weak grin she wobbled and stumbled back to sit on his foot, and – with a huge rumble and shake that felt like an earthquake – he sat too, leaving his foot still as he did so. He sat up like a person then, with his forelegs suddenly acting like arms again, and she eyeballed him from what felt like a mouse's perspective. She'd seen him stand before when he was fighting that robot dragon, so she knew his anatomy was still somewhat person-like, which gave him the ability to stand and sit like human while also going to all fours and acting like a four-legged creature.

She got a better look at him when he reached down and held out his huge hand/paw for her to climb onto, which she did after blinking at it a little in surprise. He then lifted her up to his eye level and she got to see him from this perspective. She couldn't help but be interested – after all he _was_ her boyfriend…even if he was currently a huge lizard – and besides that, she had always thought dragons were pretty amazing creatures. Getting to see one up close and personal like this was really spectacular.

His arms/forelegs actually still looked kind of like human arms, with very similar musculature. In fact, his shoulders, chest, and stomach all looked really similar too … aside from the fact that he seemed to have way more muscles. He had what she was pretty sure counted up to a twelve-pack instead of a six-pack leading down to where his junk should have been, but was conspicuously absent. His hind legs were different though, thicker and shorter to accommodate being on all fours when he wanted, and they definitely looked more animal than human. His neck and head had also completely changed of course, his throat growing super long and sporting a very reptilian head and face. But his black horns were the same, just sized up, and his glowing golden eyes were also familiar.

All in all, she thought he made a gorgeous dragon. Of course she had been thoroughly awed the last two times she saw this version of him, but she'd never really had the chance to admire him in a peaceful setting before.

Her scrutiny obviously didn't go unnoticed either, because after a long silence, he rumbled, "Well? What do you think?"

"It's amazing Natsu…I tend to forget you're actually a dragon."

He laughed, some fire spitting from his huge schnozz. "Kinda hard to forget when I'm like this, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty much…"

"So…are ya scared?" his voice was teasing, but she could hear a tiny hint of anxiety in his tone that said he was honestly worried about how she'd react. It wasn't like they had ever exactly talked about this particular form of his before, or what she thought about it, so she supposed it was only to be expected.

"No, not really. It's a little unnerving, but that's probably just because you're so dang big. I feel a little like a mouse. But other than that…I'm not scared at all. Actually, I think you're gorgeous to be honest."

He grinned, wide and toothy. "You really like the way I look?! That's awesome Luce!"

She couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm, and any tension left in her completely eased. He might look like some sort of majestic beast of legend…but he was still her dorky boyfriend/mate.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get your head down here so I can touch you." She reached up, eager to do a more hands-on investigation of her own personal dragon. There was no way she was going to pass up such a great opportunity.

He snorted another laugh, nearly knocking her over with the puff of air, and she scowled. "Watch where you snort, Mister! You'll sneeze me right off your hand if you're not careful."

"Whoops, sorry Luce. I guess that's why we need to train like this, huh?"

"Yep." she agreed, but was much more interested in petting his nose now that he had brought her up to his face. He was positively massive, even with her arms completely outstretched she couldn't reach halfway around his snout. In fact, she could probably sit on his nose if she wanted to.

His scales were so much bigger too…even the tiniest ones were plate sized, and the biggest ones were like car doors…or even bigger.

After patting down his nose, she sighed and he pulled back some, taking the sound to mean that she was satisfied.

"So…aside from letting me get a good look at you, what else does this training encompass?" she finally asked, wondering what he had in mind.

"First, I need to know where your pressure limit is, so I don't accidentally squeeze you to death. It'll be easy though. Just tell me when it starts to hurt, kay?"

She nodded and he closed his hand around her body in a fist, leaving her head and shoulders poking out the top of course. Gradually he increased the pressure around her, and pretty soon she told him to stop. He seemed to make a mental note, then they repeated with his tail and his other hand, so he could get a really good idea of how hard he could hold her.

Then after that, he had her basically climb all over him. Since the tide had come back in and was now up to his stomach, she thankfully had a pretty good cushion of water to fall into if she slipped off, so she wasn't too worried about it as she turned him into her personal jungle gym. The goal there was to find the best places for her to be and hold on, which was a must-know for any battle situation. If she was going to be riding him, they both needed to know where she could safely be.

She asked questions from time to time whenever she came across something interesting as she crawled all over him.

"Can you feel me through your scales? I mean, if you closed your eyes, would you know I was standing on your shoulder?" she asked curiously, and he closed his eyes for a moment to think about it.

"Yeah…I know you're there, but I can barely feel your weight. Mostly I just sense your presence."

"So can you feel things through your scales? Like…" she scratched her nails across a big one on his neck.

"Yeah, I can feel that. It kinda tickles."

"Huh…no kidding. I would have thought you couldn't feel anything through these things…"

He shrugged and she fell off his shoulder, sliding down his front. He quickly caught her in his open palm and lowered her to his lap.

Her next question came when she was attempting to climb up his front, which was a lot harder than his back. He didn't have many handholds in the front, but she could sort of shimmy up if he leaned back. She started from his lap, after climbing his leg, and before she attempted his belly, she stared at the muscles that smoothly led down between his legs.

"Um…I've just gotta ask. Do you still have a penis?"

When he busted out laughing she nearly got tossed off his leg, but she managed to stay on by flattening herself out and hugging onto a ridge of scales on his thigh.

"Yes, I'm still a guy…and I still have a dick. Thanks for asking." he eventually chuckled.

"Hey! It's a legitimate question! I mean…there's nothing there!" she waved wildly in the direction where it should be.

"It's there, just inside. See?"

A previously unnoticed slit in his lower belly parted and out came a massive dick. It was easily twelve feet worth of pink skin. Lucy recoiled, not expecting it, and very nearly fell off his leg again. She stared in shock, unable to do anything else after being confronting with something so unexpected. Thankfully it still looked relatively normal…a little differently shaped, but not so much that she was disgusted or anything.

But still…that was a little too much for her, and after a moment she somewhat weakly said, "Okay uh…thanks. You can put it away now."

He laughed again and it slid back into his stomach.

Once she had recomposed herself, she continued her climb, eventually making it up to his arms and shoulders. They found that she could sit in the crook of his arm pretty easily, or he could just carry her in his hand, but otherwise she would probably have to stay on his shoulders/back/neck/head area. His tail was also a viable option, and he could easily move her from one location on his body to another – or catch her if she fell off – with the long appendage.

Naturally, the next step was to fly and have her figure out her balance and where to ride him while airborne. He held her in his hand until they were thousands of feet above the ground and he had plenty of room to catch her if she fell off. And fall she did, plenty in fact, as she walked and slid all over him, getting used to being up here with him in this form. He caught her with his tail and hands equally, and squeezed a little too hard the first few times, but it still wasn't too bad. She might have a couple of bruises, but it was fine. Soon though, he quickly adapted and always caught her without hurting her.

In the end, she found that being on his back was probably the best place to be, because of the row of spikes that she could easily grab onto. They were at least a couple of feet tall now and provided for excellent hand holds. She could even use them to scale down his tail if she needed to for any reason, and up his neck as well. His forehead was probably her other favorite perch, since she could curl up in the crook of his horn or even sit on his horn and hold onto it. The only problem with being on his head, was that if he turned to look at something it was a bit of a jolt.

After a full day of dragon training, they headed back to the cabana for food so Lucy could refuel and rest a bit before an evening training session with Aquarius.

She tried to incorporate Star Dress training into her schedule almost every day. Naturally, since Aquarius had been with Lucy the longest, she figured the temperamental mermaid was the best spirit to start with. She had been second guessing that choice ever since.

The first time she summoned her, near the end of the first week of training, things hadn't exactly gone smoothly.

Predictably, Aquarius had greeted her with a catty remark. "Huh…what sort of outfit is that? Are you so desperate to get a boyfriend that you dress like a skank?"

Lucy blinked and then glanced down at her bikini top and short jean shorts. Then she looked back up and grimaced. "First of all, I have a boyfriend. Natsu. Remember?"

Aquarius's eyebrows raised. "Seriously? You two are actually together? I thought that was just a rumor."

"Nope. It's real. We're officially a couple."

Aquarius actually gave her a small smile. "Well congratulations. It only took you, what…20 years to finally get your first boyfriend?"

Lucy pouted. "I've had other boyfriends…they just didn't last long."

"Haha! Oh yes that's right! You scared them all off within the first few weeks."

"Yeah, yeah…can we move on to something else now?"

After wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes, Aquarius sobered. "Of course. For instance, why did you call me here? There better be a good explanation."

"Right. About that…" Lucy proceeded to explain how she was now training to try and master the Star Dresses of all her spirits. "I thought it was only right for me to start with you, since we've been together for so long."

The mermaid hmphed, but she could see a little glimmer of what looked like appreciation and pride in her eyes. "Well of course I'm first in line."

After that, Lucy worked with her to try and mesh their magic, which was an exercise in patience and pain tolerance. The mermaid spirit was not exactly patient, and more than once Lucy found herself drenched in cold sea water as Aquarius threw a fit at her slow pace of learning. She very nearly got dragged out into the sea at one point when a giant wave crashed over her. And of course, none of that helped her to get into the meditative state required to acquire a Star Dress.

It took more than one training session to master Aquarius's magic, that was for sure. In fact, it took almost the rest of the month for her to get it.

The last week of training, Lucy was working with Aquarius, and being drowned as usual by a tidal wave. She clung to the shifting beach to the best of her abilities to avoid being dragged out to sea, sure that her celestial spirit would just leave her there. As soon as the salty flood passed, she gasped in fresh air, gulping it down like she was dying – which it sort of felt like after being submerged and pounded for at least a minute straight.

As she sputtered for breath, she managed to weakly wheeze, "Can we not do that anymore? It's not really helping my concentration."

Normally, she never would have thought about talking back at Aquarius – because she was terrifying – but after working with her for two weeks straight, she was at her wit's end.

Predictably the mermaid spirit whipped around and fixed her with a really nasty look, her lip curled and eyes wrinkled with an ugly frown. One eye squinched while the other peeled open wide to give her the hairy eyeball, and Lucy winced, taking a deep breath and ducking her head. She expected another wave to wash over her, but all she got was an exasperated sigh.

After a moment, she risked glancing up, to see Aquarius frowning down at her with her arms crossed, but her expression had softened a little. "Fine. Get up. I don't have all day."

Relieved that she wasn't going to be waterboarded again, Lucy scrambled to her feet and approached the water bearer again somewhat hesitantly. As soon as she was in reach, the mermaid grabbed her hands and squeezed them before fixing her with a stern look.

"Now this time, FOCUS."

"…I'd probably focus better if there wasn't the threat of dying…" Lucy muttered under her breath very quietly.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing!" she squeaked and hurried to close her eyes and focus on the task at hand.

She'd been getting closer and closer lately, and if she didn't die within the next few days she had a real chance of getting there. Taking a deep breath and shoving all worries to the back of her mind, she focused entirely on Aquarius…her cool hands clutching Lucy's fingers almost aggressively, the smell of fresh sea that she always emitted, her long blue hair that brushed Lucy's wrists as the wind blew behind her. As she went deeper, she started to pick up Aquarius's breathing, and eventually even her heartbeat started to lightly pulse in Lucy's ears as if she had her head to the other woman's chest. Soon she began to feel Aquarius's magic.

It was familiar. Every time she summoned a spirit, she could feel their magic as they passed through the gate, and even though she hadn't noticed before, the magic lingered as long as they were here. Almost like a very faint scent that she had simply never paid attention to before. As soon as she did though, she had realized that Aquarius's magic reminded her of home, of all the times she had summoned the mermaid as a child just for company. It was cool, refreshing, and salty – like the sea of course – and it was comforting.

This was where she often had trouble. After sensing Aquarius's magic, she wasn't entirely sure what to do. With Natsu, he had been shoving his magic into her, so it was already inside her and easy enough to mix with her own magic. But with a Zodiac spirit it was different. Aquarius couldn't share her magic by choice necessarily. It was mostly up to Lucy to mesh their magic together in something like a unison raid, and only then could her spirits share their magic with her.

So, all she could do was feel Aquarius's magic and then try to connect to the spirit. Before, she had gotten very close, but never could quite master it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her magic to match up with Aquarius's.

A soft exasperated snort sounded, almost knocking her out of her zone. And then Aquarius muttered, "Stop trying so hard. You can't force it. You're just going to mess it up again if you do that."

Her voice was soft enough that it didn't distract Lucy too badly, but she did take the comment into consideration and stopped trying to shove her magic around. Aquarius was right, it wasn't working. So instead, she just tried to focus on Aquarius's magic and let her mind go blank, hoping it would do something. For a long moment she just stood there with nothing happening, but then she slowly began to feel their connection widening as she relaxed and let her magic do what it wanted while meditating on Aquarius's magic.

She could feel the water bearer's magic rising up alongside her own, as if it was coming to meet her halfway, and her hands began to tingle where they were touching. Cool blue magic and golden magic met in their palms, bumping up against each other and then shying back a little, as if the two magics weren't sure at first. Lucy sunk deeper into her meditation, forcing herself to not get excited and just remain completely calm and focused.

The magic in their hands finally started to mesh together, and Lucy finally got a sense of how it was supposed to feel. It really was like a unison raid, but of course she had only done that a few times before, so it wasn't like she was an expert on it. Still though, as soon as she got an understanding of the sensation, she welcomed it and poured more magic into the connection they had formed. She didn't try to force it to match Aquarius's – it did that automatically – instead, she just opened the gates on her magic and let it flood through her body. Instantly, Aquarius's magic rose up to meet hers, the way it had done before, but so much stronger now.

She heard the sound of water all around, crashing waves, and the sensation of it flooding around her feet. This time though, she wasn't afraid of the water, even as it swirled around her ankles and then whisked the beach out from under her. All she felt under the soles of her feet was the sea, but she barely even noticed. All her attention was focused on the magic surging through her and Aquarius.

Her eyes opened, and she looked into her friend's face, amazed as she felt cool oceanic magic mixing with hers and filling her body. Aquarius's eyes were open too, and for once they weren't filled with distain or irritation. Her gaze was perfectly calm and peaceful, but there was a glitter in her eyes that suspiciously looked like happiness and maybe pride. The spirit was coated in the golden light of Lucy's magic as the celestial mage shared it freely with her spirit, holding nothing back, as the mermaid did the same with her.

She felt a prickly sensation similar to the one with Natsu, only this one was cool and refreshing, like being dunked in water as it traveled from the crown of her head down to her toes. Glancing down, she saw that she had indeed donned a Star Dress, this one mimicking Aquarius's.

Up top she wore a blue bikini top with gold zigzag lines. On her arms she wore sheer blue sleeves that ended in a point attaching to her middle finger and were held up by golden armlets around her biceps. For bottoms, she wore a short white ruffly skirt that tied on one hip and was held up by a thick golden belt, very similar to the belt and ruffles around Aquarius's hips. On the exposed thigh, she had a golden cuff made of three golden bands connected by chains, and on the side of each band a thick golden loop dangled, like the golden loops on the side of Aquarius's tail. Under the band was a dark blue thigh-high sock made of silky material that shimmered with an iridescent pattern reminiscent of scales. On her feet, she wore pale blue strappy sandals.

Over all, it was beautiful, and she looked back up at Aquarius with a grin and tears in her eyes. "It's beautiful…"

"Of course it is. It's _my_ Star Dress." the mermaid said haughtily, but a small smile softened the words. Her eyes glanced down, and she lightly released one of Lucy's hands so she could trace a zigzag pattern over Lucy's collarbone.

"What?" she asked, glancing down to try and see what Aquarius was touching.

"My symbol. It's on your chest." she answered.

Instantly Lucy knew that she meant the black zigzag line that the mermaid sported over her collarbone, exactly where she was touching Lucy.

"Oh really? That's amazing. I wish I could see it."

"You can. Look." Aquarius waved her hand over the water, which Lucy just now realized they were standing on.

The water underneath them suddenly smoothed out, perfectly flat and reflective. Gingerly, Lucy leaned over to peer at her appearance in the water, and immediately saw the dark tattoo on her chest. She smiled and traced it with a finger. She also noted that her hair had been affected and was now similar to Aquarius's, long and straight, with a golden circlet around her brow.

Looking back up, she smiled at Aquarius again, delighted that she had actually done it. "I can't believe it! We did it!"

Blue eyes rolled dramatically. "It took you long enough. Now, try to use my powers."

"Oh. Right." She glanced around at the water, and then held out a hand, trying to make a little wave.

Cool magic flowed through her and she could feel the water, as if she was touching it, and urged it upwards. It followed her command, but all she managed to create was a tiny little wave that lapped at their ankles.

Aquarius snorted with amusement. "Pathetic. Try again."

And so started a whole different sort of training as Lucy practiced using the magic she had been given.

...

In between working with Aquarius, she continued to work on her Second Origin with Erza – which was just as painful as working with the mermaid spirit. In fact, none of them were doing really great on that front.

The whole first bit of that training involved meditation to try and increase their reserves, but since Lucy was already doing that, Erza let her skip ahead of the others.

The second part of the training regimen that Erza had concocted was to completely exhaust their magic, which Lucy did by summoning as many spirits as she could handle and then holding them out as long as possible. After exhausting the reserves of her Origin, she was then pushed to try and use more magic, which would ideally force her to access her backup reserves. The Second Origin was usually only accessed when a mage was in a life or death situation and they had run out of magic. But if they trained hard enough, there was the possibility of learning how to use it at will.

They took turns. Sometimes they all trained together, other days only one would train with her, just depending on who was recovered at what times. When they trained all together, they would all exhaust their magic, and then take turns trying to spar with Erza. She didn't go easy on them either, she pushed them hard enough that it felt like she might kill them – which she explained was necessary for releasing their Second Origin...at least for the first few times.

Of course Natsu was exempt from this training, since he was a dragon, so he spent his time with Happy fishing and swimming while they were doing this. It was quickly decided that he should be in a different place when Lucy was fighting Erza, because he had tried to interrupt more than once, and had a hard time keeping his magic to himself.

Unsurprisingly, Gray was the first one to open his Second Origin for the first time, near the end of the second week of training. Erza had been going especially hard on him and smacking him around with a long thin piece of wood. He was bruised and bloody by the time he finally managed to put up a shield of ice to block her blows.

Gasping, he stared at his hands, and then grinned, yelling, "I think I just did it!"

Erza smiled. "Keep it up. Let's see if you really have opened it. Fight me."

Sure enough, he hadn't just gotten a second wind or something, he really had accessed his backup reserves of magic, and managed to produce as much ice as he normally would.

And then he proceeded to pass out.

Juvia rushed to him and hurried to tend to his wounds as Lucy took his place. She didn't reach her Second Origin that day though, or the days to follow. All she got was a bunch of bruises and welts for her trouble.

It wasn't until the third week that she finally made a breakthrough. By that point, Gray had opened his Second Origin enough to be able to do it if he tried hard enough, so his training had become solo as he worked on mastering it. Juvia had managed to open hers once, but not since then. So Lucy was the only one who hadn't opened hers at all.

She was determined to reach her Second Origin too, and so she made sure to completely exhaust herself by summoning Aries, Taurus, and Scorpio all at once. She held them there while Juvia worked with Erza to try and access her Second Origin again, and by the time the blue haired mage had called it quits Lucy had been forced to release all the gates.

She was sitting down and panting, feeling unpleasantly empty and exhausted after expending so much magic, and groaned when Juvia finally said, "Alright! I'm done!"

That meant it was Lucy's turn, and she whined as she forced herself to her feet, swaying a little when the world spun around her for a moment. Erza blinked at her then started forwards, looking worried when Lucy stumbled and ended up landing on one knee.

"Lucy…are you sure you can train further?"

"The whole point is to exhaust your magic completely right? Well, I'm exhausted." Lucy responded, grinning tiredly up at Erza as the other woman helped her to her feet.

"True. I'm impressed by your dedication."

"Alright. Let's do this."

Getting her footing again, she managed to steady herself enough to face Erza as she reequipped. Lucy nearly fell over again though when the redheaded warrior donned what looked like a black armored military/police outfit that was skintight. The huge bullwhip at her hip didn't make Lucy feel very good at all about what was going to happen.

"I will honor your dedication by using this armor."

"Um…are you sure that's armor and not something else?"

"What else would it be? I bought it at a store with many different kinds of armor and bodysuits such as this. I believe this one was called 'disciplinarian.'"

"…right." Lucy sweat-dropped, thinking that Erza had probably been in a BDSM store. Either way though, it didn't look good for her. "…and the whip?"

She had used whips before in their training, particularly with Lucy since that was one of Lucy's specialties, but none quite so formidable.

"It's lovely right? Goes perfectly with this armor."

All she could do was shake her head and internally cringe. "Okay…well, let's do this I guess."

She drew her own weapon, an updated flueve d'etoiles, and summoned the celestial glowing whip from its handle, readying for a very unpleasant battle. The updated version had been a gift from her spirits when she had returned from her yearlong coma, and she had happily accepted it. Just like the original, it was her most prized possession and she carried it on her at all times.

It took miniscule amounts of magic to summon the celestial whip, but in her currently exhausted state she could barely even do that, and the long blue length sputtered and flickered in protest as her magic started giving out entirely.

Without further ado, Erza proceeded to whip the ever-living daylights out of her, and Lucy could only block a handful of the strikes as her whip sputtered in and out of existence. It was far from fun as she quickly accumulated a series of welts and bloody streaks. She pushed through the pain though, determined to open her Second Origin no matter what.

She kept trying to summon more magic to her whip and wished she could summon her spirits. With a pop, Amy came into being with a flash of light, mist, and the scent of sun-kissed pines. She parked her furry behind nearby and watched, growling softly. The first time Lucy had done this, Amy had intervened and grabbed the weapon right out of Erza's hand, but after Lucy had explained what was going on, her loyal lupine companion had reluctantly backed off. Still, she insisted on showing up and watching, just in case she felt like Lucy was pushing herself too hard and needed to stop things.

The white wolf was obviously not happy about this particular sparring session, as she kept up a constant growl from the sidelines, and Lucy worried she would cut in at any moment. She did her best to ignore the unhappy celestial wolf though, because she had to use all her concentration on the sparring match. The pain was not getting any better as she continued to accumulate injuries, and she could see how Erza was beginning to scowl deeply herself. The redhead wasn't particularly pleased about this either, but she must have been able to see the determination in Lucy's eyes, because she didn't lighten up the barrage. Juvia stood nearby, looking tearful and upset too.

At one point, Erza managed to pop her hard on her hand and the flueve d'etoiles flew across the sand. All that was left was to try and summon a spirit, which she knew wasn't going to happen. Gritting her teeth, she took the continued lashes, bracing her forearms in front of her face and thinking fast and hard. She had to access her magic, that was all there was to it, and so she dug deep. All she felt was emptiness, lack of magic, and fatigue, but as she stretched deeper, she started to feel a tingle of light. Pushing through the pain and exhaustion, she reached for that light, and suddenly felt something give. A wave of magic flooded her.

Feeling her strength return, she let the power flood through her and stood from her half-crouched position. Grabbing three keys at once, she felt who she had grabbed and grinned.

"Open! Gate of the Ram! Aries!"

With a pink puff and the normal greeting of, "I'm sorry!" Aries puffed into being and put up a wool wall to stop the lashes without Lucy even having to ask. "I'm so sorry! Was this what you wanted Miss Lucy?"

"You did perfect Aries! Now, Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

"Yes Princess? Is it punishment time?"

"For Erza it is. Now go dunk her in a deep hole!"

"Right away Princess!"

Instantly she spun down into the ground, and a second later Erza disappeared into the sand. Lucy motioned for Aries to drop her wall, which she did, so Lucy could see what was going on. Then she raised her next key. "Open! Gate of the Crab! Cancer!"

"Hey Baby." Cancer puffed in with a red flash.

"Get ready, when she comes out, cut the connections to her armored wings."

"Sure thing, Baby."

Sure enough, Erza popped out a moment later, flying in her demon armor. Leaping into the fray, Cancer went after her with his shears, going for the straps holding her armored demon wings on. He was like a surgeon almost in his precision.

"Aries! Put a wool ball right under her so she falls into it!"

"Right away!"

Erza had been taken by surprise and hadn't been able to ward off Cancer fast enough. As soon as her wings fell off, she let out a yell as she fell. That yell cut off though when she landed in a pink puff, and she immediately sighed in complete happiness and comfort, going limp and helpless as Lucy knew she would.

Lucy had never used Aries's wool ball against Erza before of course, though her redheaded friend had seen her use it on enemies before.

"This…this really is a formidable magic Lucy…" she sputtered, shooting the blond an impressed look. "I can't do anything at all. It's as if my whole body went completely limp."

"It's Aries's magic not mine." She smiled at the timid fluffy spirit, who fidgeted under the complement.

"I-I don't know what to say Miss Lucy…"

After that, within the next few training sessions with Erza, Lucy was able to summon her Second Origin several more times, until she got a feel for it and how to access it on her own. Then it was just Juvia and Erza training, and Lucy left them to it happily.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _When they finally arrived in Crocus several hours later, they all spilled out of the car in one large mass and probably scared the next group of passengers silly as they basically plowed them all over._

 _Their first stop after disembarking was the Grand Magic Games arena – the Domus Flau… a huge circular stadium located in the mountains west of Crocus._


	43. Chapter 43

**Author's Note:**

Hey! It's Wednesday! And time for a new chapter! The much anticipated start to the GMG arc! I hope it lives up to everyone's expectations. ;D

Also I have an **IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:** So listen up for a sec. The next few chapters are going to be extra super big, like three times the normal size, because I wanted to fit each GMG day into one chapter. So, for the duration of the Grand Magic Games, I'm going to have to slow my posting to once a week (every Sunday) instead of twice. The chapters are just too big for me to have time to edit two a week. But you'll still be getting the same amount of content, just in one chapter instead of two. So I hope that's not too upsetting for anyone, and it's only going to be through the GMG as I said. After that I will resume posting on Wednesday (as long as I get 10 reviews by then of course, but I have no worries there. ;D)

Alright, end of announcement.

As always, a huge sparkly thanks to all my fantabulous reviewers. Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: WisdomDragon27, TheJSmooth, quidditchChick6, Donthedarkdragon26, valerioux, Anna5949, Syfenos U, Leomae2.0, thetrywriter, SunnieDayys, stranger1999, Firefly9917.

Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Azzzimoth and AlchemistLyn.

And on with the show! You know where to look for the sneak peek. ;D

* * *

After a month, Team A returned from their island getaway.

They had cut it a little close to optimize their training time, and as soon as they got back they had to head straight for the capitol and the Grand Magic Games. Their departure times had been planned ahead of time though, and Team B had been completely on board with the idea of getting in as much training as possible. So, they all intended to meet up at the train station just a day before the start of the Games. Naturally, everyone in the guild who planned to go and see them compete – which was basically everyone – met them at the train station as well.

"Natsu! Lucy! Erza! Gray! Juvia!" Their names were called by their friends as they arrived at the station, and the cacophony easily led them to the group of mages. Their guild had taken over an entire landing, and it was obvious that they'd likely end up commandeering a whole train car – if not more.

Happy made a beeline straight for Carla and made a scene, which she didn't seem to appreciate too much, all things considered. She did, however, hug him back, despite telling him to keep it down. It was actually pretty cute.

Similarly, as soon as a certain turquoise pair of eyes landed on Erza, a tall hooded man came their way to greet them. 'Mystogen' embraced her – in a slightly abrupt manner that said he couldn't prevent himself from doing so – but after a moment he suddenly pulled back and looked awkward, the visible parts of his face flushing pink. Clearing his throat, he took a few steps back and fidgeted.

"Hello Erza…I trust your training went well?"

She was also blushing … but smiling too. "Yes, it did. And you?"

He nodded jerkily.

Lucy rolled her eyes at them, knowing that they were definitely together by now, but were obviously still awkward when it came to public displays of affection. Or maybe they just hadn't gotten used to physical intimacy yet… who knew?

After a moment, Lucy's attention shifted to Levy and Gajeel – who were also very awkwardly reuniting – and she smirked a little, wondering to herself how long it would take for them to pair up too.

"Yo…"

She turned and greeted Laxus, who had just walked up with Fro. "Hey Laxus. Frosch. How was your training with Team B?"

He shrugged and glanced around with his patented disinterested expression. Until, of course, the Thunder Legion found him and made a huge scene. Lucy had to skip back a few steps to avoid the train wreck, and then dodged when they all got thrown off and zapped after accidentally treading on Fro's tail.

"Watch where you're stepping!" the lightning dragon slayer growled, still visibly sparking with irritation as Fro nursed her sore tail with slightly teary eyes.

Panther Lily quickly came over to see if she was alright – and probably also to get away from the awkward-fest still going on with Gajeel and Levy.

The Thunder Legion all fell back and apologized, and Freed went so far as to kneel down to her eyelevel to apologize. It seemed the little green cat was apparently quite fond of Freed, because she perked up very quickly and offered him hugs.

Lucy just rolled her eyes and then turned to hug Cana as she came up for greetings.

…

Approximately one chaotic hour later, they were all on the train heading to Crocus and everyone was busy being loud and cutting up and celebrating and visiting.

Cana had somehow procured a barrel of wine from somewhere, or maybe she had snuck it aboard in one of her cards. Wakaba and Macau were playing poker while Romeo visited with Wendy in the seat next door. Carla and Happy sat with their tails twined together while Happy ate his fish and Carla read a magazine that Wendy had recently gotten interested in. Laxus was sitting in the corner with Frosch, listening to music as the Thunder Legion congregated around him, visiting loudly and boisterously. Lucy and Levy were engrossed in a fierce discussion over the books they had read in the past month, while Gajeel lingered nearby with Panther Lily – who was watching Frosch. Juvia and Erza had apparently payed a visit to one of the many food options available at the train station, because they were both occupied with their edible purchases. Juvia was in the process of attempting to feed Gray what looked like dumplings of some sort, while Erza was preoccupied with a lovely piece of cake. Her masked boyfriend ate an identical confection right alongside her.

It all seemed perfectly normal.… until suddenly everything went very quiet.

Lucy glanced over to where the silence originated, only to see a small girl with long blond hair parked in the booth next to Master Makarov – who was staring down at her with googly eyes.

"Master Mavis! What on earth are you doing here?!"

"I'm coming to watch the Games of course! This is exciting!"

"But, but…but you're a ghost!"

"Oh don't worry, only members of Fairy Tail can see me."

There was an eruption of murmuring as everyone commented – to themselves or their nearby friends – what they thought about having a specter in their midst, but after a few moments everyone got back to what they were doing prior to her appearance. Naturally, as her presence was accepted by the rest of Fairy Tail, the noise and cheer resumed in full.

When they finally arrived in Crocus several hours later, they all spilled out of the car in one large mass and probably scared the next group of passengers silly as they basically plowed them all over.

Their first stop after disembarking was the Grand Magic Games arena – the Domus Flau… a huge circular stadium located in the mountains west of Crocus. So, they all bulldozed straight through the capitol and made a beeline for it – mainly because they were required to sign in by a certain time today, or they would be disqualified from the Games. When they got there, Makarov, Team A, and Team B went into the registrar's office to check in, while the rest of their guildmates waited for them outside. Normally they would have all split off into Crocus in search of entertainment, food, and drink, but since they all planned to stay in the same hotel – and everyone was still lugging around whatever baggage they had brought – it made more sense to stick together for the time being.

That turned out to be a good thing, because after signing in, they were given a list of registered hotels that were participating in the Games. So, they all promptly headed back into town and booked rooms at the first inn they came to that was on the list. All the participants in the Games got free rooms, so they were able to stretch that by packing everyone into a few rooms booked under the names of the participants. They were allowed three rooms per team, so all the girls piled into rooms under Erza, Juvia, and Mira's names. Meanwhile, all the guys crammed into Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus's rooms.

After dropping off their belongings, they all dispersed to check out the various booths already set up for the Games. Naturally, they quickly split up into smaller groups as different foods and attractions lured them in different directions.

Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Gray, and Juvia ended up together at a seafood booth that was selling some truly mouthwatering fish and chips, octopus dumplings, sushi, and grilled red snapper. Next door was a shaved ice stand that Gray made a beeline for, and he ran into Erza who was just coming from a pastry stall down the way. They stopped to chat, and Juvia quickly headed over to join her beloved.

Lucy had just gotten a plate with smoked salmon nigiri and a selection of brightly colored sushi rolls, when her attention was dragged away from her treat by Natsu suddenly exclaiming, "Rogue! Hey, what're you doing here?"

She turned to see her partner enthusiastically greeting a somewhat stoic looking guy with shoulder length black hair, red eyes, and a scar across his nose. He wore a half-robe, exposing the black sleeveless shirt underneath, and his other arm was bare aside from a black forearm guard. The half-robe was long, reaching his knees, and cinched around his waist with a long black belt that wrapped around him many times. Under that he wore black pants and boots.

He turned and blinked at Natsu before breaking out into a calm but obviously happy smile.

"Natsu…it's good to see you."

"Yeah, you too. Any news?"

The other's expression darkened slightly. "Actually…yes. According to what I've heard, Tartarus is busy with yet another ploy here in the human realm…like what they did with Grimoire Hearts. So we should all be on guard."

That, at least, answered some of her questions. This must be the other celestial dragon that Natsu was working with on the Tartarus case, and apparently he also had a wizard here in Earthland too.

At that moment, a blond spiky-haired man came up next to him, wearing a similarly fancy outfit. He wore a red and white vest, trimmed in fur at the top and left open in the front to show off his bare chest, and his arms were sleeved in red gloves that reached his biceps. His brown pants had a militaristic look to their cut, which was only emphasized by tucking them into tall boots. Like Rogue, he also had a scar marring his face, though it split his right eyebrow instead of his nose.

"Yo… Rogue, who're you… talking to?"

"Sting, this is Natsu, a friend from the celestial realm. And Natsu, this is my summoner, Sting."

Since they were doing introductions, Lucy also joined them and was a little surprised with what she sensed as she got closer to Rogue's mage. "Um…hi! I'm Lucy, Natsu's mage."

Happy also joined her and raised a paw in greeting. "I'm Happy."

"Hey Luce! Happy! This is Rogue! He's the guy that's been helping me out with the Tartarus thing."

"And I'm Sting, his summoner and teammate." The other blond offered her a friendly wave. A red colored Exceed wearing a blue vest trotted up next to him. "And I'm Lector!"

"Hi! It's nice to meet you three. And thank you for all your help." She addressed Rogue for the last part, referencing his assistance in trying to hunt down Tartarus.

"No problem. To be honest, we also have a celestial mage on our team. So we're worried too." the black-haired dragon answered.

"No kidding?! That's awesome! Oh, wait though…um…no offense but, you're not a celestial mage too are you?" she asked Sting, and he snorted and shook his head.

"Nope. I'm a dragon slayer."

"Really? That's awesome!" Natsu enthused.

"Yeah, but…how did you summon Rogue if you're not a celestial mage? If it's not too rude of me to ask…"

"Oh that! Funny story actually…. you see, I'm not technically Rogue's _mage_ – not like you are to Natsu. That would be my girlfriend, Yukino. She's the celestial mage on our team. But, as I'm sure you know, dragons come and go under their own magic, and after being a team for so long, we got real close ya know? So eventually he sorta gave me a 'key' too, and now I can summon him as well."

There were a lot of holes in that story. There was no such thing as having two keys for one spirit… but the way he had said it made her think that his 'key' might be something else entirely. The only thing she could think of that was like a key though, would be the mate mark between her and Natsu. But that would mean he and Rogue were a mated pair…which contradicted him calling Yukino his girlfriend.

Deciding that she probably shouldn't ask him any of those questions, she just smiled and accepted the story for the time being.

They visited a little longer, and soon another wizard came up to join them…one who bore a striking resemblance to Angel of Oracion Seis.

Lucy's major flinch and recoil must have startled her, because she stuttered to a stop and looked back and forth between them all. "Um…I'm sorry for startling you…"

"What's with that reaction?! This is Yukino, our teammate!" Sting growled, seeming to get offended at Lucy's obviously perturbed reaction. He suddenly reminded her of Natsu, what with his lack of a filter and that passionate response.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You just look so much like a mage I fought once that it took me back."

"…by any chance was her name Sorano?"

"Sorano…you know, I think that _was_ Angel's real name. She was a member of the Oracion Seis."

"Yes! That's my sister."

"Seriously?! Wow, well this is kind of awkward…um, I'm the one who sent her to jail…so, I'm sorry…." Lucy cringed, feeling amazingly uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"It's okay, she _had_ gotten involved with some really bad stuff…and paid the consequences. I was hoping that maybe being in prison would make her see the error of her ways and she would eventually get out on parole or something…but now that she's been taken…."

The white-haired girl started tearing up a little, and Lucy hurried to reach out and pat her on the shoulder. "I'm sure we'll find her. We're in the process of investigating the people we think took her. The same group attacked our guild as well."

"Tartarus? You mean you're from Fairy Tail? Rogue told us he was working with someone from your guild to try and bring them down!"

"Yep, that's us!"

"Wow! Well I'm so happy to meet you all."

After that, introductions were made, and they continued to talk and walk for a while.

"So…by any chance is the rest of your guild involved in the hunt for Tartarus?"

"No. Sabertooth is…. we pretty much keep our business to ourselves. Any personal projects you take on aren't the responsibility of the guild as a whole."

"Even if it's a threat against one of its guildmembers?!"

"Strength is everything in Sabertooth. If you aren't strong enough to take care of yourself, you get kicked out." Sting answered with something like pride.

"That sounds kind of…um…barbaric. I mean, no offense, but…"

Sting protested, seeming to get mad, but both Yukino and Rogue looked hesitant and glanced down, as if they already thought something along those lines but hadn't wanted to say it. Even with Sting's protests, it sounded a lot like blustering to try and cover up doubts, and she decided to let it slide for now and not antagonize them.

They visited a while longer – in the process, finding out that the other three were also going to be participating in the games – but eventually they separated to find their respective guilds as the evening started falling upon them.

…

Later that night, Lucy headed to her shared room with Erza, Cana, and Levy, while Natsu made for his shared room with Gray, Elfman, Jet, and Droy. The guys had it a little harder than the girls, since there were simply more guys in the guild than girls. Some, like Macao, Wakaba, and Romeo, had gotten a room for themselves out of their own pay, just so they had a little more breathing room. A few couples had also decided to splurge on a room for themselves, like Bisca and Alzack to everyone's catcalls and wolf whistles…making the new couple blush vividly.

Natsu and Lucy also unintentionally received their own set of catcalls, thanks to Natsu's uninhibited personality. She'd simply been bidding him goodnight with a kiss, but he just _had_ to get all fired up and returned her kiss a little too enthusiastically for public. As soon as her lips met his, he turned fully, and his hand clamped onto the back of her head, preventing a quick retreat like she had planned. It spiraled a little out of control as he deepened it, and she followed suit out of habit and instinct. When fire spilled down her throat and drew out a very quiet groan from her, she started turning to putty and swayed into his grip, relaxing fully into the kiss.

Of course it was then that a _very_ loud wolf-whistle speared her ears, and Cana shouted, "As hot as that is, how 'bout you two get a room? There're kids here!" That announcement was followed by more catcalls from the rest of the guild of course.

She instantly flushed from head to toe as she abruptly realized that this was edging into the realm of inappropriate and pulled back, having to push on his chest to get him to release her head. The kiss cut off very sharply as she shoved him back, and a lick of fire spilled from their lips as they parted, stretching between them for a moment like a string of saliva, and then dispersing with a puff.

She heard a few awkward murmurs.

"U-um…yeah, so goodnight." she chuckled embarrassedly, and Natsu just gave her a fangy, happy grin. The look in his eyes said that he wanted to kiss her again, though he wasn't mad about stopping.

She could feel that burning gaze on her all the way to the stairs. It took a lot of willpower to not look back, and when she glanced towards Happy, she made sure to keep her eyes clear of Natsu's – knowing that any eye contact would probably prompt him to follow her and try to sneak into her room somehow.

"You coming Happy?" she called across the room.

"I'll be along in a bit!" he responded with a wave, and she waved back, smiling when she noted how he was apparently entrenched in a very interesting discussion of some sort with his girlfriend. So she turned and went up to her room by herself.

By the time Lucy had changed into her pajamas and was climbing into bed, Cana, Erza, and Levy had come up to join her as well, though only Levy looked like she was actually in the mood for sleep. The other two had curious, slightly evil expressions that said they wanted to have 'girl talk'…probably about the kiss they had just witnessed. Cana had brought her keg o' wine with her and was already dishing out glasses to Erza and Levy.

"So…" Erza started, as she reequipped into her pajamas. "Since we're all sharing a room, let us indulge in some sleepover rituals."

"Like…?" Levy asked, seeming suspicious.

"Drinking obviously." Cana supplied, grinning and toasting them all with her huge flask.

"And gossiping." Erza added with a tone that brooked no complaints.

"Oh boy…" Lucy muttered weakly as she accepted her own glass of wine and took a gulp, feeling like she was probably going to need it soon.

"Alright…so who wants to start?" Levy asked, sounding a little nervous but overall on board. "How about you Cana? Any good gossip?"

"Oh yeah…" She grinned wickedly. "You know how Bisca and Alzack are staying in a private room together? And they retired early when everyone else went to get food? I happened to pass by their room and heard some…very interesting sounds."

All the girls present flushed, aside from Cana of course, and surprisingly Erza and Levy both blushed harder than Lucy.

"So they were…." Levy gasped, sounding all sorts of flustered.

"Yep. Totally fucking. And it sounded like they were both having a great time."

"Really? I guess they've gotten over their shyness now, huh? Their first time was probably pretty hysterical though…" Lucy pondered.

Erza and Levy both gaped at her in surprise, but Cana just grinned and laughed.

"Oh yeah, I bet it was a stuttering mess!" she agreed.

After a brief pause, in which Erza and Levy both drank deeply, Erza asked Cana, "And how about you? Have you found a new boyfriend yet?"

"Well…I have a couple of guys I'm casually dating right now, but I haven't decided if I want to go steady with any of them yet. And how about you Erza? It's obvious you and Jellal have something going on."

The redhead flushed to match her hair and looked down into her cup. "Well…we _have_ expressed certain…feelings to each other. But, things are still very awkward between us. We have so much history that it's hard to know where to go from here."

"Yeah that's obvious." Cana snorted, amused, and took another gulp of her wine. "So have you guys at least kissed yet?"

The reequip mage blushed dark red and cleared her throat, then simply said, "Yes."

Lucy and Cana both whooped while Levy offered softer congratulations. Erza grinned, but her look soured considerable when Cana continued her line of questioning and asked if that was as far as they'd gotten.

"Not exactly."

"That's what I thought! So have clothes come off? Have you gone all the way yet? Come on, dish already! At least tell us if he's a good kisser or not." Cana pushed.

Erza's embarrassed flush was dying down some, to be replaced with a slightly tipsy flush as she chugged her wine, and that meant she suddenly grew much bolder. "He's an excellent lover, though we've only been together once. It happened when I went to bring him to the guild, but we left things strained and up in the air. And shortly after returning, we left to train for the Games. So we haven't talked about what happened. I'm not sure if our relationship will progress or go back to the way it was."

Since Erza actually looked kind of sad now, they all just offered their sympathies instead of teasing her any further, and then Cana shifted her sights onto Lucy.

"Sooooo, how about you Lucy? I bet you've got all sorts of juicy gossip about our favorite fire dragon."

The blond cringed, blushing. "Um…like what?"

"For starters…what was with that kiss?" Levy suddenly asked, getting into it now that she was a little tipsy.

"Um…it was just a goodnight kiss…"

"That was one hell of a goodnight kiss. Does he always grab you like that?"

"Uh…sometimes. I think his excitement about the Games tomorrow might have had something to do with it."

Erza almost cut her off with, "And why was there fire? Do you enjoy having your tongue burnt?"

"No! I'm immune to his fire!" Lucy protested, a little embarrassed and irritated at the insinuation.

"Immune? You mean he can't hurt you with it?" Cana asked, obviously curious as she leaned forwards on her bed.

"No…his fire doesn't hurt me."

"Then what does it feel like?" Levy asked.

"Um…it's really…well, hot."

Cana laughed. "Hot like temperature, or hot like sexy?"

Lucy flushed and fidgeted. "…both."

At that, everyone seemed surprised and intrigued. "You mean his fire feels good?!" Levy asked incredulously.

"Y-yeah…"

"How exactly?" Erza asked, also obviously curious.

"Um…it's kind of hard to explain. It's like…the burn of whisky – if you like that. Or a really hot bath…or…uh…just heat in general." The wine might be helping her comfort level, but it was not helping her ability to try and put difficult sensations into words.

"Huh…I guess I could see what you mean. I've used a heating spell on some of my toys before when I was having 'personal time.'" Cana said, looking thoughtful, and then smirked when everyone sent her shocked looks. "Oh come on, you can't tell me none of you rub off from time to time. But yeah, you should really try it sometime, heating spells can be pretty awesome."

"Heat, huh?" Erza mumbled, looking like she was actually considering the suggestion. Poor Levy though looked like she had gone into a shy coma, with a bright red face covered by her hands.

Of course that wasn't the end of it, because now Cana had just thought of something even dirtier and had turned a hundred-watt smirk back onto Lucy. "Ooooh….so, if his fire feels good…I guess he can give you one hell of a blow job, huh?"

Lucy stiffened and her somewhat fading blush came back hotter than ever, but thankfully her wine had relaxed her enough that she could grin and laugh a little about it. "Yeah…I guess you could say that."

Cana chuckled, leaning back some. "So…how's his score? If you had to rate him from one to ten."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Uhhhhh…I guess a nine point five? It would be perfect but he sometimes does really crazy shit."

"Oh really? Like what?" Erza prompted. "Does it have anything to do with that time we all woke up to find your clothes scattered all over the island?"

"Wait what? Did that happen while you were training last month?" Levy added.

Erza nodded at both Cana and Levy's curious looks.

"Um…he wanted to try having sex while we were flying…"

All three girls gasped, wide eyed. "That sounds really dangerous Lu!" Levy protested.

"Yeah, I thought so too…but…I guess it wasn't. We did kind of fall a couple of times but…we were so high up that we had plenty of room to catch ourselves. Anyways…"

And so it continued late into the night, up until Happy sleepily stumbled into the room, and then they all headed to bed.

As for Lucy, she didn't mind sharing the room with her friends, but … she did discover an interesting problem later on in the night as she attempted to sleep. She couldn't help but feel strange sleeping in the small twin bed by herself. It was amazingly cold and lonely without her personal space heater, and so it took a shockingly long time to fidget herself into a very fitful sleep. Happy - on the other hand - was out as soon as his furry blue ears hit her pillow, and his snoring right by her head didn't exactly lull her to sleep either.

It seemed like mere seconds after she'd drifted off that a loud horn was being blown, and somebody started shouting through some exceptionally loud speakers. There was no way in hell that anybody could sleep through that racket, and it was so startling that she heard more than one violently surprised reaction from her roommates.

Levy fell off the bed with a yelp and pinwheeled her arms aggressively to try and correct herself… which launched the lamp sitting on her nightstand into the air. Erza summoned a weapon in her half-asleep state and whacked the lamp out of midair as it headed towards her head, only to get a look at her broken fishing pole and groan. Cana snorted and tipped over her wine … which poured down her front. That roused her with a yell and then vibrant cusses as she realized that she would have to deal with stains and also an empty bottle. As for Lucy, she had sat upright so fast that she brought Happy with her, and he yowled as he was yanked through the air by one paw – which was tangled in her hair. She yowled too as her hair got yanked, and they both very quickly fixed the problem.

Sounds of crashing, yelling, cussing, and general chaos came from the rooms around them as everyone else woke with a bang too.

Naturally, once everyone was awake, the next thing to do was to go out onto their respective balconies and investigate the obnoxiously loud voice.

It quickly turned out to be the mascot for the Grand Magic Games, a strange little man in a funny costume with the head of a pumpkin. After waking everyone up, he bellowed into his lacrima speaker, " **We're starting off the Grand Magic Games a wee bit early this year for a big surprise! If you'll look up, you can see the very first challenge!"**

Everyone gaped at the huge floating ball high above the city. It looked like a rat's nest of roads and stairs and platforms and basically nonsense. Essentially, it was a twisted-up maze. Suddenly, every hotel that housed contestants got cranked up high into the air on tall pillars of gears – probably run by magic. Long bridges sprung from the maze ball and landed on every balcony and window that belonged to a registered participant of the Grand Magic Games.

" **Teams! Please make your way into the grand maze! The goal is to find the exit, which will magically teleport you to the Domus Flau. Everyone who passes through the exit by dawn will go on to compete in the Grand Magic Games! Your** _ **entire**_ **team must participate and get through the exit to win!"**

For a long moment, everyone stared at the bridges, the maze, and the pumpkin head in shock… and then it seemed like everyone snapped back to their senses at the same time, and – with various yells, war cries, and groans of displeasure – all the competitors ran up their respective bridges.

"Woah this is crazy!" Gray announced as he joined them from two bridges over with Natsu hot on his heels.

"Yeah, not really a big fan to tell you the truth." Lucy grouched, not pleased about being woken up in the middle of the night for this.

"Ha! Don't be such a spoil-sport Luce! This is tons of fun!" Natsu enthused, and she just scowled at him and stuck her tongue out in a petulant act of defiance.

"Juvia is also disturbed… she was woken from a most pleasant dream of her and Gray." the water mage agreed with Lucy as she flowed over from a bridge on their other side.

Of course nobody risked commenting on that, for fear that they would get an explicit description of said dream.

Soon, they reached the platform their bridge connected to, and then they took a moment to just absorb the spectacle that completely surrounded them on all sides. It looked like something out of a madman's fever dream. There was really no telling up from down, because there were some paths and stairs that even went sideways or upside down for some odd reason.

"This should be easy enough I hope…we just have to find the exit, right?" Juvia asked, looking around her with a bit lip.

"Yeah…but where in the heck could the exit be?"

"Not a clue." Gray said flatly, also looking around and obviously unamused.

It might have seemed like a simple task in theory, but considering just how vast and chaotic this place was, it seemed like more and more of an impossibility the longer they looked around.

"Well, we've gotta start somewhere. Let's just get going!" Natsu finally spat as his patience fizzled out.

For once nobody could think of a better solution, and so they all set out, picking pathways randomly.

Soon enough, it became apparent why the maze was so crazy, because about thirty minutes later, the entire structure shifted to the side. With a cacophony of screams, people began to fall off their pathways. Some were lucky enough to smack into another one on the way down, but most seemed to just fall right out of the maze altogether. Thankfully, with Gray's ice make magic, Erza's pick of armor wings, and Natsu's real wings, they were all able to make it to another pathway safely.

Lucy hadn't even panicked when she fell… not like she would have a month ago. With all her training, she was able to keep somewhat calm and reached out for Natsu, angling her fall so she could get closer. Still, by the time they landed on the next path over, she realized that her heart was pounding as adrenaline rushed through her at the sudden unexpected toss into midair.

"Well…that explains a lot." Erza said dryly as they all landed on the platform.

"Yeah. Now we know why the paths are all weird." Gray seconded, not looking particularly pleased with the discovery.

The largest problem with the preliminary round, was that it was seemingly based on pure luck…since there was no real way to find the exit aside from just stumbling across it.

"There has to be some way to do this in a logical manner. It can't just be a bunch of running around aimlessly." Lucy whined after a while, beginning to feel a disenchanted with the whole thing. Not that she'd been happy about it to begin with.

"When we started this contest, we were facing east. I suggest that we aim in that direction so we can go straight through the center to the other side. Hopefully that will have us travel the majority of the maze." Erza offered.

"Definitely sounds better than just wandering around. Let's do it!" Lucy said with a determined strike of her fist to her other palm – an action she had picked up from Natsu.

And so, Erza pulled out a compass and they all aimed eastward as they continued to make their way through the maze. They all kept their eyes peeled for any sign of an exit as they methodically walked the paths they had picked out.

There was a flash from somewhere deeper within in the maze, and the announcer said, "We have our first contestant to make it through the maze! It's Sabertooth!"

Natsu's ears perked up. "Hey, that's Rogue, Sting, and Yukino's guild right?"

"Yeah…why?"

With a broad grin, he lifted his nose and inhaled deeply. "Now I'm fired up! All I've gotta do is catch a whiff of them and we're set!"

"All right! Way to go Natsu!"

With that, they all sped up – still going eastwards, which the flash of light from before had confirmed was the right direction – while Natsu sniffed the air searching for a trace of Sabertooth. After another hour of searching, two more teams had made it through – Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus. They all perked up at the sound of Blue Pegasus, because it was another group of scents that Natsu was familiar with. The following announcement of 'Lamia Scale' also sparked excitement. On the other hand, Raven Tail and Quatro Cerberus didn't do anything for them, so they ignored those.

By the time Natsu finally ran across a scent he recognized, amongst the hundreds of smells he didn't, the night had almost completely passed, they'd been turned around more times than they could count, and they were all starting to panic.

So, when he froze and then yelled, "There! I've got them!" they all shouted in excitement.

"Quick! We've got to follow them while the trail is still warm!"

They hurried forwards after Natsu and followed him as he confidently wound through the paths – even finding a way back to the correct path after the maze tilted again.

Finally, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and their hectic pace increased even further. In fact, they were running so fast, that they very nearly plowed over Team B as the two Fairy Tail groups converged right at the finish line. Thankfully, nobody fell out of the maze, and both teams barreled through a glowing doorway and out into a huge arena right before the horn sounded to end the challenge. As such, they were the last guild to make it, and they had eked through by the skin of their teeth – which didn't do all that much for their reputation.

One would think that getting both of their teams through would count for something at least…. but naturally the crowd didn't see it that way. Based off all the loud jeering and cries of, "Cheaters!" most people seemed to disapprove, _despite_ the fact that it was perfectly legal to enter two teams into the Games. Although, since they were the only guild to get both through the preliminaries, it did give them a somewhat unfair advantage.

After finishing – and dealing with all the unpleasant booing of the crowds – Fairy Tail Teams A and B headed back to their hotel as a long recess was called before the true Games begun. As for Lucy, she was looking forward to crawling back into bed, even if she couldn't have her space heater with her. However, as soon as they stepped foot inside the hotel – which had been lowered back to the ground of course – the rest of their guild pounced on them. Suddenly there was food and drink and random fights, as per usual, as everyone in the guild celebrated their victory.

Lucy participated for a while, drinking maybe one glass of wine too many, and then staggered off to bed…for a few hours filled with bad half-dreams and not nearly enough sleep. The rest of her roommates eventually joined her to try and grab a few more hours of shut eye as well.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _No sooner had she set off in search of a minkrat though, than something snagged her. Of course she'd been oblivious to the warnings shouted by her friends as they watched a certain redheaded aggressor heading right towards her. In fact it looked like the Raven Tail member had actually hunted her down, because she had passed up several other contestants on her way to Lucy. This had not gone unnoticed by Fairy Tail's resident redhead, but most other members of the audience had missed this little detail._

 _As for Lucy, all she knew was intense pain as something wrapped around her ankle and then squeezed tight. She had faster reflexes than Yukino though, and a key was in her hand before the tendril of hair could snake around her whole leg._


	44. Chapter 44

**Author's Note:**

It's Sunday! And you know what that means! New chapter!

Alright, so, just to rehash, there won't be an update this Wednesday - because the next few chapters are sooooo long. It's taking me longer to edit them. But it's only for the next few chapters, so just bear with me. ;D And you'll be getting the same amount of content, so don't worry.

Anywho, as always, big humongous thanks to everyone who reviewed! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Anna5949, Azzzimoth, valerious, quidditchChick6, TheJSmooth, Leomae2.0, Donthedarkdragon26, SunnieDayys, KitsuneLover05, Firefly9917, Lucinda, and stranger1999.

Also, someone asked about Natsu and whether his training was strengthening him. Because if he isn't getting stronger, he'll just lose again if he goes up against Acnologia. So, here's the answer to that. Yes, he is getting stronger, but no he doesn't have a Second Origin. He's getting stronger through all the things that happen in the story, like that whole year of constant flying looking for Lucy. That increased his stamina, and strength, and therefore his magic by correlation. The month of training also made him stronger, fighting every day with Erza will do that to ya, even if he is a dragon. Plus, he and Lucy are getting stronger as a team, and jointly their attacks are going to become more powerful. So I hope that helps everyone who may have been wondering about that. ;D

Alrighty! On with the show! And don't forget to check out the sneak peek.

* * *

When the time to get back up rolled around, Lucy woke with a pounding headache from yet another fitful dream of being cold and lost. So, she was thoroughly unamused by the inevitable clanging and clattering of Erza putting on her armor. With a groan, she slapped her pillow over her head and burrowed deeper under the covers to try and block out the world.

"Well…you certainly appear to be under the weather. Are you feeling alright Lucy?"

"Hangover?" Cana asked from the other side – a certain groan in her voice suggesting that _she_ was the one suffering from overindulgence.

With a sigh, Lucy peeled the pillow back gingerly and peered out with slitted eyes. "No, I don't have a hangover, but I did have terrible dreams. I barely got any sleep."

"Ouch."

"Yeah…" she sighed, and finally heaved herself out of bed with a groan.

After everyone had gotten dressed, they all headed downstairs for breakfast, and then both Team A and Team B geared up to go back to the Domus Flau for day one of the competition. Thanks to everyone's all-nighter, it was starting later than it usually would – noon instead of in the AM – but they were still cutting it a little close, so everyone had to get the lead out.

The rest of their guildmates accompanied them to the arena itself, but they split up once they hit the gates, since the competitors would be watching the proceedings from special booths that had direct access to the arena floor.

However, before they headed to their independent viewing boxes, all the participating teams had to be introduced to the crowd – since there hadn't been a very large audience for the preliminary round. So, Team A and Team B headed through the winding halls that snaked from the entrance to the arena floor and got in line. They would be going out one team at a time as they were introduced… to increase the spectacle of it all and ramp up the excitement of the crowd. Being that they were in order of who made it through last night, of course Fairy Tail was dead last in line and had to listen to all the cheers for the opposing teams first. Based on the decibel level, it was easy to see which guilds were the most popular with the crowd.

Sabertooth was greeted with the loudest round of screams, applause, cheers, and every other fan-like sound possible. Blue Pegasus and Lamia scale seemed about equal in popularity. Mermaid Heel was obviously third in the lineup, but still got a good amount of applause and cheers.

Quatro Cerberus didn't sound like they had nearly as much support as the others, but the fans that they _did_ have made a cacophony as they all screamed, "WILD!" in answer to the question, "What are we?" But unlike the other four, they also got a few boos and jeers along the lines of, "You're gonna lose, you half-baked dogs!" mixed into their reception.

Raven Tail also received boos, but didn't get any positive sounds either – just confused silence and concerned mutters. One person shouted loudly, "Aren't they a dark guild?!" Of course, they couldn't possibly be an illegal guild if they were being allowed to participate…. but the naive comment certainly underscored the fact that people didn't know anything about Raven Tail, aside from their supposedly sordid past.

And finally it was Fairy Tail's turn. When Team A and Team B walked out onto the field, they received a mixed response from the crowd. There were some polite applause – perhaps from past supporters – but the overwhelming response was negative as people booed them. They even got a few pieces of trash thrown at them, and when a mostly empty soda cup bounced off Lucy's head, Natsu roasted it in midair and turned to glare at whoever had thrown it.

Erza hurriedly grabbed his arm and muttered, "Don't pay attention to them. That'll all change soon enough."

He grumbled something under his breath, probably something not too nice either…. and Lucy was in a foul enough mood to not care how rude he got.

Suddenly everyone's attention was distracted by Mato – the pumpkin mascot of the Grand Magic Games – as he made a new announcement.

" **Alright Pumpkins! Now that you know who'll be competing, let me introduce your three commentators, announcers, and judges! First, our very own announcer, Chapati Lola! Sitting next to him is Yajima – a former member of the Magic Council. And thirdly, Jason from Sorcerer Weekly will be commentating and also covering the Games from up in the booth!"**

There was a round of applause, and then Mato continued. **"And of course I'm Mato! Your friendly pumpkin mascot!"**

Then from up in the judge/commentator box, Chapati said, " **Thank you for the introductions Mato! Now, let's go over the schedule and rules for the competition. Days one, two, and three will each have four battle rounds. On day one there will be one challenge, on day two, two challenges, and on day three, three challenges. Day four will have battle rounds between teams of two and the grand finale…an all-out fight between all the guilds!"**

"Wow…sounds like we have a full schedule." Lucy muttered, feeling a few nerves kicking in at the sound of all that competing and fighting.

"Yeah! Bring it on! I'm all fired up!" Natsu predictably concluded with fire snorting out of his nose.

After the rules were explained, the first challenge of day was instantly sprung upon them.

"Contestants! Please choose one member to compete in the first competition of this year's Grand Magic Games!" The weird pumpkin-headed mascot yelled into his lacrima microphone.

Lucy wasn't exactly in a better mood… in fact, she was now also incredibly pissed – probably from all those boos from the crowd. By the tight set of her friends' shoulders, she could tell it bugged them too. There was something distinctly not fun about having thousands of people all jeering at you.

It grated on her nerves and got under her skin despite her best intentions, and before she knew what she was doing, she had volunteered to be the first contestant in the game. None of her teammates objected, they just cheered her on and told her to, "Go get 'em!"

She stepped forward alongside Wendy – who had been chosen from Team B. Next to them, all the other competitors stepped forwards as well, and Mato cheered, **"Alright Pumpkins! Let's get started shall we?!"**

Abruptly the scenery shifted with a suddenness that took Lucy's breath away and left her feeling a little dizzy. All the other competitors disappeared as well, leaving her alone in what looked like a jungle environment of some sort…reminding her eerily of the alien and tropical forests on Tenrou island.

The sound of Mato's voice echoed out loud over her head through the heavy leaves that hid a lot of the sky from her view. **"As you can see, we have constructed a large magical illusionary field for this challenge! The rules are simple! It's a treasure hunt! You have to find three objects, and whoever does it first wins first place! The subsequent places will be decided in the same manner. All magic is allowed, and fighting is also allowed! If any contestant concedes defeat due to an injury or gets knocked out, they will receive zero points!"**

It seemed simple and straight forwards, except for the fact that Lucy had no idea what objects she was supposed to be looking for. The answer to that question was given swiftly though, as a magical piece of paper suddenly popped into being and dangled in the air in front of her nose until she grabbed it.

Bringing it to where her eyes could focus on the text without having to cross, she read the paper's contents – which turned out to be a list of the items she was looking for. In order, it listed the items as: _a compass_ _,_ _a star flower_ , and lastly _a live minkrat_. At the top of the paper it said in bold, **"COLLECT IN ORDER,"** which, to Lucy, stank like crazy of a hint. Taking a wild guess, her first move was to summon Grandpa Crux.

"Open! Gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!"

With a hoot and puff of drab brown feathers, the elderly owl spirit poofed into existence, sitting on air as usual and looking a bit sleepy. "Hello Miss Lucy. What can I do for you today?"

"Hello Grandpa Crux. I'm participating in the Grand Magic Games, and the first challenge is a treasure hunt. I think the items here might be related somehow…" She showed him the page, and he glanced it over.

"I see… well, let me take a look and see what I can find about these three items." The old spirit's eyes closed as he performed a search.

Soon snores could be heard, and Lucy waited patiently as golden spirals of magic escaped his body in wisps of information that she could only glimpse for brief seconds. It was as if the pages of a million books were all fluttering around him like butterflies that just happened to line up in perfect spirals and corkscrews.

With a hoot that sounded more like a screech, he jerked awake – wild-eyed for a few moments before ruffling his feathers and settling back into his normal sleepy expression. "Ahem. Yes, it's quite clever really. You see, Star Flowers are impossible to find normally. They grow at the very top of trees, hidden in between foliage. The only way to find them is with a compass, because they give off such a strong polarity that they attract the needle. As for minkrats, they are absolutely vicious little beasts, impossible to catch, unless you happen to have their favorite food. If you feed them, they will follow you loyally for at least a day, if not more. Their favorite food is…"

"Star Flowers…right?" Lucy finished for him, already seeing where this was going. "So this treasure hunt really _is_ reliant on finding the things in order."

"It seems that way Miss Lucy. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No thank you Grandpa Crux. You've helped me tons." she responded with a grin, and waved goodbye as he poofed away with a puff of feathers. "Now I just have to find that compass."

…

Meanwhile, outside the huge jungle environment – the audience was treated to large lacrima vision screens that displayed each of the contestants, as well as a huge map that showed both them and the items. What the challengers didn't know was that there were lots of compasses, but they were all hidden in very random spots – such as the upper branches of a tree, under a rock, buried in a pile of dirt, dropped in a mound of loose leaves, and tossed carelessly into a bush. You really had to hunt for them and have your eyes peeled, or you would miss them.

Poor Wendy wasn't having much luck at all, since she didn't have access to outside information. However, Hibiki had done the same thing as Lucy, and was now operating on a higher level of understanding. The other competitors seemed to be in the same boat as Wendy… and _all_ of them – including Lucy and Hibiki – were generally running around looking for compasses completely randomly.

Some seemed to be under the impression that there would be a building, or a monument, or some _thing_ where all the compasses would be located, and were running around blindly looking for something big. Only a few slowed down and started to really search the area they found themselves in, and it was those few who uncovered their compasses first. There was one person however, who didn't seem to be hunting for compasses at all. Instead, they and their long red hair appeared to be hunting an entirely different sort of prey.

Out in the audience, Natsu was barely paying any attention at all to Flare… naturally all his focus was on Lucy, and to a smaller degree, Wendy. He could clearly hear the cheers of the rest of their guild – who had their own huge viewing booth within the general audience. Happy, meanwhile, was parked right next to the fire dragon and was helping him cheer on both Lucy and Wendy.

Wendy was one of the first competitors who slowed down from a frantic run and started to really search her surroundings – which didn't surprise Natsu at all. He suspected she had run out of spiz and just settled for hoping and sheer luck. Meanwhile, it took Lucy much longer to run out of stamina and stop running. She wasn't running aimlessly though, her head was up and looking around, eyes sharp as she looked for any glimpse of gleaming metal probably. As a celestial wizard who worked with metal keys, he knew she had been instinctively trained to look for small shiny things – from however many times her keys had flown from her hands and other similar situations.

Even at her high speed, she caught sight of one located high up in the branches of a tree and screeched to a halt. Natsu felt a broad grin strain his cheeks a bit as he watched her scowl up at the imposingly tall tree she now had to scale. Leave it to Lucy to look up, when most of the other competitors were looking at eye level. None of them had even glanced at the twigs over their heads, and plenty had already run under branches holding compasses. Despite being small, and way up high, those were the least hidden of all the compasses, which were all covered by something. It was funny that they weren't being found.

Meanwhile, Lucy was busy summoning her celestial whip from its handle. With a little pop of the glowing gold and blue tip on the ground, she judged the distance and angle of her swing. Her options here were to either grab a branch and swing herself up into the tree, or else she could aim directly for the compass. Aiming right at the thing ran a risk of breaking it though…. she didn't know how sturdy it was. So, with a sigh, she aimed at a high branch.

With a roll of her shoulders, she took a stance and snapped her whip, hooking the branch. Keeping the line taught, she stepped backwards and then jumped, swinging from her whip like Tarzan. Since she'd aimed for one of the highest branches, it gave her plenty of good velocity to reach the lowest branch at the peak of her swing. With an 'oof,' she hit the branch and hooked her arms over it, her stomach protesting the rough treatment a bit as the bark dug into her middle.

With some scrambling and ungraceful maneuvers that involved a lot of thrashing, she managed to get herself into the tree. Once against the trunk, scaling her way up to the compass was easy, although she wasn't a fan of shimmying out a branch to get it.

Once it was safe in her possession, she snapped her whip again and snagged another branch. Since she could lengthen her celestial whip at will, she simply lowered herself out of the tree with her prize.

…

Out in the audience, spirits and tempers were riling up as a few competitors met on the field. Most managed to completely miss each other, since it was such a large playing field, but Lyon and the Quatro Cerberus contender, Jager, managed to run smack dab into each other. Lyon seemed amenable to simply passing by and going on about his business, but Jager wanted to pick a fight. So, a small spat broke out on one side of the field and was displayed on a lacrima screen for the audience's viewing pleasure.

On the other side though, a less pleasurable beat-down had taken place. Flare from Raven Tail had stalked Yukino without anyone realizing it. Nobody knew what was going on… up until a rope of red hair snapped forwards unexpectedly and snagged Yukino's leg. It wrapped around and around, and then clenched tight, bending the appendage in unnatural ways. The tendril then grabbed the compass right out of the celestial wizard's hand. The entire audience seemed to express sounds of pain in unison as they saw the aggressive attack, and then boos and jeers quickly followed as Flare snuck away with her prize before Yukino could retaliate. It was a hit and run meant to cripple her opponent.

"Ouch…what the heck was that?!" Natsu grimaced, thoroughly disapproving of the sneak attack and cowardly retreat.

"I don't know…" Erza said, also looking highly displeased.

Gray sighed. "Well, Master Makarov did warn us about them. I mean, we all know that Ivan's a pretty bad dude… for Master to kick his own son outta Fairy Tail, I can't even imagine what he did. And _he's_ their master."

Juvia nodded along to what Gray was saying, and then she added, "They might be a legal guild now, but they obviously still play dirty."

"Yeah…no kidding." Natsu grumbled, still feeling unsettled, but turned back to focus his attention on Lucy.

…

As for Lucy, she had no idea that battles were now taking place around her… she was entirely focused on the face of her compass. It was pointing her directly to her next objective, and she was heading there at top speed. She was making great progress, and then suddenly the needle flipped. She skidded to a halt so fast she nearly tipped over, but managed to regain her balance and spun around. Retracing her steps back to where it flipped, she found the spot where the needle suddenly went out of control, jiggling around like it was having a seizer. That meant the flowers were either directly above her, or below.

She doubted the flowers were actually growing, since the environment was just a magical construct. They would probably be in a container of some sort, not in the top of the trees growing naturally… and that made it equally likely for them to be buried. In fact, if someone was trying to throw her off the trail, burying them would be a really good ploy.

It would be easy enough to check.

"Open! Gate of the Maiden!"

With a pink wisp of smoke and flash of light, Virgo popped into being. "Hello Princess. Is it punishment time?"

Rolling her eyes at the odd greeting, Lucy simply shook her head. "Uh…no. Actually, could you check and see if anything is buried right beneath me?"

"Certainly!"

Quickly Lucy leapt out of the way as Virgo disappeared. Sure enough, only a moment later she reappeared right where Lucy had been standing, and to her delight, the maid was holding a box.

"This was buried beneath you Princess."

"Wonderful! Thank you so much Virgo!"

"Of course Princess. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No thanks, I've got it from here."

With another puff and flash of light, Virgo poofed back to the celestial realm as she bowed.

Opening the box, Lucy stared into it at the tiny little flowers piled high within. She could see why they were called star flowers. Not only were the tiny blooms white and shaped in five points like a star, but they also glowed. Quite frankly they were the prettiest flowers Lucy had ever seen – especially with her fondness for the heavens – and she couldn't help but feel sad that she would have to feed them to some little creature. Just because she couldn't resist, she slipped one into her hair and then closed the lid of the box and tucked it under her arm.

No sooner had she set off in search of a minkrat though, than something snagged her. Of course she'd been oblivious to the warnings shouted by her friends as they watched a certain redheaded aggressor heading right towards her. In fact it looked like the Raven Tail member had actually _hunted_ _her down_ , because she had passed up several other contestants on her way to Lucy. This had not gone unnoticed by Fairy Tail's resident redhead, but most other members of the audience had missed this little detail.

As for Lucy, all she knew was intense pain as something wrapped around her ankle and then squeezed tight. She had faster reflexes than Yukino though, and a key was in her hand before the tendril of hair could snake around her whole leg.

"Open! Gate of the Crab!"

With an audible snipping sound, Cancer's sheers cut the hair that had accosted Lucy and her ankle was freed. It was tender, but not broken thankfully, and she quickly spun to look at where it had come from. Glancing down at the ground, she frowned with confusion.

"What the…hair?"

"That's right Baby…" Cancer agreed, although he sounded a little bemused too.

As soon as Flare stepped out of the shadows though – with her weird hair wiggling all around her like tentacles – Lucy had a clearer idea of what was going on. It still left her more than astounded though.

"You can move your hair?" she asked the wizard, who she recognized as Raven Tail's candidate in this particular trial.

That fact alone would have put her on edge around the other woman, and considering that the Medusa-impersonator had just sprung a sneak attack on her, Lucy wasn't exactly feeling like making friends with this new arrival.

"Yes…" the redhead chuckled, and something in the tone sounded disturbingly demented. The way she tilted her head and locked strangely unfocused eyes on her also unnerved Lucy, and she took a step backwards while her fingers found the rest of her keys. "Too bad for you, Blondie…I found you."

"…Found me? Were you looking for me?" Lucy asked, not liking the sound of those words.

Flare just giggled and grinned in that unsettling way, before attacking. Long coils of red hair shot at her like a hundred lashes, and Cancer leapt forwards. His razor-sharp red sheers snipped in super-fast motion, cutting all the hair that zipped towards Lucy.

"My hair! My beautiful hair! How dare you cut it!?" their opponent shrieked, sounding horrified.

"Looks like it grows right back. I don't know why she's complaining." Lucy muttered and Cancer chuckled.

"That's right, Baby. She doesn't have any reason to whine."

She held her own against the strange woman from Raven Tail…up until something – or someone – stabbed her in the back with a shaft of pain.

It was unreal… unlike anything Lucy had ever felt before. There was no physical wound. There was no blood, no weapon that she could see, but it felt for all the world like something had just pierced her…and yet not _,_ at the same time. Aside from the pain of it, whatever it was, there was also a remaining sensation, as if _something_ had been left inside of her.

At the first impact, she had gasped and staggered forwards, wide-eyed and shocked… but as soon as she gathered her wits, she spun to look behind her, trying to figure out who'd attacked her. Nobody was there though, and when she looked back at Flare there was no indication that the redhead had been the one to do anything. Actually, she looked just as surprised as Lucy, but judging from the quick smile and glitter in her eyes, she quickly figured out what had happened. That was more than could be said for Lucy, but if she had to guess, she'd bet that one of Flare's teammates had just cheated and did something nasty to her from up in the stands.

It soon became apparent what sort of nasty spell it was, and Lucy's theory was even more solidified when her strength slowly began to drain away. It was like she was a balloon and a hole had been popped in her… just enough to let all the wind in her sails flutter away, until every bit of her magic flickered and died. With a spark, Cancer flickered and then left as his gate shut unceremoniously on him – thanks to Lucy's draining magic.

He managed to get out, "Sorry…Baby…" as he got dragged back to the celestial realm, but he was gone before she could respond.

Very soon she found herself on her knees and at the mercy of Flare's long scorching tresses…a fact which the other woman took full advantage of. As a rain of blows started to land across Lucy's still-pained back, all she could do in retaliation was use her whip, which she pulled from her waist and snapped forwards to snag Flare's ankle. With a yank, she managed to rip her opponent's feet out from under her, and Flare went down hard on her butt with a squawk.

That little trick wasn't going to work twice though…a fact which was made abundantly clear to Lucy when a rope of red-hot hair snapped around both wrists and ankles like shackles and lifted her to dangle helplessly in the air.

At that point, Lucy was completely drained of magic. Though she could feel hints of warmth that must have been Natsu's flames, it was like they were reaching her from behind a closed door…as if whatever had punched a hole in her magic to drain it away also acted as a shield against Natsu's magic. It must have been an incredibly strong spell to hold up against his fire, which just made her more anxious about it.

She couldn't spend too much time thinking about that though, not when the hair binding her had begun to burn her skin, and the lashes that bombarded her once again were likewise scalding. It hurt too much for her to even be worried if her clothes were going to survive the experience.

Then abruptly the blows stopped, with a suddenness that was almost as disorienting as the constant rain of blows.

"Wh—wha…?" she groaned, and then grunted as she was dropped. Looking up, she saw a green glow that signified a familiar shield had popped up in front of her, and the white fur right in front of her face was none other than Amy's.

"You okay?" the wolf asked as she spat out bits of red hair…suggesting she had been the one to sever Lucy's shackles.

"I'm…not sure…" was all the celestial mage could wheeze as she barely managed to push herself up to her hands and knees.

That spell was draining more than just her magic power. It also seemed to be draining her physical strength too. Or maybe it was simply taking so much magic that it was giving her magic reduction sickness. It was just lucky she still had the tiny smidge of power necessary for her mythic celestial spirits to summon themselves.

"I think you'd best skip outta this game and go get checked out in the infirmary." a male voice said from behind her, and she didn't have to look to know it was Bartolomeo. His turtle shell shield was ID enough.

"I…I don't want to give up…"

Amy came even closer and sniffed her all over. "You stink of demon magic…like you've been cursed. And that woman over there is no demon. So I agree with Bart on this one…you should really head to the infirmary and get that curse fixed before it hurts you more than it already has."

"Shit…" Lucy grunted and then raised a hand and loudly announced, "Forfeit!"

A beeper sounded, and Mato popped up in front of her. "Forfeit you say? Are you sure? Oh my, you don't look well…"

"I…need to go to the infirmary." she admitted with a grimace…trying to ignore the sounds of Flare's insane laughter and the jeering and boos that she could hear coming from the audience outside.

"Alrighty then." Mato said, and she was instantly transported outside of the gaming field with him. Both her spirits dissipated as she was magically transported out of the arena.

Natsu and Happy rushed over a few seconds later, and the last thing she felt before losing consciousness was a pair of warm arms wrapping tight around her body and lifting her.

When Lucy opened her eyes only a few moments later, after a short blackout, she was being carried. "Wha-what happened?"

"You passed out." Natsu's voice rumbled against her ear, and she chuckled at the obvious statement while nestling her face closer to the warmth of his chest.

"Obviously…"

She could feel his shrug. "You're the one who asked."

When her eyes drifted upwards, he was giving her a small smile and she returned it. "True. So I guess you're taking me to the infirmary?"

"Duh!" Happy responded this time. He was perched on Natsu's shoulder, and despite his almost aggressive response, he was busy trying not to cry. "You're hurt _Luushy_!"

She cooed at him, his telltale slurring of her name meaning that he was really upset. "I'm gonna be okay Happy…don't worry."

He sniffed and nodded, and she reached up to pet him for a moment, but soon had to let her hand drop back into her lap. It was too exhausting.

Normally by this point she would have insisted Natsu put her down and that she could walk by herself, thank you very much, but at the moment she didn't bother. For starters, she already knew it was pointless, he would just continue to carry her while laughing and probably calling her weird or stupid. Besides that, with the way she was currently feeling, she didn't even know if she _could_ walk on her own.

"Yep. Maybe Porlyusica can get rid of that curse for ya."

"That's the second time a curse has been mentioned. Amy said something about it before…"

"She was right. The smell's all over you. Raven Tail must have a demon in their team…and they're cheating." A hint of a growl entered his tone, and she could easily feel the way his arm muscles bunched with tension.

"It wasn't Flare. Amy said she didn't smell like a demon. And it hit me in the back…so I'd have to agree with you there. They cheated. Unless of course it was just some random demon who randomly decided to pick on me at that particular random moment for unknown reasons…but that doesn't really seem likely."

It took Natsu a moment to pick apart her odd sentence, but he soon seemed to understand and snorted in amusement. "Demons are like celestial spirits. We don't generally hang out in Earthland for no reason. This guy was either summoned or is a mythic type like me who's on a mission of some kind."

"Which means it might have something to do with Tartarus." Lucy surmised and could feel her voice go flat.

Natsu answered with another displeased rumble in his throat and Happy whimpered a little.

Soon they were entering the infirmary and Lucy was busy with Porlyusica and her crotchety attitude, so their conversation took a backburner.

"What in the devil happened to you child?" she fussed, tsking over her as Lucy was placed on a cot. "You're all bruised and burned. And…oh dear."

It seemed the older medical wizard had picked up on Lucy's other problem, which wasn't surprising since she was so powerful and wise – if also a pain in the ass.

Instantly, wizened hands were running over her, and she could feel the tingle of magic as Porlyusica did all manner of diagnostic spells on her body. "How in the world did you come by such a nasty curse?" she finally groused, looking as sour as if she had just sucked on a sour plum. "Honestly, you Fairy Tail wizards always end up with the strangest ailments."

With more mutterings she walked over to a cabinet and started pulling out supplies as she made some sort of potion. Natsu came and parked himself in the chair next to her bed and Happy hopped up next to her while they waited for Porlyusica to finish making whatever magical remedy she was working on.

As she left them to their own devises, a new visitor to the infirmary caught their attention. It was Yukino, who looked in a bad way as she was brought in by Rogue. Her leg was wrapped in some sort of cast but she still seemed to be in an enormous amount of pain.

"Yukino! What happened?!" Lucy immediately called, and the two Sabertooth guildmembers looked over. Their path veered from the bed they had been aiming for to instead park in the spot next to Lucy as the Sabertooth medical personnel rushed over to start treating her leg.

"I…" Yukino started and immediately stopped to wince as the doctor cut off her cast, exposing a truly grisly sight. Though the bones looked like they had been professionally reset, Lucy could see blood where they must have broken the skin.

"I was caught off guard…the redhaired woman from Raven Tail snuck up on me and stole my compass, breaking my leg in the process. She ran before I could return the favor. Thankfully I had found several backups, so I still finished second place…"

"Wow…you still finished even with those injuries? Your leg looks like it was broken in…" Lucy eyeballed it before her stomach gave out and forced her to gag and look away. "At least 5 places. You had to be in absolute agony. How did you even move? And who set it?"

"I summoned Ophiuchus … the thirteenth zodiac. One of her forms is a nurse, and she brought me a crutch and reset the bones, putting me in that temporary cast. She didn't do anything else to heal me though because I didn't have the time. If I hadn't finished at least second…I probably would have been kicked out of Sabertooth."

When Natsu and Lucy's horrified eyes rose to meet Rogue's for confirmation, he solemnly nodded. "Yes, it's true. Sabertooth is based around the concept of strength, and even finishing second could put you at risk for being expelled. The fact that Yukino was injured so badly is also dangerous…our master could decide she's too weak to stay…but since she pushed through the pain to finish in second place, he decided to give her another chance. It was close though."

Natsu and Lucy shared a look of disgust. Lucy wasn't going to say anything, but of course Natsu didn't know the meaning of holding back for the sake of being polite.

"Your guild sucks." he stated, and Lucy almost laughed at the shock that crossed Yukino and Rogue's faces.

"That's…that's an incredibly rude thing to say…" Yukino gasped, while Rogue recovered quickly and just sighed and shook his head with a slight smile.

"Natsu's like that. He calls it as he sees it." the other dragon chuckled mildly, but then a serious expression overtook the one of amusement. "But…in all honesty, we have been…contemplating the possibility of needing to relocate."

Yukino drooped and sighed sadly, nodding. "It's true. I think of Sabertooth as my home but…there's only so much a person can take. Sting though, he's still determined to tough it out. He never gives up, not on anyone or anything. He was there long before I joined, and I'm afraid that some of their principles on strength have been drilled into him too deeply. Anytime the topic comes up, he gets incredibly angry, so we haven't mentioned it to him in a while."

The conversation stopped, and all eyes turned to Natsu as he leaned in to Yukino and sniffed her deeply.

"Um…what are you doing?" the other girl asked, cringing back a little.

"He's probably sniffing for demons. I also fought with the redhead from Raven Tail… and got cursed in the middle of it. All my spirits tell me that I stink of demon magic."

"Demons? Do you think Raven Tail is connected to Tartarus?" Rogue asked, his eyes instantly growing sharp.

"Oh yeah, they've got a demon with 'em for sure…but I guess it's not the redhead. You don't smell like demons. So that means whoever cursed Luce was on the sidelines. The dirty fucking cheaters."

Yukino also looked highly perturbed. "That might also explain why the redhead went after Lucy and me…"

"That's not good…do you think they wanted us both in the same place for some reason? Like to kidnap us or something?"

"Maybe…"

They were interrupted then by the return of Porlyusica, who glared at them all and then turned her back on the Sabertooth team, cutting them off rudely.

Then she shoved a bubbling noxious liquid in a vial at Lucy. "Here. Drink all of this. It will at least put the curse on pause until we can find a proper cure. Otherwise you're going to drain dry, and it'll start affecting your life force."

Cringing – both at the thought of her draining life force and the substance now being presented to her – Lucy gingerly took hold of the flask. With a deep breath she raised it as if offering a toast to Natsu, who grinned encouragingly – and then she downed it. Somehow she managed to slam back the majority of it before a nasty burning and flavor hit her and she started to sputter in distress. The last bits filled her mouth and she dropped the vial – which Natsu snatched up quickly to hand off to Porlyusica. With watering eyes, she valiantly did everything in her power to swallow the last bit, but it took several seconds of struggling before she managed to get it down.

She finished the whole ordeal off with a bout of choking and coughing, which caused Porlyusica to roll her eyes and walk away with something that sounding like, "Overdramatic to a fault…the lot of them…"

Once her choking fit had settled down – with very little help from Natsu, who simply patted her on the back rather harshly – she lay back and groaned. "That was nasty stuff…"

"Smelled pretty nasty." her boyfriend agreed with a sympathetic nod.

The sounds of cheers from outside drew his attention for a split second and he glanced at the tiny windows high up in the wall.

"You should go watch the rest of the matches and stuff…" Lucy mumbled, already feeling her eyes getting heavy as a thick sort of lethargy began to make its way through her limbs. She'd bet anything that the concoction she'd just swallowed had a good dose of sedative in it as well … or else this was just a side effect of the stuff.

"Luce…"

They were interrupted by a certain pink haired medical sorceress. "Go. She needs her rest. And I need peace and quiet to bandage her."

"But…what if the Raven Tail creeps try to kidnap her or something while I'm gone!?"

"She's safe here. This is the infirmary, not a damn battlefield. Now get lost. After I tend to her wounds, I have to make some more potions and poultices for her and you'll just be a distraction."

"I'll stay with her." Happy squeaked, hiding when the medical mage gave him the stink eye.

With an exasperated sigh she rolled her eyes. "Alright fine, you can stay, but keep your trap shut and sit over there!" she pointed at the chair next to Lucy's bed, which was vacant because Natsu had leapt to his feet at some point.

The rest of their words were lost on Lucy as she started to drift off to sleep.

…

After a good deal of time spent arguing pointlessly with Porlyusica, Natsu finally conceded defeat and left while the old hag started to bandage up Luce's burns.

On the way out, Yukino and Rogue gave him matching expressions of sympathy, and Rogue subtly whispered, "Uh…your healer is very…interesting."

Natsu snorted and rolled his eyes as he exited, muttering back, "Yeah, you've got no idea."

Soon he was slouching through the halls and back to their balcony.

"So, what'd I miss?"

"Not much. They're just finishing up the treasure hunt. How's Lucy?" Levy responded from her spot as Lucy's temporary replacement. Or at least he assumed that's what she was doing here.

"She's sleeping and Porlyusica is patching up her wounds." he answered, not bothering to ask.

"Good." Erza grunted, nodding in a satisfied manner.

As the game wrapped up, their little conversation – such as it was – was interrupted by Mato as his voiced boomed through the auditorium across lacrima speakers. **"Alright! And that concludes the Treasure Hunt! All the final scores are now displayed on the board!"**

A lacrima screen popped up and displayed the scores for everyone to see. It read:

Raven Tail: 10 – Sabertooth: 8 – Lamia Scale: 6 – Blue Pegasus: 4 – Mermaid Heel: 3 – Quatro Cerberus: 2 – Fairy Tail Team B: 1 – Fairy Tail Team A: 0

They all blinked up at the scores with varying irritability.

"How in the hell did Raven Tail get first!?" was Natsu's first question.

"With all the stuff that redheaded chick stole, of course she'd get first. She took Lucy's flowers when Lucy forfeited, and then she went after Wendy and got her Minkrats." Gray answered with an angry scowl.

"And that's why Wendy got last place…but at least Wendy managed to escape without getting hurt." Levy added on with a sigh.

"Technically we got last place with zero points since Lucy forfeited." Erza corrected.

After a brief pause, Juvia's voice sounded and they all turned to glance at her. "I'm just surprised that Sabertooth managed to nab second place after…what was her name…Yukino? I think that's correct…anyway, after Yukino got hurt so badly. I'm impressed."

"Me too. That girl's got spirit." Erza agreed with a nod. "But still, we can't afford to lose focus. We must win our matches in the battle round to stay in the running."

"Speaking of…" Natsu muttered, as Mato got back on the speakers at that very moment and bellowed, **"And you know what this means Pumpkins! It's time for the battle round to begin! First on our list of competitors today is…Raven Tail and Fairy Tail Team A!"**

Fierce grins lit everyone's faces as they all thought the same thing. It was payback time.

" **For this round, our competitors will be Gray Fullbuster and Nalpudding!"**

Gray eagerly hopped down into the arena and was joined by an odd, squat, purple guy. He was pretty weird looking, and that was saying a lot coming from a celestial spirit like Natsu. But the fact that Gray's opponent had purple skin and bright clashing blond hair was pretty hard to miss.

As soon as both contenders were in the arena, Chapati Lola from up in the judge box said over the lacrima speakers, **"Contestants! The rules of battle are simple. You have thirty minutes to knock out your opponent or force them to forfeit. At the end of those thirty minutes, if you are both left standing, it's a draw."**

Mato, who was in the arena with them, chirped, **"That's right! Now I want a good clean fight! Begin!"**

A gong sounded and the two combatants went at it. Natsu gave a full-blown fangy grin and bellowed, "Kick his ass, Popsicle! Or I'll have to kick yours!"

"Shut up Flame-Fart!" Gray shouted back and then yelled, "Ice Make: Hammer!"

A massive hammer made of ice slammed down into the arena, cracking the ground right where Nalpudding had just been. Unfortunately the guy proved to be quick on his feet and dodged to the side at the last second. He took advantage of his unexpected speed and launched an attack on Gray – which took him by surprise. One of his arms turned into a huge spiky purple club – sort of like a puffer fish that just blew up – and bashed Gray over the head, putting him on the ground.

"Ouch!" Levy hissed, sucking in her breath.

At the same time, Juvia shrieked, "Gray!"

Natsu winced at the shrill sound and figured this was going to be a long match if Juvia couldn't tone it down a little.

Thankfully – although the hit had been heavy – Gray was able to peel himself back up off the ground and wiped a trickle of blood from his forehead, but aside from that he looked pretty much okay. He responded swiftly and made a battle axe… but this time he expected his opponent to dodge and launched a lance from the side to hit him. Nalpudding managed to leap over the projectile though, and then landed on it, smashing it to bits with a spiky butt.

"So… don't let him sit on you. Good to know." Levy muttered to herself, and Natsu snickered.

Gray looked really pissed now, which wasn't surprising. When Nalpudding launched another spiky attack his way, he erected a thick shield, before swiftly directing it to fall forwards when Nalpudding skidded to a halt in front of it. The purple guy managed to slip out from under the thick slab of ice before it could smash him flat, and he zipped around to smack Gray in the back. Thankfully Gray was able to duck and blocked with his spiky ice elbow, before spinning and slashing forwards with his other hand that was encased in a long ice lance. His opponent disengaged and jumped back, but not before the sharp tip cut a shallow slice across his chest. The Fairy Tail section erupted with cheers of support for finally landing a blow.

The fight continued and Gray began to gain ground against his adversary as he adapted to Nalpudding's quick moves and fast attacks. In a speedy combination of attacks, Gray made an ice floor and then slammed a thick cage over him as he slipped. Nalpudding couldn't break out of the cage before Gray had another huge hammer poised above it, ready to smash the cage and his opponent flat, but he suddenly winced and wobbled on his feet.

The hammer shuddered, and then it shattered at the same time that Nalpudding managed to break out of the cage.

"What the hell was that?!" Natsu yelled, and then winced when Juvia let out another screech of Gray's name as he got smacked over the head again with a spiky club. It looked like he was dizzy or something all of a sudden and hadn't been able to get out of the way in time.

When Juvia screamed again, Natsu flinch and yelled, "Pull yourself together and kick his ass already before your girlfriend makes me go deaf!"

His comment didn't even get a shred of recognition from Juvia, who was way too freaked out to pay attention to anyone other than Gray.

It looked like he was shaking off the dizziness, or whatever the hell that had been, and started to hold his own again. But every time he was about to land a hit, he would stutter again and lose hold of his spell. It was all timed so well that Natsu didn't even really notice, but Erza certainly did, as did Master Makarov and Yajima. There was no way to prove foul play…yet…but it was obvious that something wasn't quite right.

When Gray eventually lost by being pounded into the ground, it came as no surprise. The crowd erupted in a fit of jeering and booing at Fairy Tail's expense, which did nothing to make Gray's mood improve as he slowly peeled himself off the floor of the arena. Waves of anger and frustration rolled off him, tangible even from this distance.

By that point Natsu had figured out that something was wrong, and he was also boiling with fury and rage. He just couldn't wait to get his hands on that Raven Tail guild.

When Gray finally reappeared next to them, bloody and bruised, Natsu caught whiffs of demon magic off him that said he'd been in contact with a curse…though one hadn't been put on him directly. Instantly Natsu zeroed in on him and sniffed deeply – which got him a fist to the face from the irritated ice mage who apparently didn't appreciate being smelled.

"What the hell Ash-Breath?!"

Natsu would have retaliated, but he was still distracted. "You stink of demon magic…like Lucy." he growled, and Gray stalled out with his fist still cocked for another punch.

"I do?"

"Yeah, but it's not the same. A curse hasn't been put on _you_ … only thing I can figure is that it must be on the arena itself."

"That must have been why you kept running out of magic power at the worst moments." Erza surmised, and everyone heard Gray's teeth grind with an unsettling sound.

After a long pause, Juvia gingerly stepped forwards and gently laid her hand on Gray's shoulder with a restraint that said she'd finally learned how to deal with him – after dating for months. "Gray…Darling, let's go get these wounds taken care of okay? Just a few bandages here and there and you'll be good as new."

Her tone was carefully controlled – a complete opposite to her frantic screams from before – but it was obvious that she was now well trained in getting him to do what she wanted. When he just grumbled and then followed her back into the hall and towards the infirmary, everyone watched with shock. They were all impressed.

"Well…it looks like Juvia has really learned how to manage our temperamental ice mage." Levy said lightly after a moment, and Erza chuckled.

"Indeed. She's something else. To go from…well, the way she was before, to this, says she has a great deal of empathy and adaptability. She really does seem to know just what to do and say to communicate properly with Gray."

"Hah…never saw that one coming." Natsu scoffed, thinking back to how she had been such a crazy stalker that just freaked him out.

"Love can be the best teacher." Levy shrugged.

"A comment spoken from personal experience I imagine?"

The taunt from Erza made Levy flush five hundred shades of red. She seemed relieved when Mato interrupted the strange conversation.

" **Ten points to Raven Tail! On to the next match!"**

That brought Raven Tail up to 20 points total, and they all winced in unison and groaned. The only thing to distract them from that humiliating defeat was to watch the following matches, which they all did with a lot more interest than any of them really felt. The second match was Arana Web from Mermaid Heel against Ren from Blue Pegasus. It was over pretty quickly… Ren blew away the spidery mage with a tornado. That put Blue Pegasus at 14 points. After that, War Cry from Quatro Cerberus went up against Yuka Suzuki from Lamia Scale, and nobody was particularly surprised when Lamia Scale took the points, bringing their score up to 16.

Next up was Gajeel versus Rogue, but right at the start of their match Natsu suddenly sensed that something was very, very wrong, and instantly refocused his attention onto Lucy. When he abruptly spun to glare down the hallway behind them, his teammates all gave him funny looks.

Gray grumbled, "What sparked a fire under your butt?" He and Juvia had returned during the second fight.

"Something's wrong."

...

Meanwhile, Lucy was sound asleep…up until she woke to the jarring sensation of someone throwing her over their shoulder. She jerked awake with an unpleasant start that made her head spin, and she groaned somewhat pathetically. Her befuddled brain took a second to kick into gear, but at the sound of a scream it scrambled to catch up a little faster. She blinked and stared, catching sight of Yukino. The other girl was currently fighting off a masked and hooded attacker who seemed intent on snatching her out of bed. Rogue must have also left to go watch the games, or maybe he had been summoned to compete.

Lucy's attention was quickly rerouted though when she realized that she had been snatched as well and was dangling over someone's shoulder face down. As soon as this realization stung her in the butt, she instantly started to thrash in her captor's hold, especially when she spied him grab up her keys which had been on her nightstand.

Porlyusica was nowhere in sight, nor were any of the other medical staff, but Lucy didn't have time to worry about what might have happened to them. She was too busy shoving a knee into her masked assailant's gut and then trying not to plant face-first into the wall as he staggered and grunted. She brought an arm up to guard her face from the wall as he bounced off it. If this person thought that taking her keys was all it took to subdue her, they were very mistaken.

She threw her elbow next and clocked him in the side of his head, making him stagger again, and his grip on her loosened.

Before she could even call for help, she felt two familiar paws latch onto her shoulder and airlift her out of her assailant's arms.

"I've got you Lucy!"

"Thanks Happy!"

A couple more masked men appeared as if from nowhere, making Lucy suspect that they might be demons of some sort, and one grabbed her leg. She kicked with the other, but he hung on, prompting a tug of war with Happy for possession of her person. Meanwhile, Yukino was being whisked out of the room and Lucy felt panic wash over her.

"Yukino!"

With a vicious flash of light, mist, and foresty smell, Amy and a couple of her pack blasted into being, already snarling. They tackled the attackers going after Lucy, but she immediately cried out, "Quick! They've taken another girl out of here already! We've got to save her!"

Amy nodded to three wolves who took off out the door, and within a matter of seconds Lucy heard screams and loud growls echoing back. And then the roar of a dragon ricocheted off the walls, and she couldn't help but smile. With a blast of fire he appeared next to her, and immediately started throwing his weight around, knocking masked assailants in all directions.

It wasn't long before the mystery men (or women) dispersed, a couple jumping out the window and others just seeming to melt into the shadows or ceiling. Some of the wolves tore off down the hall to track the few that went that way, while others leapt out the window. Natsu naturally made to pursue them, but Lucy quickly called out, "Yukino was taken!"

Nothing more needed to be said for him to bound out of the room after their new white-haired friend, and Lucy muttered under her breath, "I hope he doesn't cook anyone he's not supposed to."

While he was off tracking down Yukino, Happy gently lowered Lucy back onto her bed. Meanwhile, Amy and a few other wolves started sniffing everything over to try and pick up as much information as they could about these attackers' scents.

It didn't take long for Natsu to return with Yukino thrown over his shoulder somewhat carelessly – though, when he set her back onto her bed it was done gently. It seemed the other girl was out cold, and a bloody gash on her forehead suggested it had been done with a blow to the head.

"Is she okay?"

"I think so, just knocked out. And how about you?" her partner and lover asked, as he hurried to her side and lightly patted her all over to check for injuries.

"I'm okay…"

Natsu scowled down at the new bruise and scrape on her forearm where she'd bounced off the wall. The bandages that had been there were all torn up.

"So were those guys demons?" she asked, partly to distract him.

He frowned and looked around, sniffing deeply. "No…they were just human, although they reek of dark magic. I bet they work for Raven Tail."

Amy nodded. "None of them smelled like demon magic, though one or two had a very faint whiff that suggested they may have been in contact with one recently."

"That would suggest they really are working with Raven Tail then…" Lucy murmured, greatly concerned, but still feeling a little dizzy. Her brain rerouted though at a terrifying, infuriated shout.

"What the devil is going on here?!"

The loud voice belonged to Porlyusica of course, as she walked back into the infirmary which was now a disaster zone… and was also rather crowded with all the wolves.

"Well…you see…"

For the next few minutes, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy did their best to explain the situation to the grouchy medical mage. Amy was busy with her pack and didn't participate in that part of the conversation.

"So let me get this straight…in the ten minutes or so that I was gone getting supplies from the chemist, you managed to get yourself kidnapped and then rescued, while utterly wrecking the infirmary?"

"Um…basically."

"Where in the world were the guards?! How did this happen?" she growled, her arms crossed over her chest as she tapped her foot. "And where are all the other medical personnel?"

"That, I can answer." Amy suddenly spoke up. "Kuro just found them."

As a group, they all followed the black wolf Amy had pointed her nose to, and he led them to a closet a little way down the hall. Inside, they found all the medical personnel tied up and gagged.

Soon after releasing all the medical personnel and returning to the infirmary, the rest of Team A showed up. As soon as they were caught up to speed, someone ran off to inform Master Makarov. He arrived very quickly along with several guards to file a report, and Lucy lay back and watched as Porlyusica tore into them, saying that security was disgustingly lax and that she would be filing a formal complaint. It was almost amusing to watch the large, previously over-confident men quickly wilt under her tongue lashing. With a great many apologies, they promised that it wouldn't happen again and that security would be greatly increased around the infirmary. Naturally, nobody had seen any of the attackers' faces, so there wasn't much to go on, but the guards also promised to do their best to find them.

Amy had already been working on that though. The entire pack had been dispersed throughout the colosseum to search for any hint of the attackers, but apparently they'd used some sort of crazy intense scent blocker, because even Natsu couldn't track them. If her celestial spirits couldn't find them, Lucy didn't have a lot of hope that the security guards could.

The general consensus of everyone else was that it was likely a disgruntled fan or someone from one of the opposing guilds – which wasn't unheard of to happen in the Grand Magic Games – but since there was no way to tell exactly who had committed the act, nothing could be done. Lucy and Natsu decided not to tell anyone their suspicions about Raven Tail, since it would just look bad and there was no way to prove it. So everything proceeded as usual, although Natsu stuck by Lucy this time, instead of rejoining their team to watch the match between Team B and Sabertooth. Amy and her wolves stuck around too, patrolling the halls to keep an eye out for any more would-be attackers.

Naturally Porlyusica commented on that as well, saying, "Do you think your wolves are up to the task?"

"Of course."

She hmphed. "Well, it's better than the incompetent guards here at least."

As she walked away, Amy commented, "For being so talented and powerful, she's not very good at social graces is she?"

"Aye." Happy agreed.

"Why is she even here? She isn't acting like she volunteered to be our medical personnel for the Games."

Lucy shrugged. "I've been wondering the same thing. Master must have twisted her arm somehow or called in a favor."

"Well more power to him if he can get that woman to do anything she doesn't want to." Amy snorted, and Happy chuckled from his spot on her back. When she sat, he slid down her with a sputter and then popped out his wings to fly over to the chair and Natsu.

Over the next hour or so, Happy, Amy, and Natsu watched as Porlyusica fussed over Lucy, trying to completely remove the curse that was now mostly dormant thanks to the potion she had already drunk. No matter what the pink-haired mage did though, nothing seemed to work on the thing.

After a while of watching, Natsu perked up. "I think I might have an idea on how to get rid of that curse."

"What is it?" Lucy asked, excited.

"Maybe I can burn it out of you. I tried giving you my magic during the match, but it got blocked by the curse. Maybe at this range I can get past it."

Porlyusica stood at the foot of her bed and crossed her arms. "Won't burning it out of her injure her?"

"No, I'm immune to his magic." Lucy responded, sitting up and turning to face Natsu.

She could feel waves of disbelief coming from Porlyusica, but ignored her for the moment – though it was a little hard to do when she could feel the prickle of her stare. Instead, she focused on Natsu and his warm hand as he grabbed up hers. His eyes closed and he scrunched his eyebrows in concentration as he did his best to force his magic through the curse. She could barely feel him though, only a hint of warmth got through what must be a formidable curse indeed.

After a long moment he huffed and let go of her hands, and then he abruptly stood, leaning over her and staring.

"Um…it didn't work?"

"No…I can't transfer any magic to you that way. So we're just gonna have to do this the hard way. Where did the curse hit you?"

She blinked, wondering where this was going. "In my back."

His hands landed on her shoulders, and he pushed and pulled until she had turned around. Then he stared at her back and leaned in to sniff at her. After a moment he barked, "Take it off."

"What?"

He jerked at the fabric of her shirt to explain, and she yelped before giving him a glare over her shoulder. "No! I'm not going to strip in here! There's no privacy!"

Happy snickered from where he'd taken over Natsu's chair. "Don't be a pervert Natsu."

"Actually, that can be fixed." They all turned from Happy and looked at Porlyusica.

She reached up and activated a magic circle over the bed, and suddenly curtains popped up all around the bed.

"Great! Now take it off already and let me get a look at your back Luce."

With a few more protests, she reluctantly pulled her shirt off, feeling a little uncomfortable about being basically half naked with Natsu while Porlyusica was observing. Turning her back to him, she crossed her arms across her chest – bundling her shirt there for some modesty – and grumbled to herself.

Natsu poked around on her back, seeming to try and find the curse with little warm sparks from his fingers. When he finally touched it, he knew – and Lucy sure as heck knew as well, because she felt a zap of pain. It was right between her shoulder blades in the center of her back, over her spine, and it sent tingles up and down her whole body.

"Yiouch…!" she yelped and stiffened a bit.

"Uh huh, that's it all right." Natsu agreed, and laid his whole palm over the spot. "Brace yourself, this may sting a little."

"I figured as much…" she grumbled.

Sure enough, when he set fire to his hand it felt like a brand, even though his flames didn't hurt. It was the curse protesting and causing her pain. This time, she didn't complain, just grunted and hunkered down a little as she bore with it.

He started with a low flame, but naturally that did little, and the heat increased quickly as he grew frustrated with the stubbornness of this curse. The power of his flames soon caused enough light that she could see her shadow against the curtain in front of her, and felt the heat lick up and down her back. Her hair blew up and over her shoulders, pushed forwards by the intensity of his flames but not catching fire of course.

As for Porlyusica, this was the first time she'd ever seen anything like it, and she was left in absolute shock as fire blasted the girl's back without causing any sort of harm to her skin. It was a sight to behold, and she was positively stunned.

Of course Lucy wasn't aware of the older mage's reaction…. in fact, she'd basically forgotten about her presence. All her focus was directed on the pain shooting through her back as the curse fought back against Natsu's fire. She was slightly distracted however when the smell of smoke filled their small space.

With a hiss, she snapped, "Are you burning my bra?!"

"Oops, sorry."

She felt the fingers of Natsu's free hand reach down and unsnap her bra – or more likely he just ripped it off, since it was already flimsy from being fried to a crisp – and suddenly the straps over her shoulders went slack. With a sigh and groan, she slipped it down her arms and removed the still smoking fabric from under her bundled up shirt before tossing it aside. Yet another piece of lingerie down…she was going to have to go shopping again. Or maybe she could convince Virgo to bring her some more celestial garments…they were always quite pretty, and free of course.

The pain distracted her again though, because it was mounting fast as Natsu increased his fire power, pressing his blisteringly hot palms directly against her skin and trying to scorch the curse off her. It literally felt like he was pressing a red-hot hand-shaped iron to her skin, and even though his fire didn't hurt, the curse was agonizing. She couldn't help but let out a few pained whimpers, wincing and cringing under the torture but toughing it out.

"Sorry Luce… I've almost got it… just a… little… bit… more…" Natsu gritted out between his teeth, obviously hating to cause her pain, but determined to kick the curse to the curb.

In one brilliant, vicious, torturous, blistering flash, his fire hit an all-time high and the curse flared white-hot, feeling like it was melting right through her body and burning every bit of her it touched. And then suddenly it was gone, like a balloon that had popped into nothing. Lucy's sharp, high pitched scream cut off on a relieved groan and she slumped forwards, nearly toppling over until Natsu's palms cupped over her shoulders and steadied her. His fire snuffed out to a warm glow, just enough to sooth her aches.

Just to be safe, he swept one flat palm up and down her entire back, searching for any other spots he might have missed, but he was pretty sure he'd gotten it all.

"All right, I think I got it." He glanced over at Porlyusica, and she stepped in - shoving him back - and briskly examined Lucy in his place. He leaned back enough to give her room but didn't leave the bed.

"The curse is completely gone. Good. Now…" With that done, she concocted a recovery potion that would help speed up Lucy's healing and also the regeneration of her magic.

Once again, as soon as Lucy took it, she conked out almost immediately and it was up to Natsu to slip her shirt back over her head. Then he curled up on the cot with her, holding her as she slept. This time when Porlyusica griped at his presence, he just bared his teeth at her and growled, twining his tail around Lucy's leg to stake his possession and intent to not move.

She wasn't intimidated in the slightest and just cocked an eyebrow. "I suppose that means you aren't moving?"

"Damn right. If you need to treat her, I won't get in the way. But I'm not leaving."

For a long moment the healer eyeballed him and then eventually rolled her eyes. "Fine. But if I tell you to move, you move."

He shrugged and settled back down next to Luce.

…

They both dozed for a little while, and only woke once Gajeel made his way into the infirmary, limping and shockingly bloody. Rogue followed shortly behind, also beat up…which suggested he had been Gajeel's opponent.

"Yo…" Natsu grunted as he woke with a start, gently untangling himself from around Lucy. Gajeel just snorted and rolled his eyes at the sight of them twined together, while Rogue flushed and looked away.

"So who won?" Yukino asked groggily as she also woke. The Sabertooth hired doctor had already checked her over and fixed her up again from the botched kidnapping.

"I did, but I'm so sorry for not coming to help you. I should have just left the battle…and I would have if I hadn't heard Natsu's roar. But…"

"It's fine Rogue, you know what would have happened if you left in the middle of a fight to come and save me. We would have both been kicked out of Sabertooth. You did the right thing." Yukino soothed her spirit. "Besides, I'm fine. I just got a little goose egg, that's all."

Rogue breathed out a deep sigh of relief.

"So you beat Metal Head over there?" Natsu grunted, hooking his thumb at Gajeel.

"Oh shut up, ya little pissant!" Gajeel spat from his bed next door.

Natsu whirled around. "You trying to start something?"

"You want a beating? I'll give you one!" the dragon slayer snarled, cracking his knuckles.

And then suddenly he grew stiff and fell over in a dead faint. All eyes went to Porlyusica, who had just pinched his shoulder in what _looked_ like a gentle manner.

"What the hell did you just do to him?!" Natsu sputtered, his eyes wide with shock.

"It was just a nerve pinch. Now all of you shut up! I have a job to do and you're being pests!"

They all cringed under the withering glare she sent them, and silence reigned in the infirmary as she worked.

After a moment, Rogue quietly continued their conversation as Porlyusica started work on patching up Gajeel. "Yes, I did beat him, but he somehow managed to absorb some of my shadow ability. I'm still not sure how."

Natsu's eyebrows shot up. "No shit? Well…he _is_ a dragon slayer…I wonder if that's how he did it."

Despite himself, he was impressed, but like hell would he ever let Gajeel know.

After that, all conversation quit, thanks to an acidic look from a certain temperamental healer, who apparently still had trouble with them even though they were being so quiet. Even when Sting joined them shortly, after a very quick whispered conversation between Sting and Yukino, silence once again took over the room.

By the time she finished bandaging up Gajeel, Lucy had woken and felt good enough to leave. With a very brisk approval from Porlyusica – which mainly consisted of, "You're fine now. Get out," they left and headed back to the hotel, bidding Yukino, Rogue, and Sting good night.

They met up with the others and then traded information. Lucy and Natsu told the others in greater detail about the almost-kidnapping and their suspicions that it had to do with Tartarus. The others then told them about the battles that they had missed. At some point Lucy started nodding off though and had to head to bed before any of her roommates. She probably still had lots of medicine in her system, so they all wished her a good night, and her roommates said they would be along shortly as well since they were all very tired too.

She told Natsu good night and gave him a peck on the lips, which he thankfully didn't deepen since she really wasn't up to it tonight. Then she headed for the stairs and bed.

Amy and Happy joined her on the way up, and Amy muttered, "My pack is patrolling all around the hotel. We've smelled those masked goons snooping around, but we won't let them get close. I'll be patrolling the hotel itself with one other wolf, so we won't scare any of the other guests."

Lucy tiredly nodded at the white wolf. "Thank you so much Amy…I feel safe knowing you and the pack are out there. We'll need to tell the others that you've been smelling those creeps though."

"I'll be sure to let your master know." Amy said and turned, heading back down the stairs.

Lucy staggered up the last few stairs and somehow made it to her room and bed, before plopping down onto it fully dressed. She was absolutely exhausted, and the medicine still in her system was making it even worse and a little dizzy on top of it, so she was beyond ready to get some shut eye. Happy curled up on Lucy's pillow as she bundled up for sleep, expecting to pass out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She was correct. She didn't even hear anyone else come into the room. However…it was a very different story a couple of hours later, after most of the celebrations had petered out and everyone had gone to bed. Lucy woke with a jolt from some muddy dream that left the stench of anxiety floating through her head, and the abrupt awakening left her utterly disoriented. With whatever was left of Porlyusica's potions, combined with being exhausted, plus not having Natsu with her, and sleeping in a strange bed, she suddenly didn't know where she was…or even what day it was.

Panic hit her hard and fast, causing her heart to race in her chest, which only made her panic worse. A deadly cycle began…leading to an all-out panic attack as she suddenly grew afraid that she might have a heart attack. Naturally – and ironically – those fears only made her heart pound harder and faster, until it was almost painful. Her breathing came in harsh pants, and the darkness of the room did nothing to help her calm down. Acting on instinct, she practically fell out of bed and crawled her way over to the light of the glass doors and the balcony. She clambered outside and the cool night air slapped a little sense back into her.

Still, the panic remained, making her chest tight and painful as her pulse throbbed in her ears. It was all she could hear. At least now she knew basically where she was as fuzzy memories began to surface through the sticky, lingering terror, and the one thing she latched onto was Natsu. He could fix this…she knew he could.

She was just about to wheeze his name, when a spark of light flashed in the shadows of her nighttime balcony, and from a wisp of fire and smoke Natsu popped out. He must have sensed her fear and transported to her directly from his room, instead of using a conventional travel method.

As soon as he saw her sitting curled up almost in a fetal position against the balcony fence, he softly yelped "shit!" and made a beeline straight for her. Instantly she was surrounded by warmth as he fell to one knee and grabbed her face gently with both hands, staring anxiously into her wide eyes.

"Luce! What's wrong?!"

"I…I woke up…and I didn't know where I was…must've been the leftover medicine…" she panted. "It…triggered a panic attack…and…my heart…it won't stop pounding…it hurts…I'm scared…"

She was winding up again, and he could feel her mounting fear. His eyes cleared though, and his face lost a lot of the anxiety. "Hey, you're gonna be okay."

Somehow that was exactly what she needed to hear, and she looked up at him with teary eyes. "R-really? I'm gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, sure you are Luce. Everything's gonna be just fine. Just breathe and your heart'll calm down here in a minute. Don't worry."

He wrapped his arms around her and gathered her up before turning them and sitting down under her, leaning so his back rested against the balcony. He sat her on his lap and she was surrounded by warmth as he guided her to lean back against his chest. With her resting against him, his slow even breaths pressed against her and she actively tried to imitate them.

It was hard though and slowing down her breathing just made her feel like she was suffocating, so she had to pick it back up a little. Natsu's presence did a lot to ease the fear, but there was still enough of it that she felt extremely uneasy and anxious. After a long moment, Amy also popped up and joined them, not making a fuss or saying anything really, just curling up at their side, close enough for Lucy to reach over and pet her if she wanted to.

It wasn't long before Happy sleepily tottered out onto the balcony too. He'd slept through her ungraceful exit from their bed, but apparently her extended absence had woken him up.

"Luuushy?" he mumbled sleepily, slurring her name.

"Here." she called back softly, not wanting to wake the others.

"What're you guys doing out on the balcony?"

"I had a panic attack…"

His eyes instantly cleared and worry replaced the sleepiness. "Oh no! Are you okay?"

"Getting better." she replied, wincing a little.

He immediately hopped over and plunked himself in her lap, cuddling up to her to provide as much comfort as he could too. She was still trembling a little, the remainder of leftover anxiety still shivering through her system. Negative chemicals were still being processed and flushed out, which she knew would probably take a few more minutes, so all she could do was wait it out.

"Hey, check it out." Natsu muttered in her ear and brought their linked hands up in front of her. In an obvious ploy to distract her, he made little flames dance in their hands and twine around their fingers.

"Pretty…." Happy sighed as he looked up at it from their laps.

Their blue companion was correct. It was enchanting, and it helped to ease her fears even more as she happily took the bait and watched the fire instead of focusing on the tension still thrumming in her stomach.

After a while of that, Natsu snuffed out the flames in their hands and instead hugged her close again.

With a one hand, Lucy reached over and buried her fingers into Amy's silky fur and stroked her head, letting the repetition of the movement and the tactile sensation lull her. Her other hand rested on Happy's head, not petting because he had fallen back asleep and she didn't want to wake him, but simply absorbing his warm furry presence. All the rest of her anxiety flowed out and left her limp in Natsu's arms as exhaustion weighed heavy once again.

"You ready to go back to bed now?" he asked softly, and she tensed up. Fear spiked in her belly and made her heart clench at the thought of going through that again. She had no way of knowing if she would wake up disoriented again and go through another panic attack, and the idea was utterly terrifying.

"But what if it happens again?"

"It won't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do." He kissed her on the temple.

"I'll come and sleep with you." Amy suddenly offered.

"I'm…not quite ready yet."

And so, they stayed out there on the balcony for a little while longer. Eventually Lucy started nodding off, and Natsu helped her and Happy back to bed. As soon as they were settled, Amy hopped up onto the bed too and curled up right next to her, taking Natsu's place as her space heater.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek:**

After the cooking battle, it seemed strangely appropriate for the next battle to be between Mira and Jenny from Blue Pegasus. Apparently they had agreed to doing a pose-off instead of a traditional battle, which Lucy hadn't known about until they both walked out onto the field in bikinis and started striking poses. It was like a beauty pageant really, and was both funny and slightly embarrassing to watch.

Then, out of nowhere, all three girls from Mermaid Heel dropped down into the arena and joined in, apparently fired up and not wanting to be left out. Lucy just gaped at them… not that she wasn't already somewhat in a state of shock from watching Mira and Jenny sex it up out there in their teeny bikinis. Things just spiraled downhill from there, because - predictably - Sherry from Lamia Scale jumped down and joined in too, saying something along the lines of, "What's beauty without _looove_?"

And when the first master popped up in front of their balcony, Lucy had the sinking feeling that Fairy Tail wasn't going to be taking the high road on this one.


	45. Chapter 45

**Author's Note:**

Alright! It's Sunday! That means a new chapter for the Grand Magic Games. ;D

As always, a huge, colorful explosion of happy thanks to all my fantastic wonderful reviewers. You're all awesome! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Lunar13, Firefly9917, TheJSmooth, valerioux, SunnieDayys, Donthedarkdragon26, quidditchChick6, Leomae2.0, Anna5939, The Age of Awesomeness, stranger1999.

Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: The Unknown Side Of Me, FranFranWriter, and DropChat.

Also, guest reviewer said something about the rabbit spirit Lepus being called Pikachu, and just in case other people had the same concern or question about it, I figured I'd clear it up real quick. Lepus is the technical name for this spirit, it's a rabbit constellation, but Lucy calls him Pikachu because of the sounds he makes, and the spirit seems to like it. She has been known to name spirits before (Plue) and there are some silver keys that have multiples and need to be named, so I figured it wasn't too out of the box. And yes, as I'm sure you're all aware, Pikachu is a Pokemon character. I have a habit of bringing in my favorite characters from other fandoms (Amy and Bartholomeo are both brought in from other fandoms) So that's the story behind the spirit. I hope this cleared up any confusion about the character that anyone might have had. ;D

Alrighty then! On with the show! And stay tuned till the end for the sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

The second day of the Grand Magic Games started with Fairy Tail in dead last. Spirits were a bit low and everyone was still concerned about what had happened yesterday, but Team A and Team B were both fired up and determined to turn things around today. Both Natsu and Gajeel signed up to participate in the first challenge… which turned out to be a _fantastic_ idea.

 **NOT.**

"Oh…I'm gonna puke…" Natsu squeaked, and Gajeel heaved next to him.

Up in the stands, Lucy groaned and heard the rest of her teammates do the same as they watched their fiery companion crawl across the train of moving wooden carts that turned out to be the first challenge of the day. Perhaps the fact that it was called, "Chariots," should have clued them in, but despite their misgivings about it, Natsu had insisted he wanted to go.

As for Lucy, she both felt sorry for her boyfriend/mate, and also kind of wanted to smack him for being an idiot and not listening to them. So much for making any points in this game…the other contenders were already way ahead, while Natsu and Gajeel were _literally_ crawling along on their bellies. She could already tell this was going to take a very, very long time to finish.

Naturally the crowd went wild with jeering and boos directed at the Fairy Tail wizards, and a few random bits of debris were tossed in their direction as they rounded various corners in the course.

Unsurprisingly, Orga from Sabertooth finished first, bringing their score up to 28 points, which tied them with Raven Tail whose contender finished second. Surprisingly Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus actually managed to finish third, and then Ichiya from Blue Pegasus, Yuka from Lamia Scale, and finally Risley from Mermaid Heel took fourth, fifth, and sixth places. Gajeel managed to inch past the finish line a few seconds before Natsu, so he nabbed one point, while Team A got a big fat zero.

The final scores were put up on the board for everyone to see, and all the Fairy Tail mages heaved a collective sigh of irritation as they looked at it.

 **Saber Tooth: 28 points – Raven Tail: 28 points – Lamia Scale: 19 points– Blue Pegasus: 18 points – Quatro Cerberus: 9 points – Mermaid Heel: 5 points – FT Team B: 1 points – FT Team A: 1 points**

After that painfully slow performance was a round of two battles. Lucy missed the first one though, because she was rushing down to help Natsu. She found him passed out just inside the gate leading to the arena, and quickly hopped over to squat next to him and shake his shoulder.

"Natsu, hey, are you alright?"

He 'erped,' which she took as a good sign.

Since moving him would just make his recovery slower, she decided to sit down next to him and just rubbed his back until he eventually revived. It took a while, but soon enough she felt his soft pink hair tickle her leg as he shifted and crawled on his belly closer to her so he could rest his head in her lap with a slightly pathetic whimper. That at least let her know he was starting to come around, and she aided in the process as best she could by threading her fingers through his hair and gently rubbing his scalp.

Thankfully, before the first round of the battle matches had finished, he stirred and pushed himself up onto hands and knees with a groan.

"You ready to head back upstairs?"

"Yeah…I think so."

"Okay then."

She helped him to his feet by pulling his arm over her shoulders. Before they had gone halfway, he had recovered enough to make it without her help, though he still wobbled a tiny bit as they went.

When they got back, they were updated as to what they'd missed. Apparently the first fight had been between Black Snake from Raven Tail and that dog-like guy from Lamia Scale. Erza was still boiling mad over something about a sock…which Lucy didn't really understand, but she let it slide and instead decided to focus on the score board as it popped up. It showed that Raven Tail had now hopped up to 38 points, which made her skin itch in irritation.

None of the others were overly pleased either, but they didn't have too much time to stew on it though, because the next battle round was between Team A and Quatro Cerberus.

" **Our next fight will be between…Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus and Erza from Fairy Tail!"** Mato shouted into the microphone, and cheers erupted in the stands. They were probably for Bacchus, who was a crowd favorite, and they were likely looking forward to him fighting Erza and putting her down.

Fairy Tail on the other hand, were all cheering because they knew that they were finally about to get some points on the board.

Erza was still all fired up about whatever had happened between Raven Tail and Lamia Scale, so she had a murderous aura around her as she stalked down to the arena.

"That guy's gonna get murdered…" Gray said, almost sounding sorry for the guy.

Natsu laughed. "Yeah!"

"So…what happened to make her so mad again?" Lucy asked as they watched Erza emerge from the gates down below.

"Um…Black Snake made a wager with Toby when they fought. If Toby won, Black Snake was going to tell him his true name. If Black Snake won, Toby was going to tell him some secret. Of course Raven Tail won, and so Toby told Black Snake about his 'favorite sock' and how he had lost it…. and it turned out to be around his neck on a chain. Black Snake pointed it out, and Toby freaked out and started to cry with happiness. Then Black Snake tore up the sock, and Erza blew a gasket."

Juvia explained all this in a rush and Lucy barely caught it all – and understood it even less – but since Erza and Bacchus were now squaring off, she just let it go at that.

Down in the ring, another wager was taking place.

"Hey there… you're pretty… _hot_." Bacchus said with a sly tone of voice that almost had a hiss in it.

Erza scowled. "Your point is?"

"Since the last pair made a wager, how 'bout we make it a theme? If I win, you keep me company all night tonight."

"That's a very bold proposition." Erza responded with a growl that said she'd just been mightily offended.

Lucy risked a look at the other balcony where Team B was watching the proceedings… and she saw a certain masked and hooded man clenching the balcony rail with both hands and visibly fuming. Jellal was positively livid from the looks of it.

"Fine." Everyone's heads snapped back to Erza and more than one jaw dropped in shock at her agreement. "But…. If _you_ lose, your guild has to change its name to Quatro _Puppy_."

There was an eruption of sounds from the stands, and it was Bacchus's turn to look pissed. Then he grinned a sharp sort of grin that said he was now taking this battle very seriously.

"Deal."

As soon as the gong sounded, both combatants went all out. Bacchus guzzled his entire bottle of alcohol – which Erza had explained during the race competition, increased his power. Bacchus was a strange mage who specialized in the drunken fist style, and apparently the drunker he was, the more dangerous.

Simultaneously, Erza reequipped into her heaven's wheel armor. Right as Bacchus was finishing off the last of his drink, Erza sent a hundred swords flying at him. To everyone's shock, he managed to dodge and block every one with just his bare palms and metal armor plated arms. At that, Erza reequipped into her flight armor. Lucy had always wondered if it was supposed to be based on a hyena or a cheetah. A cheetah would make the most sense, given that it was an armor built for speed, but Lucy had always thought it looked more like a hyena with the long hair tail that looked like a horse's rather than a cat's. Whatever the case, it was a smart move, because with Bacchus's weird style, speed would be necessary.

Despite being drunk as a skunk, it didn't make him any slower. In fact, he was faster and bent at impossible languid angles as he bowed this way and that to avoid all her attacks. Then he bounced back up and swung at her with his whole body, landing more than one powerful hit. To counter him, she began to switch armor and equipment at lightning speed. Her demon wing armor popped out to sweep her out of the way of his attacks, and then she switched back to her flight armor to dart in and kick him in the back with a spiked boot. When he dodged, she summoned her lightning staff and zapped him with bolts of electricity.

He dodged most of those but a couple managed to sting him in the butt. She took full advantage of the few strikes she landed and followed them up swiftly with more attacks, some physical, some magical. As the fight progressed, she managed to land more blows and he began to slow down, but he also managed to land blows and injure her as well.

Bacchus truly was a formidable adversary if he was giving Erza this much trouble, but it was only a matter of time before she got the upper hand. It was through the use of a spiky shield employed at the last second before his hit landed. When his fist smashed into her shield at full impact, he recoiled with a shout as he was met with spikes. As he cringed back in shock, she disposed of the shield and replaced it with two swords. Her first hit landed and destroyed the armor across one shoulder and arm in one blow. He was tossed back and landed on the dirt with a bang and a puff of dust.

The Fairy Tail section erupted in cheers as Erza dashed in and pinned him with a sword to the throat, indisputably ending the match.

" **And that's 10 points to Fairy Tail Team A!"** Mato shouted over them all, and if possible their guild got even louder.

After finally getting some points on the board, they were all so pumped that they were more than ready for the next challenge.

Speaking loudly into the microphone once again, Mato announced, **"And that concludes our first battle round! Next up we have another game! The name is… 'Food Wars!' Please choose your competitors wisely, Pumpkins! You must have two this time!"**

"Oh yeah! I'm fired up now!"

Natsu turned and looked like he was about to run down into the arena, but Gray held his arm out and clotheslined him. With an, 'erp,' the dragon was brought to an instant halt as his neck hit Gray's forearm and he tilted backward before falling on his butt. He was back on his feet in a split-second and in Gray's face the next.

"Oi! What was that for?! You wanna fight?!"

"No dumbass! You already went today! It's not your fucking turn!" Gray yelled back in his face, and for a long moment it looked like they were going to get into a brawl.

"Um, guys? Now is not the time for this." Lucy said dryly, and stepped forwards to grab the tail of Natsu's scarf to use like a leash or reigns. He felt the tension and looked back at her, pouting like a disappointed child.

"Let's go Darling. We don't want to keep them waiting…" Juvia urged and grabbed Gray's hand before leading him off… grumbling the whole way.

They emerged out into the arena at the same time that Erza appeared back in their booth.

"Wow, that was fast." Lucy commented, blinking at her bandages. "You've already been to the infirmary?"

"Yes, of course. Porlyusica was only too happy to get me fixed as quickly as possible and out of her hair."

Natsu snorted, and his good mood returned in a flash as he turned and leaned against the rail to eagerly watch the competitors down below. Team B chose Mira and Laxus, Lamia Scale chose Lyon and Sherry, Blue Pegasus chose Ren and Eve, Sabertooth chose Rufus and Sting, Quatro Puppy chose Rocker and Warcry, and Raven Tail chose Nullpudding and Flare. The big shocker though – for Erza at least – was when Mermaid Heel chose their competitors.

They picked Beth and a hooded girl whose face had been hidden this whole time. When she removed the hood though and her name was announced as Milliana, Erza gasped with shock and leaned forwards against the railing to get a better look.

"Milliana?" she whispered, sounding amazed and happy.

The girl with cat ears turned and waved in their direction. From this distance her call of, "High there Erzi-werzy!" was faint, but it still made Erza's eyes tear up. "It really is her."

"You know her?" Lucy asked, not recognizing the other girl but realizing that she must be a very important friend to Erza for her to respond in such a way.

"Yes…she was one of my friends from the Tower of Heaven."

That made the celestial mage suck in her breath. No wonder Erza was so moved. She hadn't seen any of her friends from the Tower of Heaven since it was destroyed years ago – aside from Jellal of course.

They didn't have time to talk further about it though, because Mato had just popped onto the field and was speaking into the lacrima microphone. **"Alright Pumpkins! Has everyone been chosen? Good! Now, our esteemed guest judge, Yajima, will explain the rules of this game! As an owner of his own restaurant, it's only fair!"**

With a clearing of his throat, the old ex-councilmember crackled onto the speakers. **"As the name might have suggested, this game is a cooking competition! The rules are simple. Make a single dish… it can be anything you like, but you have to use your magic to cook, handle the food, and prepare it. You can touch the food with your bare hands and your magic, but there will be no utensils or cooking supplies provided aside from ingredients and bowls for mixing and measuring. Teams will of course be ranked on how tasty their dish is according to our judges. Good luck!"**

The gong sounded and each team dashed to a cooking station, which all appeared as soon as Yajima had finished his explanation of the rules. Shelves of produce, dairy, spices, meat, and every other sort of food or food product also flashed into existence. As teams started to figure out what they were going to make, they started running to grab their ingredients off the shelves.

Each team reacted differently to the challenge of course. Sabertooth's Rufus seemed calm and collected, while Sting didn't seem to know what to do with himself. Rufus was quick to decide on something and started ordering Sting to collect various food-stuffs as he got cooking, using many different strange magics to cook and prepare the food. All Sting could do was heat stuff up with a light beam, although he also managed to peel and cut some vegetables and fruits with a laser.

Similarly, Mermaid Heel had one team member who seemed to know something about what to do in the kitchen, Beth, and one who looked a little wild-eyed and worried, Milliana. Beth seemed to be the one in charge and directed Milliana to grab ingredients off the shelves, which she did with what looked like long furry whips. That let them stay at their work station and grab ingredients at the same time. Plus, apparently Beth had some sort of vegetable magic, because she could simply create certain kinds of veggies out of thin air, which cut down on their gathering time as well. They immediately began cutting up those vegetables, which Milliana did with her cat claws, and they also started preparing some meat.

Meanwhile, both members of Blue Pegasus were smooth, cool, and collected, which didn't surprise Lucy at all considering that they were essentially a host club. Of course they would know how to cook. They were one of the first teams to decide on a dish and start cooking, and they worked together flawlessly. They were also able to grab ingredients from the shelves without leaving their work station – by using Ren's wind magic to levitate them right over – which put them on par with Mermaid Heel. Based on all the sugar, flour, fruit, and cream they had collected, they would be making some sort of dessert. And with Eve's snow magic, they could chill anything they wanted with a great amount of ease.

In sharp contrast, Lyon and Sherry took longer to figure out what they were going to make, and even seemed to get into a heated argument about it at the start, but eventually they decided on something. It looked like Sherry had won their argument, because Lyon didn't appear too happy about what they were making. Still, they worked together relatively well, and made up for their late start in a pretty spectacular way. Lyon used his ice make magic to create all sorts of spoons, spatulas, and whatever else they needed, and Sherry used her puppet magic to animate them all to cook autonomously. Their station probably had the most and least amount of movement at once.

The last team to start cooking was Quatro Puppy, and neither Warcry or Rocker seemed to really know what to do with themselves. Eventually they started scrambling for ingredients and began cooking something, though it still didn't look like they had a clear plan for a dish. Still, they were able to use their magic to make it – Rocker rotated his hand at high speeds to use as a beater and shred ingredients as well, and Warcry produced copious amounts of tears…which they used instead of water. Lucy cringed when she noted that and felt sorry for the judges who would have to be eating it.

Almost as far behind were Flare and Nullpudding, who obviously didn't know diddly squat about cooking. Flare at least seemed to figure something out, and of course with her long red hair they were able to grab ingredients without moving as well. She was also able to cook ingredients in her hair – though she didn't seem overly pleased about it. Lucy had no sympathy for the other woman as various foodstuffs coated her hair. In fact, she felt rather pleased about it. As for Nullpudding, he simply transformed his hands into purple puffer balls with spikes and worked on pulverizing various ingredients.

Of course, most of her attention was focused on their two teams and cheering them on.

Team B had Mira, who was legendary in the kitchen, so they were doing just fine. The only problem they ran into was how to use Laxus's lightning magic to cook. In the end, he settled for something like Sting, where he simply heated up ingredients with his lightning or flash fried them. Mira naturally made good use of it though, because she was nothing if not inventive. And of course with her transformation magic, she could accessorize herself with claws, a tail, and any other number of appendages that helped to cut, peel, stir, and beat the ingredients.

Meanwhile, Gray and Juvia were having some trouble. Neither of them was great in the kitchen, although Juvia had improved significantly since the days where she blew up her kitchen on a regular basis trying to cook for Gray. She had mastered, mostly, how to use her water as a small cyclone to mix ingredients, and could also use it to grab ingredients off the shelves. Meanwhile, Gray made any utensils that she couldn't make with her water – similar to what Lyon was doing – and also used his ice to flash freeze items and keep things cool.

The challenge lasted one hour, and by the end, every team had something to present, although some dishes looked significantly more edible than others. The judges all descended from their box and took seats at a temporary table down in the arena. As soon as they were seated, numbers suddenly magically appeared above each cooking station and Mato hopped down to join them.

" **Hello Pumpkins! It's tasting time! As you can see, you each now have a number above your cooking stations. These numbers will determine what order you will present your dishes. So…. number one! Please step forwards and present your plate to the judges!"**

The number one had appeared over Sabertooth's station, so Rufus elegantly picked up his dish and took it to the judges. It was beautiful, like something from a fine dining restaurant, with a small circle of meat that lay on several perfectly caramelized asparagus. A delicate latticework of caramelized sugar hung in a half dome over the dish like a protective shield and drops of sauce decorated one edge of the plate. The judges naturally looked very eager to try it and dug in with relish.

All of them swooned and spouted praise, which made Lucy groan and pinch her nose. It looked like Sabertooth was going to be getting the top spot once again. They got a perfect score; each judge gave them ten points for a perfect 30 out of 30.

The next dish to be presented was in sharp contrast to the first. Quatro Puppy offered some sort of…mash. It kind of looked like grits…or maybe mashed potatoes…or…honestly Lucy couldn't tell from this distance. But it certainly didn't look appetizing. None of the judges seemed too eager to taste it either, and it was with a good deal of nose-scrunching that they finally did. None of them vomited or spat it back out, which was a good sign, but none of them seemed overly happy either. Only one judge took pity on them and gave them a 1, but that still left their total score at a 1.

After that disaster, Mermaid Heel's dish looked like mana from heaven. It was a traditional country meal – buttered soft baby carrots, mashed potatoes with pepper and brown gravy, and a country fried steak with white gravy. The judges all dug in with gusto, probably to erase the bad taste Quatro Puppy must have left in their mouths. They all seemed pleased, but did comment that the dish was heavy on the gravy and a little heavy over all. So Mermaid Heel received a score of 15 out of 30. So far, that put them in second place.

Blue Pegasus was up next, and it was clear to see that their dish was superior to Mermaid Heel's. Instead of a full meal, they presented a single small cake to each judge, perfectly iced and presented with drops of pink sauce around the edges of the plate. A strawberry perched on top, and Lucy could practically feel Erza salivating next to her. This was her kind of cake, and if this was any other setting, the redhead would have already made a beeline for the sweets and ordered one for herself. The fact that she couldn't was obviously driving her up the wall, and she began to fidget.

The judges were all enchanted with the confection and gave super high scores once again. They each ranked it a 9 out of ten, to give it a total score of 27.

Following that fairy-like cake, was Raven Tail's dish…which was less than delicate. They presented a plate that had what looked like a huge hunk of meat on it, stuffed with something. The meat had been tenderized with Nullpudding's fists, so it was sort of lumpy and torn up. Apparently it was stuffed with burned onions and garlic, which might have been tasty, except all the judges began to cough a little. Their comments were consistent. The dish was both too cooked and not cooked enough. The meat was too rare and the onion/garlic mash was burned and also way too overpowering. Two judges gave them a one, which put them at 2 points total.

Team B was up next, and Mira presented a beautiful dish of chicken and waffles. They weren't just plain chicken and waffles though, they were fancy and presented in a fine dining sort of way. It wasn't quite as refined as Blue Pegasus or Sabertooth, but it was pretty damn close. She had made small waffles, which weren't precisely waffles since she hadn't had a waffle iron. They were more like biscuits which she had molded into the shape of waffles while they were still dough, and then Laxus had flash fried them with his lightning. To combat the heaviness of the dough, she had enhanced them with a dose of honey and rum that seeped in and got absorbed, leaving the biscuit-waffles soft and gooey with sweetness. For the chicken, she had made small pieces that fit perfectly on the small waffles, and coated them in a sweet/savory breading that incorporated a little honey, pepper, and sweetened soy sauce. On top she had grated orange zest to give it a little acidity and pop, and then garnished with a twig of rosemary.

The judges all went gaga again and gave her the third highest score. At 26, she almost tied with Blue Pegasus.

Lamia Scale was up next, and they presented an exceptionally simple dish. It was a rice omelet…the sort you would get at a diner, and all the judges seemed somewhat bored by it. However, Sherry then stepped forwards and – wielding three bottles of ketchup at the same time with her puppet magic – she drew hearts on the omelets and the word, 'love,' while twirling around theatrically and then bent over to blow them a kiss. At that point, Lucy did a face-palm and snickered into her hand at the cliché maid café scene. When she risked a glance, all the judges seemed equally amused, while Lyon was standing at their cooking station with a red face and disgruntled expression. Suddenly she knew why he had seemed so grumpy the whole time they'd been cooking. Too bad for him.

They almost tied with Mermaid Heel, but made a 14 instead of 15, and Lucy had the distinct impression that a large part of the score was simply their amusement at Sherry's cute little act.

Directly after them was Team A, and Gray smirked at Lyon as he carried up their dish. They had capitalized on Gray's ability with ice and had created a fancy looking sorbet in a delicate crystal-clear fluted glass that Gray had created out of ice. The sorbet itself was brightly colored and looked fruity and refreshing. Some sort of fruit peel had been curled delicately and laid on top of the sorbet as well, along with chipped chocolate. Over all, it screamed more of Juvia's romantic style than Gray's – much like Sherry and Lyon's situation before – but the main difference was that it also carried plenty of Gray in it as well. The delicate nature of the glass and the extensive details spoke of his attention to detail and perfectionism when it came to his ice make magic.

The judges really seemed to like it as well, but not quite as much as Team B, so Team A got a 25 instead. Still, that landed them in 4th place and gave them 4 points, so it was better than nothing.

At the conclusion of that game all the competitors vacated the arena and all the shelves of produce and cooking stations disappeared with a puff as the judges relocated back to their booth.

" **How exciting! I don't know about you, but that made me hungry!"** Mato said as he popped back into the arena. Then with a little twirl, he chirped, **"The final scores are now up on the board!"**

Everyone glanced up at the lacrima board that consistently displayed everyone's score and their lineup.

It read: **Raven Tail: 39 points – Sabertooth: 38 points – Blue Pegasus: 26 points – Lamia Scale: 21 points –Team A: 15 points – Quatro Puppy: 9 points – Mermaid Heel: 8 points – Team B: 7 points**

After the cooking battle, it seemed strangely appropriate for the next battle to be between Mira and Jenny from Blue Pegasus. Apparently they had agreed to doing a pose-off instead of a traditional battle, which Lucy hadn't known about until they both walked out onto the field in bikinis and started striking poses. It was like a beauty pageant really, and was both funny and slightly embarrassing to watch.

Then, out of nowhere, all three girls from Mermaid Heel dropped down into the arena and joined in, apparently fired up and not wanting to be left out. Lucy just gaped at them… not that she wasn't already somewhat in a state of shock from watching Mira and Jenny sex it up out there in their teeny bikinis. Things just spiraled downhill from there, because - predictably - Sherry from Lamia Scale jumped down and joined in too, saying something along the lines of, "What's beauty without _looove_?"

It wasn't exactly surprising when Raven Tail and Sabertooth didn't deign to join in, they were both way too serious for something as silly as this.

However… when the first master popped up in front of their balcony, Lucy had the sinking feeling that Fairy Tail wasn't going to be taking the high road on this one.

"What are you waiting for?! Go down there and fight for Fairy Tail!" she exclaimed, sounding cheerful and spunky and way too happy about all this.

"Um…we don't have bikinis." Lucy pointed out.

"Those two do." Mavis pointed at Juvia and Erza, who could both change their clothing at will. "As for you…I've got you covered!"

The little blond master gestured, and Lucy suddenly felt a breeze as her clothing mostly disappeared, to be replaced with a teeny bikini like the other girls.

"Well, it seems we have no choice." Erza announced, sounding less long-suffering and more like she'd just been waiting for an excuse to go down there.

With a groan Lucy followed, and they all hopped down into the arena full of scantily clad women. She could only imagine that other magic users had provided the others with their bikinis, much like Mavis had done for her. The Team B girls also hopped down into the ring… meaning Wendy, who looked like she was about to pass out.

From there, things just predictably got weirder. The judges all announced the next outfit they would like to see, and everyone switched from bikinis to school uniforms…which Lucy thought was just bizarre. Honestly, she didn't understand why any guy would be interested in school-girl outfits, but a good amount of hooting and hollering could be heard from the crowd, so she let it go. She had no say in the matter. After all, her outfit was solely under the control of Fairy Tail's first master.

Next was leotards, thigh highs, and high heels. Erza picked a bunny costume, and Lucy ended up in a leopard print leotard with black thigh highs. It was a good thing she had been in beauty pageants before and photo shoots for Sorcerer Weekly – not to mention working in an adult venue – so this wasn't exactly humiliating for her. The only difference here was that there were a lot more people watching, thousands in fact… so that was a little unnerving. The level of noise coming from the crowd was enough to shake even her.

At least she could pick her own poses, and chose cute but not super sexual ones, unlike Jenny and Mira who were still going all out in the center of the action. This was their fight after all… the rest of them were just pretty decoration.

The next get-up was cat costumes, which wasn't a huge step up from leotards. In fact, her outfit suddenly only comprised of a bustier and short shorts, paired with ears, a tail, boots, and big cat-paw gloves. Hers was black and pink, while Erza sported a white one and Mira put on tiger print.

And then things just got worse as the next set was bondage gear. When she heard that one, Lucy was sure her eyes were going to pop out of her head. This was a whole new level of weird, and she wasn't sure if she was as okay about it all as before.

The scariest thing perhaps, was the idea of Mira and Erza in bondage gear, because she'd seen that before and knew just how terrifying they were when they got in character. Thankfully she didn't see either in her immediate vicinity.

Unfortunately though, she still felt her own clothing shift, and looked down to see her outfit change once again. It actually wasn't too much different from the cat costume – she still had a lace-up bustier up top, this time in black leather, and black leather short shorts…really they weren't even shorts anymore. Below that were fishnet stockings and over-the-knee black boots with five-inch spiked heels. A black whip appeared on her hip, and for the first time since this whole ordeal started, she grinned. This, at least, she knew what to do with.

Her momentary glee was postponed though when Sherry approached, strutting in a red leather outfit similar to hers. At the sight of her rival, Lucy's mood soured significantly, and she scowled at the other woman – who strutted right up to her with that prissy taunting expression she always directed at the celestial mage.

"So Lucy…who has the most LOVE now?" Sherry challenged, striking a sexy and sort of dominant pose with her boobs out and her chin up, looking down her nose at Lucy.

At that point, she could feel a blood vessel start to pound in her forehead and her eyebrow ticked in irritation. This bitch… even now she was trying to compete with her. Normally, she would have just gritted her teeth and ignored her, but this time Lucy just couldn't resist. This was supposed to be a pose off for bondage gear right? Surely getting into character was acceptable.

Her hand deftly grabbed the whip on her hip and uncoiled it with a snap. Sherry scoffed, because for all the times that they'd fought, Lucy had never used her whip against the other woman. There had been no need to. Now though, it was a different matter entirely.

Sherry had no idea that Lucy actually knew how to use it and sneered. "Oh please… like a mere prop could scare me. That's just pathetic."

Lucy just grinned, and then, with a practiced snap of her wrist, she sent the tail flicking through the air to pop with a loud crack mere millimeters in front of Sherry's nose. "It's not just a prop."

Sherry shrieked and staggered back a step. "What the hell?! You could have taken my nose off with that!"

"I could have, if I wanted to. But this thing won't go anywhere I don't tell it to."

Sherry's eyes narrowed. "Are you telling me that _you_ know how to use a whip? _**You**_?! You're way too goody-two-shoes for something that edgy."

"Then why do I always carry one?"

"Oh that thing? Pshh, I've always just assumed it was decoration."

"I'm insulted." Unraveling her whip again, Lucy grinned, glanced down, and then announced, "Above your right foot."

"Huh? Do I have something on me?" Sherry glanced down, and Lucy cracked her whip in the air right over Sherry's right foot as she watched.

Once again, she shrieked and stumbled back. Getting a little too into it now, Lucy followed, popping the whip directly in front of her toes on each foot, right, left, then right again as Sherry staggered backwards. She never actually hit her, only popping the air bare inches from her skin while advancing.

Finally her pink-haired opponent fell over backwards, landing on her behind, and she squealed, "Alright! Alright! I was wrong! Stop it please!"

At that, Lucy stopped, still grinning. "Fine. And now maybe you'll drop this stupid competition with me. It's gotten really old."

"I've still got more LOVE than you!" she yelled, and then promptly ran off.

Lucy just shook her head and rolled her eyes, amused and disgruntled at the stupid confrontation.

And then a voice from behind her made her freeze. "Lucy…"

"Oh no." She risked a glance over her shoulder and spied Erza.

It came as no surprise when she ended up hogtied on the ground.

Thankfully the costumes switched then, so she was released from her bindings – which was good, because it was kind of a painful position to be put in.

In direct contrast to the last outfit, the next one was blushing brides, which meant donning a big fluffy white dress. It was a refreshing switch to make, she had to admit. Even she'd been getting tired of skimpy outfits – and that was saying a lot.

It also involved grabbing a 'lucky' guy…. but Lucy wasn't sure the guys that got snagged and dragged into this little misadventure could be classified as _lucky_. A few volunteered though, like Jellal who flashed down next to Erza. Otherwise, girls began running off to find their significant others. Juvia dragged Gray down from the balcony, Sherry similarly tugged a reluctant Ren along behind her, Mira seemed to bribe Laxus to get him to participate, and Jenny crooked her finger for Hibiki. A blushing Romeo was pushed down to join Wendy by his dad.

However, Lucy didn't really bother to pay attention to anyone else, because Natsu had puffed into existence next to her with a spark and lick of fire that made her afraid he was going to set her dress on fire.

"Watch it!" she yelped and patted out a smoking part of the white material before it could actual light.

"Sorry!" he said cheerfully with a completely unapologetic grin.

She was then distracted by his clothes, which consisted of a white suit, and she stared in shock at the sight of him in something formal like that. To be honest… he looked good. Really good in fact.

Shortly after that, the festivities were put to an end by the master of Lamia Scale, who turned out to be a little old granny, and when she jumped down to participate – wearing a bikini – everyone suddenly lost all the wind in their sails. Anyone who wasn't supposed to be there left, and the only two mages to remain in the arena were Mira and Jenny.

At that point, things heated up as Jenny suggested they also make a wager, and the loser would pose naked for Sorcerer Weekly. Mira agreed, then transformed into one of her Satan Soul forms and beat Jenny through brute force.

10 points were given to Team B of Fairy Tail, which brought them up to 17 points total.

After that, the last event of the day was a battle round between Kagura from Mermaid Heel and Yukino from Sabertooth. They also made a wager, that the loser's life would belong to the winner.

In that particular fight, the entire audience was shocked by the show of power as Kagura put her impressive arsenal of sword skills on display – without ever drawing her sword – and exposed the fact that she had gravity magic as well. Yukino used her celestial keys and turned out to possess the other two members of the zodiac, as well as Ophiuchus, and both Lucy and Natsu cheered her on from the stands.

No matter what the celestial mage threw at her though, Kagura was able to deflect it with ease using her sheathed sword and gravity magic, even cutting through Ophiuchus's huge snake form – which was quite frankly utterly terrifying. The entire sky grew dark and purple as smoke filled the arena, masking some of the massive black serpent – which only made it more terrifying somehow. Lucy thought for sure Yukino would win with that one, but Kagura cut through even that attack without drawing her sword, adding insult to injury.

In the end, Kagura won solidly, and everyone waited with bated breath to see if she would take Yukino's life – since it was now forfeit. Thankfully she didn't, and Lucy breathed a deep sigh of relief when all the other woman did was point her sheath at Yukino and say, "Remember, your life belongs to me now…" Then she walked away without another word – leaving the white-haired celestial mage on her knees in the middle of the arena.

"Ouch…that was harsh…" Lucy whispered, cringing in sympathy at her new friend's humiliation and utter defeat. It was painful to watch.

Natsu and Happy just nodded

When the final scores for the day were put up on the board, they read: **Raven Tail: 39 points – Sabertooth: 38 points – Blue Pegasus: 26 points – Lamia Scale: 21 points – Mermaid Heel: 18 points – Team B: 17 points –Team A: 12 points – Quatro Cerberus: 9 points**

It wasn't much, but at least they'd gotten some points on the board, so they left the arena feeling a little more pumped than yesterday.

…

Several hours later ~

It was strange, one wouldn't have thought that the newly dubbed Quatro Puppy would want to hang out with Fairy Tail after being forced to change their name over a bet…. but as it turned out, that was precisely what happened. Much later that evening, they all found themselves at a random pub drinking together and talking and laughing like old buddies.

Erza and Bacchus had made up, and he'd made another pass at her – this time somewhat serious – but that had been put to a halt by two different parties. Jellal had stepped in and made it perfectly clear – with body language only – that the redheaded mage was not available. Shortly after that, Cana had joined them and challenged Bacchus to a drinking competition, and Lucy saw an instant shift in his attention as he took some serious notice of her. She wasn't actually sure if they'd ever met before, but as far as she could tell, they were a match made in heaven… Greek heaven anyways. She could totally see the two of them in togas frolicking in some huge lake made of wine surrounded by clouds and stuff. It was such a funny thought that she started laughing to herself, and Natsu gave her that look that said he thought maybe she'd had enough to drink. It was mostly amused.

Happy just laughed at her hijinks and landed on her head. " _Luuushy_. I think you're drunk."

"No I'm not!" she protested, and then promptly hiccupped, which had nothing to do with being drunk, but it was still so stereotypically funny that the two of them began laughing again.

Team B was located at the next table, and Carla flew over to socialize with Happy, which distracted him from making fun of Lucy. So, as they flew off together, Lucy turned her attention back to people-watching. She sighed and lay her head down on her crossed arms to watch the hilarity of Bacchus and Cana trying to drink each other under the table. They were both already halfway there and were practically on top of each other. A few minutes later, they _**were**_ on top of each other as Cana parked her butt in Bacchus's lap – which he didn't have any complaints about whatsoever.

With a snicker, Lucy took a break from watching them and turned her attention to the rest of the room. Maybe it was the wine, but she was seeing couples everywhere.

Erza and Jellal had disappeared entirely, rather conspicuously so, and Lucy wondered if she should be worried about going back to their room. She'd rather not walk in on anything she shouldn't.

Meanwhile, Levy was spending some time with Gajeel at the bar, and they seemed to be having a pretty good time. Lucy could only hope that maybe they'd finally get up the courage to do something about their giant crushes for each other with some alcohol in their systems. It looked pretty promising from where she was sitting, and she found herself rooting for the two as they seemed to lean closer and closer together.

Then, her attention was distracted yet again by the sight of Panther Lilly and Frosch hanging out. With a buzzed brain, Lucy now found herself wondering if they might have another couple like Happy and Carla on their hands, and what exactly that would entail. Maybe in a few years they'd have blue and white kittens running around with green and black kittens in their guildhall. That thought was so strange that Lucy shook her head and forced her mind to a different subject.

Only a short way away from Fro was her wizard and Mira, and Lucy saw yet another potential couple in the way those two were conversing. Maybe Mira was rubbing off on her, to be seeing so many couples, but she just couldn't help but wonder if there were some revenge prospects in setting up Mira and Laxus. After all the times that Mira had tried to set her up on dates, the white-haired mage deserved a little retribution. To be honest, they made a great couple, and kind of a terrifying one too if she really thought about it. Two S-Class wizards…would they even be able to do it without destroying a bedroom?

A weird image crossed her mind – one involving a demonic Mira tying up Laxus… which quickly flipped when she tried to imagine Laxus going along with that. She snickered at the thought, and then shuddered a little too for good measure. Personally, she'd like a little warning if something like that was going to go down anywhere in her vicinity, because she was pretty sure they'd need to evacuate.

Her train of thought went off-rail again though when Freed joined the two S-Class mages, and neatly inserted himself between Mira and Laxus with almost a surly expression on his face. Apparently he'd noticed the same thing as Lucy and wasn't happy about it. New ideas popped into her head as she tried to fit him into her little imaginary scenario. Picturing him and Laxus together was much more pleasant… at least it didn't run the risk of wiping an entire building off the map. And then the random image of all three of them manifested strangely. Once she started contemplating how that might go down – Mira trying to dominate Laxus, Freed stepping in and fighting Mira, Laxus losing his temper and fucking them both – she had to concede that it was time to stop sipping on her strawberry daiquiri.

"Natsu… I think I have sex on the brain. And I think maybe I'm done with this." she said calmly while pushing her drink away from her with a narrow-eyed gaze that said it was all the alcohol's fault.

There was a long pause, and then Natsu busted out laughing before wrapping an arm around her. "Oh really? Then I guess you don't mind if I do this?" he chuckled and then took advantage of the situation by tightening his arm around her middle and hoisting her easily into his lap.

She plopped there with no resistance and just let herself rest back into his strong chest with a content sigh. "Nope."

From her perch on Bacchus's lap, Cana slurred, "All right! Join the party Luuushy! Everyone! Get on a guy's lap!"

Lucy could only laugh and be thankful that she wasn't actually drunk… only mildly buzzed. In fact, she was mostly just feeling sort of sleepy now and relaxed, which might have to do with her new warm seat. It felt so nice to be cuddled up to Natsu… especially after the mostly sleepless nights she had recently endured without him.

"I'm okay with that!" Juvia chimed in from nearby, and parked herself on Gray's lap, much to his chagrin and embarrassment.

"Juvia!" he exclaimed with a slightly irritated tone of voice, but the arm he wrapped around her middle told a different story.

It was so funny to watch them sometimes. Even after being together for so long, they still had their quirks. Mostly Juvia initiated the PDA – and had an amazing amount of confidence in doing so – while Gray tended to react to her public advances with irritation or embarrassment. However, the few times that Lucy had seen him initiate cuddling or contact of any kind, Juvia had reacted entirely differently and blushed every shade of red under the sun while spluttering some nonsense. In those cases, Gray hadn't exactly seemed comfortable with the PDA even though he was initiating it, but as soon as Juvia got flustered he would laugh at her and instantly cheer up.

Right now, it was definitely scenario number one, but after a while Lucy could see that Gray gradually began to relax (maybe thanks to the beer he was downing rather swiftly.) That whole scene changed though, when Lyon suddenly walked into the bar. As soon as he spotted them, the Lamia Scale mage instantly came over.

Lucy hadn't been present for their first meeting a few days ago, but according to Juvia, Lyon had taken quite a shine to her, and Gray clearly did _not_ like it. In private, Juvia had told her that she was thrilled by the sight of Gray being possessive and jealous, which Lucy found hysterical.

At the scene that erupted, Natsu and Lucy moved back a bit to give Gray and Lyon room, because things very quickly turned into a fist fight as Lyon made some rather forward advances. Juvia stepped back and watched with hearts in her eyes as her boyfriend fought for her.

Of course, those two almost always got into a fight whenever they met, no matter the circumstances and even before Lyon had sparked a crush on Juvia. Honestly, they were like brothers, and Lucy had always thought they acted like it. In other words… they were often absolutely ridiculous and stupid when it came to each other.

"If we win the Grand Magic Games, then Juvia will become part of Lamia Scale!" Lyon announced loudly, and Gray shouted back, "No freaking way, man! She ain't going to be part of your guild! Get that through your thick scull!"

After a little while, Lucy completely relocated to the bar, leaving the two ice mages to duke it out. Natsu stayed behind for a little while, since Gray had been thrown into him, and he was now throwing a few punches of his own. With a sigh, Lucy ordered a new drink at the bar. Hers had been tipped over, and she'd momentarily forgotten the fact that she wasn't drinking any more. A little of the buzz had worn off thanks to the fight and an order of fries she had downed a few minutes ago.

While she was waiting for her drink, she spun on the bar stool to face the rest of the pub and watch the mayhem, snorting to herself in amusement as Natsu punched both Gray and Lyon at the same time, which prompted Gray to yell, "You have nothing to do with this fight! Butt out, Ash Breath!"

"You made me part of it when you parked your icy butt in my face, ya damn Popsicle!"

Her attention was diverted though when an arm was thrown around her shoulders and a slightly slurred voice spoke in her ear. "Hey there pretty lady…how 'bout I buy you a drink?"

Cringing a little, she shrugged the guy's arm off and shot him down. "No thanks."

"Ah cum'on…don' be like that. I'll get'ya as many drinks as you want."

"I'm good."

In his drunken state, he was apparently incapable of understanding common terms of phrase. "Yeah… I bet yer good. Ya'look like you'd be _reeeaaal_ good. Instead'uva drink, how 'bout I rent us a room for a couple'uh hours…they do tha' here ya know…"

The information was intriguing to say the least, and her eyes cut sideways towards Natsu. He wasn't in the fight anymore though, and with a frown she glanced around to try and find her errant boyfriend. He found her first.

A solid, heated arm landed around her waist, pulling her into a familiar embrace, but he didn't address her. "No kidding? Good to know." he said to the guy who had been hitting on her.

"An' who're you?"

"Her boyfriend. So back off." Natsu growled, his tone taking a turn for the darker and more possessive.

The drunk peered at Natsu through blurry eyes. "I dunno…I think you're just tryin' ta steal her from under me…. Hey Lady, ya wanna ditch this guy and come with me? I promise I'll show'ya a good time."

A blast of heat from Natsu washed over Lucy and made the drink she just got start to boil in her cup. She grimaced and put it down, just in case the glass exploded. A terrifying sound came from her dragon's throat and he took a step forward, crowding into the guy's personal space.

"She's mine…so get your ass out of here before I _**incinerate**_ it."

Thankfully the guy finally got Natsu's message, and after falling off the stool he was sitting on, he staggered out of the pub at high speeds.

"Damn…that was hot." a new tipsy voice commented, and both Lucy and Natsu swung their heads to look over at Cana – who had parked herself near them at the bar. Bacchus had temporarily disappeared, probably to the bathroom. "Why don't you two get a room for a couple hours… looks like you need it."

Lucy flushed and pursed her lips, but seriously contemplated the idea. After a moment she spun on her stool and addressed the bar tender. "Excuse me, but if I wanted to rent a room for a couple of hours, how would I go about doing that?"

The guy grinned and looked her up and down. "Well miss, you'd just have to tell me how long you wanted it for and then I'd tell you the price, you'd give me the money, and I'd give you the key."

It sounded simple enough, and she resolutely ignored Cana wolf whistling and saying something along the lines of, "That's right Lucy! You take advantage of your nine point five!"

"So how much would two hours be?"

"That would be 4000 jewel."

"Wow…that's cheap." Lucy muttered, still thinking in terms of overnight hotels, which ran upwards of 10000 a night.

"Well it IS only for two hours…" Natsu pointed out.

"True."

"Why two hours anyways? Why not three or four…or five…or six?" Natsu asked, cocking his head a little more to the side with each number.

Cana nearly choked on her wine and Lucy was pretty sure she blew some out of her nose. The bartender's eyes also widened and his jaw dropped a few inches.

Lucy flushed a little warmer and felt her ears tingling a little as she scowled at Natsu. Keeping her voice to a soft growl, she whispered, "Because I'm not up for a marathon!"

"Oh what's the harm, why not go have fun?" Cana teased from her spot nearby, and Lucy sent her a slightly exasperated look.

"Because I'll need the ability to _**walk**_ tomorrow."

Cana's mouthed popped open into an 'o' and then she burst into drunk laughter.

Lucy turned back to the bartender and slapped down 4000 jewel, trading it for a key with a room number, and the bartender silently pointed at some stairs leading up to a second story. Resolutely, she grabbed Natsu's hand and dragged him behind her up the stairs, before hunting down their room number.

As soon as they tumbled in together, Natsu slammed the door shut behind them – probably a little too hard – and then yanked her close. She fell back into his chest, then turned and wrapped one arm around his neck, using their momentum to press him up against the door so her other hand could fumble along the wall for the light switch. Her fingers found it, but when she flipped it nothing happened, the room remained dark as it had before.

She pulled away, separating herself a little from Natsu's mouth, which had found her neck. "Wait a minute, hold on…Natsu! Just…hey! Give me a second! The light switch isn't working!" she protested as he followed her, not allowing her to squirm away and investigate the issue with their illumination.

At first he didn't listen to her protests…in fact it just made him bite down on her in an obvious rebuttal. The painful pleasure made her huff a groan, but she still shoved at him to get her point across. With a gruff sigh, he finally unwrapped his arms from around her, but his tail looped around her thigh and squeezed, reminding her of his presence as she stepped over to the light and poked at it. After a minute – or less – Natsu lost his patience and tugged her back to him using his tail.

"Just leave it Luce. We can do it like this."

"But I can't see!" she protested, squinting into the dark room and looking back at where she knew he was based off his grip on her. It was true, she couldn't see much of anything at all in the pitch black room…maybe just the barest of outlines, but even that was sketchy.

"I can." he responded, and she could tell from his tone that he was probably smirking.

"Well good for you…" she grumbled, crossing her arms and huffing. "But that doesn't really help me."

"Oh come on…" There was a pause, and she could practically hear the gears in his head working. When his tail silently slithered off, leaving her alone in the dark, she turned to where she thought he was and frowned questioningly.

"Natsu?"

Silence met her, and her frown deepened. "Natsu what's going on?"

She reached out to where she had been sure he was, but only grabbed air and stumbled forwards a step in surprise. "Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Actually…this could be fun…" His voice came from behind her, and she spun around, glaring in that direction.

"What are you talking about?"

"You not being able to see."

"Yeah I figured that's what you meant, but how could that possibly be fun?!" she groused, not amused. His tone did nothing to put her in a better mood either, the laughter in it just pissed her off.

When silence met her question, she growled and turned to stomp to where she thought the door was, ready to throw it open and shed some light on this ridiculous situation. She bounced off a dresser with a grunt, and a snort from one side alerted her to Natsu's location. She lashed out in that direction, reaching to try and grab his clothes, but once again she just met empty air and another irritated sound escaped her chest.

When a finger ran across the back of her neck, she jumped and squeaked, spinning in that direction and staring wide-eyed into the dark, wondering when he got behind her. She'd thought the dresser was behind her. Her outstretched hand did indeed bump into the expected furniture, which made no sense to her turned around mind.

A loud yelp escaped her when a pair of hands suddenly hooked under her shirt and dragged it over her head, forcing her arms up along the way. She received a mouthful of fabric, which was then yanked out of her mouth as it passed over her head. Cool air accosted her skin and she shivered, crossing her arms over her chest as a weird sense of shyness and discomfort overtook her. This was so different and new that it made her nervous about being undressed, and she was left a little off-balance as she glared into the dark.

"Just what do you think you're doing Natsu?! This isn't funny!"

A deep chuckle was the only thing that met her, and she was mildly shocked that he was able to control his impulsive nature enough to even do this. Normally he would've been all over her by now. But instead, he was…. it was like he was _**stalking**_ her, an activity she never would have expected him capable of doing, given his short patience. The only times he could remain patient were when he was _thoroughly_ entertained – which didn't really bode well for her, and she found herself utterly unnerved by the situation. It was so unlike him that it suddenly felt like she was with someone else, which was extremely strange when she couldn't actually see him.

"Natsu?"

He answered by opening the snap of her bra, making it go slack over her arms, and she gasped and jumped, spinning to face that direction. "Hey! Come on!"

She strained her ears to try and hear him…but he did possess the ability to be absolutely silent when he really wanted to be – despite the fact that he normally sounded like an ox in a china shop. So she didn't expect it when her skirt was suddenly yanked down her legs along with her underwear. When she yelped and jumped forwards a step, she tripped on the material and strong hands locked onto her hips to stabilize her.

"Watch it Luce, don't fall." Natsu teased, his voice full of mirth and sex. It was a good combination – not that she'd admit it at this particular moment since she was still irritated at him.

"I wouldn't if I could see." she growled back, and he laughed.

"You seem to be enjoying it a little…" he taunted, and she could hear his deep sniff.

Strangely, she hadn't actually noticed that she'd been getting excited – until he drew attention to it like that – and she frowned, not exactly sure why she was turned on.

"I guess…but I don't have any idea why…" she grumbled, taking a step out of her garments as Natsu nudged her forwards with his hands.

He just chuckled and helped her out of her shoes too. With his hands on her and his voice in the air, she relaxed a little and let her bra drop to the floor as well. Then his hands disappeared once again and she was left looking around wondering where he went. Her hands went to her hips and she looked around blindly, feeling tingles shiver down her spine.

Now that her irritation had dispersed somewhat, she started to understand what her body had already been telling her. Without her sight, all her other senses were on high alert, and she wondered where he was going to touch her next, and how. The anticipate made her breathing pick up a notch.

"Natsu?" she called once again when her patience ran out – probably the only time it had done so before Natsu's – and she only got quiet chuckles in response. She felt another shiver work down her body, making goosebumps erupt on her skin.

The very light touch of his tail slithered around her leg, sliding over her much lighter than normal as he coiled and then slipped away before she could grab him. She turned in the direction it had come from and then stayed still, waiting for his next touch with nerves on edge. When a palm swept down her back from neck to butt, she spun again and reached to grab him, but missed.

Her lips twitched in amusement now as she suddenly realized they were playing a game of cat and mouse…or cat and cat perhaps. She might not be able to see, but she was still trying to catch him, while he attempted to not get caught as he groped her. With that new knowledge, she also suddenly realized why Natsu was being so patient…he was _**playing**_. She'd seen him sit still and play board games for extended periods of time before, and this was probably much more entertaining than that.

When hot breath brushed against the back of her neck, she reached over her shoulder to try and grab a handful of hair without even turning, and her fingertips brushed soft strands before he jerked back. This time it was her who laughed.

"I _will_ get you..."

An answering laugh sounded through the blackness of the room. "Good to know you're finally getting it. Challenge accepted Luce, give it your best shot."

The next touch was a pinch to her nipple, which made her yelp and jump about a foot in the air, not expecting something so bold. It sent a shard of pleasure across her nerves too, which also shocked her system.

Natsu laughed loudly at her reaction – which probably _was_ pretty funny, to be fair – and she spun to try and grab him based off the sound of his voice. Unfortunately, her feet got wrapped up in the cloth on the ground, and she tripped over her clothes. Her flailing arms were grabbed – around her wrists so she couldn't grab back – and Natsu stopped her fall before walking her backwards a few paces.

"Whoops, sorry. Hang on a sec." she heard a soft 'whump' which suggested he had disposed of her clothes into some obscure corner of the room. "There, all taken care of."

"Thanks." she said, and then grinned and tried to wrap a leg around his, attempting to capture him. He laughed and danced back out of reach before releasing her wrists.

"Damn." she grumbled, pouting a little at missing such a perfect opportunity, and heard yet another chuckle come from Natsu. He seemed to be getting a real kick out of this, and she grew even more determined to catch him.

A nip landed on her rear, but when she reached back his head ducked out of reach and he licked her calf instead. She attempted to capture his neck between her ankles using her other leg, but he slipped out, batting her hand away easily when she grabbed for him again. He finished with a smack to her butt that had her squawking in indignation.

She settled in and let her arms go limp at her sides, deciding not to grab for him anymore, biding her time, knowing it wouldn't take long for Natsu to probably tire of this game and become bolder. If she just stood here and didn't react, he would try harder to get a response, and eventually he would slip up. _That_ was how she could use his short patience against him. A smirk curled her lips for a moment but she straightened her features, not wanting to clue him in to her plan.

When a finger trailed up the crack of her ass, she sucked in her breath and shivered, but nothing more. The tip of his finger rested in the little hollow at the base of her spine, pausing as if to wait for her to grab for him. When she didn't, he trailed back down and grabbed her thigh. With another brief smirk, she widened her stance a little, already thinking about how she was going to catch his hand.

Sure enough, he pulled back when she moved, but after only a short absence his touch returned, trailing up the inside of her thigh and eventually reaching her lips. He played with her, keeping his touch maddeningly light, trying to tease her into grabbing for him. It wasn't enough though, she knew as soon as she made a move he would pull away easily. She had to wait for him to get closer, touch more firmly, and if possible maybe even slide a finger up inside. Then she had him.

It was insanely hard to hold still though as he tickled her lower set of lips, and she gritted her teeth, hoping he would run out of patience soon – otherwise she would go insane.

Meanwhile, Natsu was indeed growing frustrated at her lack of response. The game wasn't nearly as fun with her just standing there, and he very nearly fell into her trap. With a growl, he slid a finger up inside her and reached around to pinch a nipple. Her legs slammed shut around his hand, trapping it, and both her hands snapped into action. One went for his hand between her legs and the other went for his hand on her breast.

With a shocked bark of laughter, he yanked back, his hand on the front easily escaping before she could grab him, but he had to be a little more careful about how he pulled out the one between her legs. He didn't wanna hurt her. She managed to snag his wrist right as he pulled down and out, and her grip on him was strong. She spun around and yanked him to her. His lips spread in a wide smile as he grabbed her other wrist, which left them at a bit of a stalemate. Of course he could easily free himself, but he decided to let her think she'd won for now and went to her when she pulled him closer. He couldn't resist ducking his head down to lock his mouth over hers, and fire spilled out of his lips as soon as they touched hers.

She moaned into the kiss as her lips parted and he felt a silent growl shake his chest. He loved that she accepted his fire so eagerly. It was probably one of the biggest turn-ons ever for a dragon.

After a bit of kissing he pulled away, easily freeing himself and getting his wrist out of her slightly loose grip. She gasped and groaned, then pouted and looked around blindly again. He watched her glazed eyes try to locate him, and he got stuck between a moan and a chuckle, loving the look on her face and wanting to kiss her again. But this was too much fun.

Licking his lips, he decided to change things up a bit and tease her in a different way. His mind scrambled for something to use and latched onto something that was said earlier as inspiration.

"Hey Luce?"

"Huh?" Her head swung in his direction and he quietly shifted around her.

"What did Cana mean by, 'enjoy your nine point five?'"

Once again she turned to face him and he changed positions. By the look on her face and the flush that darkened her cheeks, he knew he'd accidentally landed on something good.

"Uh…w-well…you see…"

When she didn't answer right away, he slid in and sucked on one of her nipples, which got her to flinch and make another high-pitched squeaky sound of surprise. He ducked out of the way and tauntingly nipped at her fingers when she flailed to try and grab his head.

She growled and he couldn't help but laugh at the irritated expression that crossed her face for a second.

"Yes?" he prompted, and she groaned, seeming to remember that she was supposed to answer a question.

"We uh…had some…gossip the other night and Cana might have asked what I would rate you on a scale of ten…"

"Rating what? Looks?"

"No…sex."

He felt his eyebrows shoot up his forehead and wondered what the hell they'd been talking about. Instantly his curiosity was peaked, and he wanted to know everything that'd been said. Above all though, why was his score a nine point five and not a ten?

"And why isn't my score a ten?" he asked, reaching out to yank lightly on her little triangle of pubic hair.

She jumped and squeaked again, flinching back from the slightly rough touch and swatting at him, before remembering that she was supposed to grab.

"Because you do some crazy things!" she protested. "Like this! And wanting to have sex while flying! Sometimes you take it a little overboard. What's it matter? Your score is almost perfect."

Something about that little point five really pissed him off though, acting like a big neon challenge sign that he couldn't ignore. He could feel how the grin pulled at his lips nearly viciously as he decided to change her mind about it.

"Don't care…you still issued a challenge Luce. Hope you're ready to deal with the consequences."

She shivered, apparently hearing the change in his tone, and she looked a little worried.

Letting her stew for a bit, he rounded behind her and then crouched, aiming for the little gap between her thighs. He blew some fire there, getting a fantastic response from her as she made some sort of loud sound that was a cross between a yelp, a moan, and some sort of protest. Her body didn't seem to know what to do – first her back arched and her legs twitched apart to show off her pussy, but then she jerked and clenched her thighs shut with a growl.

"No fair!" she barked, sounding very out of breath.

Another laugh rumbled up his throat, coming out raspy and slightly dark as he grinned and narrowed his eyes at her. She was so much fun to tease.

After a moment, he decided to continue his line of questioning. He slid around back to her front and asked, "Sooo…what else did you talk about?"

She winced and then sighed. "Uh…they wanted to know what your fire felt like…after I told them it didn't burn me."

"And what did you tell them?" he asked with a grin, crouching in front of her now.

"…that it felt good." she admitted after a moment, and his grin widened.

"And how good does it feel Luce?" he asked, and then dipped to blow fire across her slit in the front, under the neat point of curls. It was so nice that she kept herself bare, and he'd told her on multiple occasions that he loved it.

She let out another loud sound of pleasure and bucked, her hands blindly reaching for him. This time he let her grab his hair, and growled when her fingers slid across his horns, but did his best to control the reaction. If he let himself partially shift, his eyes would glow, and that would make it easy to find him.

Her grip on his hair tried to force his mouth against her and she lifted one thigh over his shoulder, presenting him with her pussy – which was dripping by this point – and he grinned into her thigh, feeling happy lust bubble up inside him. He'd never get tired of being with her, smelling her, seeing her, feeling her, and tasting her. She was his everything, and he loved her with every fiber of his being…and absolutely fucking loved making love to her. He was kinda addicted to it actually, and he had no problem admitting that.

Unable to resist the sight and smell of her, he ducked in and slid his tongue over her, lapping up the juices and listening to her sighs and soft sounds of satisfaction above him. Normally she was pretty quiet, which made him incredibly happy to have such sensitive ears, so he could pick up on every little breath, gasp, hitch, pant, and soft moan. Still, he kinda missed the loud sounds he'd been able to shock out of her before.

She hissed as he swiped his tongue across her folds, staying away from the little spot on top that he knew she really wanted him to lick and touch. He wasn't quite done teasing her. When he pulled back, her hands gripped his hair painfully tight, but the sting set his blood on fire. When she tried to buck up into his mouth, he tightened his grip on her hips, holding her back.

He wanted to play a little more, though he didn't know how long he could keep it up before his self-control cracked. As fun as this was, his own lust was getting a little out of control and he knew he'd snap soon.

Still, while he could, he was going to keep teasing her. "Anything else you talked about?"

She groaned – loudly – obviously not in the mood to talk, and he muffled his laugh in her thigh as she yanked on his hair in punishment.

" _Naaatsuuuu_ ," she whined, in a way he was pretty sure he'd never heard her do before. She must be really worked up if she was making sounds like that, and he felt his dick jump. He wanted to hear her make more sounds like that.

"Yes _Luuuucyyyy_?" he sing-songed back, and she growled at him. "Come on, tell me what you told the others about me…I'm curious."

"Damnit Natsu, you're going to kill me!" she protested, and he decided to flick her clit with his tongue, getting a sharp groan and buck in response.

"Just answer the question Luce." he growled, wondering how she would respond to him taking such a bossy tone in bed.

She shivered and then groaned again. "Fine…damn stubborn dragon. I told them we had sex in the sky, Cana figured out that I liked you blowing fire on my v-zone all on her own, they asked how you were in bed, I said nine point five, we talked about them and their boyfriends, we drank a lot of wine, and I don't remember everything we talked about! There, you happy?!"

He was in fact very happy and felt himself puff up a little in pride that she'd told the others good things about him. It just made him want to give her more good things to tell them. He ducked back in between her thighs and licked, before sliding up to the top and finally giving her clit the attention she obviously wanted. He gave it super light, teasing licks, getting heavy breathing from above as she bucked into him, obviously trying to get more pressure. Instead of doing that though, he kept his touches light, until she whined deep in her throat, sounding desperate. The sound went straight to his dick and he groaned, his control finally snapping.

Fire spilled out of his lips, completely out of his control, and Lucy moaned, pressing him tight to her. Within seconds she was falling apart, her pussy pulsing against his lips and dripping down his chin, and he had to tighten his hold on her hips to keep her from falling over. Her hands latched onto his horns, which had grown out about the same time he lost control of his fire, and he felt a zap of pleasure tingle through his skull at the sensation.

The one leg she had supporting her weight gave out and he was suddenly holding her up, which he did easily, but decided it was probably a good idea to move somewhere else, otherwise his grip on her hips was going to leave some pretty dark bruises. Sliding up her body, he picked her up and then took the couple of steps necessary to reach the bed, before tossing her on it. She weakly squeaked and protested the rough treatment, but her body was still limp from the orgasm. It was kinda funny to watch her struggling to her elbows and attempt to glare at him through heavy lidded blurry eyes.

"Rude! Be more gentle Natsu!" she scolded, and he grinned.

Her gaze suddenly sharpened and she was staring right at him, her eyes wide and slightly shocked.

That was because Lucy suddenly realized that she could now see him. It was… she honestly didn't know what to think as she stared up at him. His eyes glowed gold in the dark like some sort of monster from a horror story. The glow barely illuminated his face, leaving his eyes to look like two glowing lamps. It was creepy and unnerving and sent shivers down her spine.

"Natsu…your, uh, your eyes are glowing."

"Yeah. You know they do that." he responded with a grin, and she caught little glints of his fangs when the light of his eyes reached them.

"I've just never seen them in a dark room before, but…"

Those eyes got closer as he hopped on the bed and crawled up over her. The closer they got, the more she could see subtle details of his face illuminated. In a way, they were actually pretty, despite the creep factor. She found herself caught in that gaze, like a deer in the headlights. The way he was looking at her was almost predatory, although that could just be the unusual setting twisting her perception of it. She probably would have been mildly freaked out if she couldn't also see softness in those golden depths.

Instead, she just felt her gut clench, and he grinned before ducking down to her breasts and kissing them. His eyes closed, plunging them back into darkness for a moment, until the fire spilling out of his mouth lit up their space. She watched, fascinated and turned on, as little licks of flames escaped the corners of his mouth, playing across her breasts and illuminating his face. It was a surprisingly arousing sight, and she arched up into his mouth, feeling the sensation of his fire and tongue and lips searing her nerves and turning her mind to putty. When he pulled up, everything went black again, until he grinned and a tongue of flame escaped between his teeth. And then of course his eyes blinked open again.

As one hand slid down her body, his tail coiled up around her. It looped around her upper thigh and slid up along her side until it crossed over her chest, and then it coiled up around her arm, which was above her head with her hand gripping the pillow.

"You were so hot today, in that competition." Natsu randomly announced, and Lucy blinked at the sudden declaration.

"Um, thanks? You mean the beauty pageant thing?"

"Oh yeah…" He licked his lips and she shivered at the look in his eyes.

"Any part in particular?"

His eyes flicked up to where his tail was coiled around her arm, and then he glanced back down to meet her gaze. A toothy grin spread his lips. "All of it was hot, but especially the bondage gear."

Getting a sudden thought, she pulled on her arm, only to realize that it was successfully immobilized above her head with his tail. Biting her lip, she wasn't sure how she felt about this current situation, but felt heat build in her stomach.

"Uh, which one? Where I was the dominant one or when Erza tied me up?" she questioned, curious.

"Honestly? Both." he murmured, and leaned into her, his lips sealing over hers and stealing her breath.

While she was thoroughly distracted, his hand found her free arm and dragged it up above her head too so his tail could loop around that wrist as well. When he pulled back she was panting, and didn't realize what he'd done until he said, "But since I've got you here, I'd like to try this first."

With a gasp she suddenly became aware that both hands were out of commission, and she yanked on them experimentally with absolutely no success. It was a little odd, but she was okay with giving it a try if he wanted to. It was certainly in line with the sex games they'd already been playing so far, and that'd turned out _very_ fun, so she was certainly open to the idea. Thinking this, she relaxed and let him take the lead, watching curiously.

"Is this okay?" he asked, gently squeezing her wrists to identify what he was talking about, and she melted a little, grinning up at him.

"Yeah, it's fine. I don't know if I'm into it, but it could be sexy I suppose."

"Well, I guess we'll find out if you like it." he responded with an eager grin, and ducked to nip at her collarbone.

She arched into it and instantly forgot what they were just talking about, her arms immediately pulling as she instinctually wanted to bury her hands in his hair – but his tail held fast and reminded her what was going on. It was slightly maddening, but kind of sexy too…as she'd told him. Having to just lay there and take whatever he decided to give her was an intriguing thought, and the more it sunk in, the warmer she grew.

His fingers tickled her around her groin and hips and she bucked, giggling and twisting away from the touch a little. He snorted in amusement, a little flash of fire spitting from his nose, and then his fingers sunk between her thighs. She'd mostly recovered from her first orgasm, but her clit was still very sensitive, so when his fingers lightly brushed against her she jerked, trying to close her legs a little to blunt the sensation.

He backed off, but growled, and the loop of his tail around her thigh pulled tight, yanking that thigh open. His fingers dipped lower and slid inside, easily finding plenty of lubrication. One, then two, and she arched into it. It felt good, but then suddenly blasted into amazing when she felt fire light her up inside. It surprised her, and she let loose with a loud groan and bucked sharply. Her fingers clenched and unclenched on air and she yanked on her arms again, wanting to grab him or just grip onto something.

The fire licking inside her shot her arousal through the roof, and she squirmed, bucking and writhing, wondering if it was possible to just come from that without any clitoral stimulation. It felt so good and she just didn't quite know what to do with herself. Her body didn't seem able to figure it out either, clenching spastically as if she was gearing up for an orgasm, and a coil of tension wound tighter and tighter inside. It pushed her right to the edge and she felt like she should fall off any second into it – but she'd never orgasmed just from her vagina and stalled out just short of it… as if her body didn't know how to do it. She needed something, just a tiny push, the lightest brush against her clit would probably do it, but nothing was there to give her that relief.

Once again, she found herself unconsciously fighting Natsu's tail, trying to get free so she could provide that last little bit of pressure or friction where she needed it, but he held fast, and she suddenly realized at least part of why people apparently liked this. It was pure torture, but delicious at the same time, even as she found herself thrashing and making a few sounds she never had before.

And Natsu's words weren't doing anything to help her wind down. As usual he was speaking whatever happened to cross his mind, and was slowly twisting her into a pretzel while he did it.

"Damn…Luce…you're so fucking hot… fuck, you're thrashing around so much… does it feel good? Yeah? It must for you to make those sounds…shit…I might cum just from watching and listening to you…better not though…. I can't believe I never thought about using fire inside you before…I should have done this a long time ago…. Think you can cum without me touching your clit? Just from this?"

"I-I don't know…I can't…just…please let me…damnit Natsu you're driving me insane!" she cried, cussing and getting more and more flustered.

"Good. I love watching you go insane…. I could sit here and watch you all day…forever, fuck Luce…I wanna watch you come apart again. It's amazing…. Shit, listen to how fast your heart's pounding…and you're so damn sweaty…and super wet down here too. Gods, I bet you're making a mess of the sheets… I can feel you just soaking my fingers….. Can smell you too…you smell so fucking amazing. I wanna lick you again…damn it, my mouth's watering."

"Natsu please…touch me! Do something! I'm so close!" Lucy whined, squirming under his hand and wishing she could kick him or something.

"Touch you where?"

"My clit you idiot! Where do you think?!" she almost screeched, reaching the end of her rope.

"Fuck Luce, you've gotten so loud. I love it. Alright, how's this?"

His fingers twisted and curled, hitting a spot inside her that made her see white. He dug into the spot, thrusting his fingers and rubbing her, but still avoiding her clit. It didn't matter though. Her rope coiled once too tight and snapped, her body flooding with pleasure as she orgasmed from deep inside, feeling the sensation blast all her senses to smithereens. She cried out something that sounded kind of like a very loud moan mixed with a sob, and arched, then curled up, the spasms in her stomach making her want to go into a fetal position. Of course with her arms still above her head, that wasn't happening, and all she could do was spasm in his hold as he covered her lips with his and swallowed her cries.

And then Natsu apparently decided he wanted to completely fuck her over, because his thumb came up and covered her clit, bursting into flames as well and rubbing her lightly. She was shockingly sensitive, but not painfully so since her clit hadn't actually been touched to make her cum, and the unexpected touch made her nearly come off the bed as she shrieked into his mouth.

For a moment it was way too much, and she scrambled to try and get away, but of course failed. Her protests were swallowed with her cries, and very soon everything did an abrupt reversal and wound tight again, the touch on her clit suddenly feeling blisteringly good. Unsurprisingly she came again, even harder this time, and she felt something in her shoulder pop as she twisted in his grip violently. He immediately stilled and pulled back some.

Naturally as soon as his lips left hers, his mouth started running again.

"Shit Luce… easy. Don't hurt yourself. Fuck…you're amazing…so damn hot, so pretty. Beautiful. I love watching you cum…can't get enough of it. The way you clench on my fingers is making my dick twitch… crap…I don't think I can hold back anymore…. I gotta feel you around me."

When he finally pulled his hand from between her thighs, she collapsed, whimpering just a little in exhaustion. But as soon as his tail released her arms, slithering down her form to massage her breasts and thighs, she reached up to grab onto his horns, dragging him in for a kiss as he slid inside her.

They both moaned, loving the sensation of being locked together like this, and then he started a nearly wild pace, plastering her to the bed as he lost control of his hips. It was amazing, as always, and Lucy lost herself in the feeling of loving Natsu.

When he seized up on top of her and flames blasted over his form, she arched to meet him, crying out yet again as he forced her into another orgasm. He didn't quit though, he rushed through another two rounds before coming down from the worked-up state he'd gotten himself in by touching and playing with her for so long prior to fucking.

By the end of it, Lucy couldn't walk.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Both parties fall back onto their butts, Lucy's hand being ripped from Natsu's rather roughly. After wincing and muttering, "I'm fine," to a perturbed Natsu, she looked over to see Yukino sitting across from her…and she looked like she'd been crying._

 _"Oh, hey Yukino. Sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going…. uh, are you okay?"_

 _"It's okay. It was my fault…I'm sorry…" Yukino sniffed and wiped her eyes, doing a really bad job of hiding her tears._


	46. Chapter 46

**Author's Note:**

It's Sunday! And you know what that means! A new update! Yay!

As always huge fluffy heroic thanks to all my wonderful amazing reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Anna5949, stranger1999, Donthedarkdragon26, quidditchChick6, SunnieDayys, Syfenos U, valerioux, Firefly9917, TheJSmooth, The Age of Awesomeness, Leomae2.0, and Lucinda. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: mikeczajk12, ThatOneGuyUpstairs, sakshishetty3003, and dani-yell10.

Also, as a side note I've had someone ask about why Lucy isn't getting pregnant, which is an excellent question. I won't answer it here, but I'll be sure to put in an explanation somewhere in the story. ;D

Alrighty! On with the show! And you know the drill about the sneak peak. ;D

* * *

Eventually, Lucy and Natsu left to head back to their hotel – after Lucy regained the ability to walk…mostly. Everyone else was either still busy doing what they had been before Lucy and Natsu disappeared, or else had gone back to the hotel, leaving them to head back alone. Happy was nowhere in sight, so Lucy assumed he went back to the hotel with Carla and Wendy.

Cana called out to them on the way out, "How was it?"

Lucy just laughed and responded with, "Eleven out of ten. Goodnight!"

Cana raised her glass in a toast and they left her to it. Bacchus had rejoined her, and it looked like they were still busy competing.

As for Lucy and Natsu, after exiting the pub they headed down the street at a medium pace hand in hand.

She had just looked up at Natsu, smiling at the slightly dopey expression still stamped across his face, when she ran into someone… quite forcefully at that. Both parties fall back onto their butts, Lucy's hand being ripped from Natsu's rather roughly. After wincing and muttering, "I'm fine," to a perturbed Natsu, she looked over to see Yukino sitting across from her…and she looked like she'd been crying.

"Oh, hey Yukino. Sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going…. uh, are you okay?"

"It's okay. It was _my_ fault…I'm sorry…" Yukino sniffed and wiped her eyes, doing a really bad job of hiding her tears.

"You don't have to apologize…but seriously, why are you crying? Did something happen?"

"I…n-no…I…"

Mid-sentence, her face scrunched up and tears started to flood down her cheeks. She mumbled something that sounded like cusses under her breath as she desperately tried to stem the waterworks, but no matter how much she scrubbed her face, it didn't seem to make a difference.

"Hey, hey…it's okay. Come on…let's get you somewhere where you can sit and maybe have some tea." Lucy soothed to the best of her ability and reached out to wrap an arm around the other girl's quaking shoulders. Her gesture only seemed to make Yukino cry harder though, and Lucy sent Natsu a somewhat desperate look.

He just shrugged and shook his head to say he had no idea what to do either. So they just led her back to their hotel where they situated her in a comfortable chair in the bar downstairs and offered her some tea to sip on. Thankfully things were pretty quiet tonight, so they had the place mostly to themselves. Eventually she managed to calm down, and in halting humiliated tones she explained what had happened and why she was crying.

"I…because I bet my life and lost…Sabertooth kicked me out. Master said he didn't have any use for someone as weak as me…" she paused to sniffle and take another sip of tea.

It took a moment, but eventually she continued. "He made me strip…in front of _everyone_ …it was so _humiliating_! All of my pride…everything I've been working towards, stripped off in an instant with my clothes…and then he…I had to…erase my own guildmark!"

At that, Lucy gasped. To have your guildmark erased was bad enough – when the guild was your family, it was like being disinherited. To make a person do it to themselves was even worse…unimaginably cruel. Instead of just getting a painful divorce, it would be like forcing someone to cut their ring finger off. Only the master of a guild could give and take away a guild mark, so to do it yourself meant you basically had to damage the skin somehow or simply strip it off along with the guildmark.

Before she could say anything, Natsu cut in. "Where the hell was Rogue?! How could he let this happen to his mage?!"

She sniffled. "Rogue and Sting weren't there. They'd left earlier to go get some food."

"But why didn't he teleport to you when he felt your distress?!"

"He tried to, but I ordered him back and closed his gate."

Natsu started to say something else, but Lucy interrupted him. Her first priority was making sure Yukino was okay. "How did you remove your guildmark? Do you need medical attention?"

"I asked Ophiuchus to do it. But she didn't have a chance to stitch it up after…" She gingerly raised the edge of her shirt and showed a bloody patch of raw flesh that vaguely resembled the Saber Tooth guildmark.

"Oh…ouch. Come on, let's get you looked at. I can have Porlyusica dress your wound for you."

"Thank you…" Once again, tears dribbled down her face, and by now Lucy was beginning to understand why her acts of kindness only seemed to make Yukino sadder. She was probably wondering why her own guild couldn't have been like this, and why she had ended up in a family that didn't want her.

As she tugged on Yukino's hand and led her up the stairs towards Porlyusica's room – who was also staying in this hotel – they were interrupted by Sting, Rogue, and Lector bursting in through the doors.

"Yukino!" Sting called as they ran over, both out of breath as if they had been running full tilt to get to her.

"Why did you send me back?!" Rogue gasped as they screeched to a halt in front of her.

"If you had intervened, Master would have kicked you out too." Yukino softly murmured, averting her eyes. "This was my mistake… and my punishment. I didn't want you to get dragged into it too."

"You're out of Sabertooth, and that means I'm out too as your spirit. Right?"

He looked really torn though, glancing back and forth between her and Sting, who was grinding his teeth. It seemed that the dragon slayer still didn't want to leave the guild, even after it treated his supposed girlfriend so badly, but it was clear that he was indecisive about it.

Seeing this, Yukino sighed, softly saying, "No…you should stay with Sting. You have that ability with your mark."

"You should stay too!" Sting finally barked, making Yukino jump a little. "I mean…I know you can't be a part of the guild but…I don't want you to leave, so…stay…please…" His voice grew softer and softer until it was nearly a whisper by the end, and then his eyes slid to the side and he flushed a little, reaching up to scratch the back of his head awkwardly.

Lucy shot a look at Yukino to see her reaction and wasn't exactly surprised to see more tears slipping down her cheeks – though these looked like happy tears. "Yes…I'll stay."

Rogue's shoulders seemed to go slack with relief. "Good…and maybe someday we'll…find a new family together…"

Sting's fists clenched, as did his teeth, but he sighed through his nose and nodded sharply. "Maybe…I dunno, but…I'll think about it."

Even Lector, who was just as gung-ho about Sabertooth as Sting, looked hesitant and worried about the whole thing.

By now, Lucy was a little confused by these interactions. Something was different here, but she refrained from asking them about it right this minute, holding her tongue until later. For now, she needed to get Yukino to Porlyusica, and she turned and herded the shorter woman off with her, shooing the two boys away.

"I've got her for tonight. You three go back to your guild…something tells me your master is the kind who wouldn't be happy about this little meeting."

Rogue, Sting, and Lector all winced and nodded, before turning to head out the door. Before they went though, Rogue reached back and grabbed Yukino's hand, squeezing and meeting her eyes for a poignant moment, and then turned to join Sting, who was looking back at the interaction with something unreadable in his intense gaze. Then they left.

As the two girls turned to continue up the stairs, Natsu conspicuously lingered behind. When Lucy turned to look at him, his expression told her that he was positively livid. Yukino's story had obviously struck a nerve, and Lucy had the sinking feeling that she knew what he was about to go do.

"Hey Natsu, you coming?"

"No…I've got something to do first."

Pursing her lips, she met his serious black eyes and made her decision. "Fine. But don't go too crazy okay?"

He flashed her a brief smile and then disappeared out the door. He easily tracked Sting and Rogue by their scent, and quickly caught up with them.

"Natsu? What are you doing here?" Rogue asked as he popped up beside them.

"Neither of you can avenge Yukino right? So I'll do it for you." he said with a dark grin, and a fiery fist punched into his open palm.

Sting grinned. "No way man, I'd never let you attack my guild." His words and actions didn't line up though, because he waved his hand in a gesture to join them and turned to continue walking.

"Oh, uh-huh…and you're not leading me there, right?" Natsu chuckled back, catching on quick enough.

"No, we would never do that." Rogue responded deadpan.

Lector just snickered.

When the three walked into a hotel, Natsu followed, and then veered off when Rogue subtly pointed at a large pair of doors off the big lobby. Meanwhile, Sting and Rogue headed up a set of stairs…back to their room probably to wait out the mess that was about to go down. A vicious grin split Natsu's lips, and he chuckled darkly as he spun to look at the doors that had been pointed out to him.

Cracking his knuckles, he stomped over to them, and then knocked them in with a solid punch. "Sabertooth! Where's your master?! I've got a bone to pick with him!"

The occupants of the room all went into a frenzy, spouting stupid things like, "How dare you!" and, "Who do you think you are?!" Natsu ignored them as he waded through the masses, looking straight at a large man sitting calmly under some sort of fruit tree. It was pretty clear he was the master, by the confidence and arrogance oozing off him.

Some weird ninja dude with light magic attacked at a flick of the big guy's finger, and blinding light blasted Natsu … making it impossible to see. Of course Natsu didn't _need_ to see to make flames explode from his body when he smelled the enemy closing in, and he timed it perfectly so that the idiot was blasted back and hit the wall with a thud.

That seemed to impress the master of Sabertooth, and he finally stood, walking a few steps into the center of the room to face off with Natsu. Everyone else backed off, giving him room and respect and plenty of fear. The room was sour with it, and Natsu's nose wrinkled in disgust that this guildmaster was using fear to control its members. That was just foul.

"You have spirit…more than anyone in my guild. Come then, show me what you've got." thundered the large, white bearded, scar-faced, bead-wearing idiot.

Grinning – and not in a nice way – Natsu took the invitation and attacked.

…

Meanwhile, back in the Fairy Tail hotel, Porlyusica was just finishing up with Yukino.

"Now go get some rest. And don't take the dressing off for 24 hours, it should be healed by then." the grumpy healer instructed, and then shooed them out of her room.

Once out in the hall, they awkwardly stood there, looking at each other somewhat at a loss. "Now what, Lucy? What should I do?" Yukino asked, still sounding depressed and defeated, but slightly less-so after having talked to her two male companions.

"Well…let's get you a room here. Near us if possible, since my wolves will be patrolling the area for those guys who kidnapped us before."

She nodded and the two women headed downstairs to the register, which thankfully had a night shift. Yukino was able to get a room discounted, since it was so late. They headed back upstairs and got her settled.

Inside the room, Lucy risked asking the question that had been begging to be asked, even though she knew it was incredibly rude. All she could use as an excuse was that she spent too much time with Mira and Cana, and their nosiness had apparently rubbed off on her.

"Um…can I ask a question?"

"Sure." Yukino turned and sat on the bed, facing Lucy as she fidgeted in front of the closed door.

"It's not any of my business but…what sort of relationship do the three of you have? Sorry! I know it's incredibly rude of me to ask. It's just…I was sure that Sting and Rogue were mates, the way Natsu and I are…and that's how Rogue's able to summon to him. But Sting called you his girlfriend, and the way you all interacted tonight…I just…I'm sorry, I guess my curiosity got the best of me. You know what? Never mind, the more I hear myself talk, the more I'm realizing how inappropriate it is to ask…"

Yukino cut in, forcing Lucy to stop her mindless jabbering. "It's okay. To be honest, I would like to consider us friends after all you've done for me. And friends share right?" The other celestial mage gave her a sweet, if slightly troubled and sad, smile. "Maybe it would help to talk to a friend about all this actually."

Blinking, Lucy sighed in relief. There was a comfortable chair nearby and she situated herself in it. Something told Lucy that this conversation might be on the longer side and that she'd need a parking space. When Yukino sat cross-legged on the bed it only confirmed her suspicion.

As soon as they were both settled, Lucy said, "I'm glad I didn't offend you. And I hope I can help somehow…feel free to talk about whatever's bugging you."

"Alright. Well, to start, I guess in answer to your question…it's complicated." The other girl flushed and suddenly seemed uncomfortable. "It's um…really…different, and I…I really hope this doesn't change the way you think about me…"

That was a really awkward way to start this conversation and Lucy found herself blinking as she processed it. "I'm sure it won't."

"Okay. I hope so. Um…so…first of all, yes, you're right. Rogue and Sting are together as mates, and that lets Rogue summon to him."

Lucy grinned a little at the confirmation of her hypothesis, but that still didn't explain why Sting had said she was his girlfriend. When the white-haired girl stalled out, Lucy prompted, "I thought so. And just for the record, I'm totally okay with that, I think they make a great couple honestly."

Yukino relaxed just a little. "Well that's good at least. But…this next part is what's probably going to shock you. Publicly, Sting and I are a couple, to cover up his and Rogue's relationship. But…we really _were_ together romantically for a long time. Even before I found Rogue's key."

"Okay…so he broke up with you to be with Rogue? That had to be rough…especially if you have to keep up a façade."

"N-no…not exactly. Well…sort of…but…"

"Did you break up with him?"

"U-um…kind of? But not…not really. We never officially broke up…but…we haven't been romantically involved with each other since they got together…"

Something told Lucy there was a lot more to it than what was on the surface, and she had a sneaking suspicion that she was about to uncover something. "But what about you? It seems like you still care a great deal for Sting. Why did you give him up like that?"

"They…they're so perfect for each other. Even while Sting and I were still actively together, I could see them falling in love." She paused and blushed, then averted her eyes when she quietly said, "If there had been some way for Sting to be with both of us…but that sort of relationship just isn't normal. And I never could figure out how to make it right. With me there…they wouldn't act on their feelings for each other and eventually it became unbearable. I couldn't stand keeping them apart like that. And…we're still together…sort of…just…kind of not."

There was a wealth of pain there, and Lucy felt her heart aching for her new friend. "Okay, I think I'm getting there. Correct me if I'm wrong – you and Sting were in a relationship, then Rogue came along and they fell in love. At that point, you felt like you had to step aside so they could be in a relationship…even though you still love Sting…" When Yukino nodded, Lucy knew she was on the right track, but there were still a couple of big blanks in the story. "So, uh, what about Sting? Does he still have feelings for you? And what about you and Rogue, how does he feel about all this?"

Yukino bit her lip, looking pained. "Well…yeah, I'm pretty sure Sting still has feelings for me…but I think when I stepped aside I accidentally hurt him, and he hasn't said anything about it since." She paused for a long moment and then continued. "As for Rogue…after I made a contract with him, we became good friends and team mates. That didn't change after he and Sting became boyfriends but…I…I kind of…I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to…dating him too…maybe."

Lucy could feel her eyebrows crawling up her forehead a little. It was surprising, yes, and it took her a few moments to get over her initial shock over the whole thing. She'd heard about three-people couples before, but hadn't ever personally encountered someone in one herself.

Still…she supposed it wasn't strange, all things considered. After all, Lucy had already suspected that the reason why the other girl had been okay with her two teammates being in a romantic relationship, was because she had romantic feelings for both of them herself.

"Why do Sting and Rogue have to hide their relationship?"

"The main reason is because our master – or, I mean – their master, believes that homosexuality is a weakness. A major one. He's incredibly prejudiced towards it, and they would both be kicked out instantly if their secret was found out. Besides that… Sabertooth is a very high-profile guild, and the three of us are pretty popular. Everyone knows that Sting and I are together. If Sting and Rogue's relationship got out…things could get bad for them." Then more quietly she admitted, "And anyways… if everyone knew about them, I wouldn't have an excuse anymore to be with Sting. It would really be over between us…"

"Why?"

Yukino blinked at her, seeming shocked. "Because it's not socially acceptable to be with two people at once…"

Lucy leaned back, finally seeing the whole picture. "Well, first of all, your master is a rude, inconsiderate, stupid jackass."

Yukino weakly smiled and even giggled a little in appreciation. Lucy shared a smile, and then continued. "Now, as for you, Rogue, and Sting, I don't think you and Sting have to cut off your relationship, even if people find out about the two of them. In fact, you might want to talk with Sting about your current arrangement. I don't see anything wrong with three people who have feelings for each other being in a relationship, and – if I read you right – it really seems like there's more between you and Rogue than just 'being okay' with the idea of pursuing a relationship."

Yukino sighed and slumped, seeming depressed again. "…yeah, you're right. I'm not sure about Rogue, because we haven't talked about it, but…as for me, I…well, I really think I love him too." she haltingly admitted, sniffing a little as her eyes began to water again. "But, if Sting and I can't even really be together, then what chance do I have with Rogue? I would just complicate things…it's better if I just stay out of it and let them be happy…"

"You should really stop thinking like a martyr. Sting can't be happy with the fact that you two aren't together…I mean you said yourself that he still cares about you, right?"

"Yeah…I know he does."

"And whose idea was it for the two of you to stop being together the way you truly want?"

"…mine…but it seemed to make his decision to be with Rogue much easier."

"Well sure, but there's no rule that says he can't be with _both_ of you fully. And if you really love Rogue, in all honesty I think it would be a lot less complicated if the three of you were all in a relationship… _including_ you and Rogue."

"You think? It just seemed so much simpler to remove myself…" Poor Yukino was all tearful again.

"I think it's definitely worth pursuing. But maybe after your two boys get out of that stupid guild."

Yukino grinned tiredly, then yawned, and Lucy suddenly realized just how exhausted the other woman looked.

"Woah, look at the time! I'm sorry for keeping you up so long…you should really rest. Especially after that wound. How about I go now and let you get some sleep? You'll be staying here, so we'll have plenty of time to talk more. Okay?"

Yukino nodded, and as Lucy left she called out, "Thank you Lucy…you don't know how much it means to have someone to talk to about this…"

She turned and shot the white-haired mage a grin. "I'm just glad I could help. That's what friends do right?"

"Yeah…" Yukino answered with a grin of her own, and then Lucy left.

…

The next day, Lucy didn't have a chance to talk to Yukino much. However, she did let everyone know about her and asked if it was alright for her to go with them to the Games and stay in the booth with the rest of the guild. They all agreed that was safest, considering the attempt already made to kidnap her.

They also found out, via the news, that apparently someone had attacked Sabertooth last night, and there was a rumor that it had been someone from an opposing guild. Of course that sort of fighting outside of the Game was strictly forbidden, but Sabertooth had chosen to not expose the identity of the attacking guild. They'd simply stated that they wanted to settle it within the Game. Naturally, all eyes went to Natsu, who looked up at the ceiling innocently as if there was something extremely interesting up there.

Thankfully everyone just let it go, though Makarov did pull Natsu to the side and gave him a lecture.

After that, they all headed to the Domus Flau, and Team A headed up to their booth to await the start of the Games. They didn't have to wait long.

" **Hello Pumpkins! And welcome to day three of the Grand Magic Games!"** Mato bellowed into his microphone, and there was a thunderous round of cheers and applause from the audience.

"First of all, here are the standing scores of all the teams!"

A scoreboard appeared on one of the giant lacrima vision screens, and Team A all leaned forward to read it.

Raven Tail was still in the lead with 39 points. Sabertooth was in second with 38 points. Blue Pegasus had 26 points, Lamia Scale had 21, and Mermaid Heel had 18. Fairy Tail Team B came in sixth place with 17 points and Team A was seventh with 12 points. However, at least they weren't dead last any longer…. that place went to the newly dubbed Quatro Puppy, with 9 points.

After a pause to let everyone read the scores, Chapati cut in over the speakers. **"Alright folks! We've got a great day planned out for you today! First up, we have the first battle set, and then we'll have the first challenge after that!"**

Yajima then added, **"Today's first battle match will be between Sherria from Lamia Scale against Wendy from Team B! Apparently Sherry has temporarily abdicated from Lamia Scale's team for unknown reasons."**

Lucy smirked a little. Knowing that woman, she was embarrassed after losing their little competition yesterday and had hidden with her tail tucked between her legs, sending in her cousin to take her place.

Whatever the case, Lucy was sure to cheer Wendy on as their guildmate walked out into the arena. At that point, the commentary devolved into coos and stupid nonsense as Chapati exposed his love of the loli-type. So, she just ignored it in favor of watching the battle between the two wind users. It was actually pretty amazing. Sherria turned out to be a sky god slayer…whatever the heck that meant, and their powers were very similar in nature. The big difference that Lucy could see, was that Wendy could only heal others, while the new girl could actually heal herself. However, Sherria couldn't replace the magic she had lost.

In the end, the thirty minutes allotted for the match elapsed before either girl had gained the upper hand, and it was called a draw, giving both teams five points. They also seemed to hit it off pretty well and had very similar personalities from what Lucy could tell. After the fight – which was friendly, though they'd both gone all out – they helped heal each other and left after a handshake.

…

And then it was time for the first challenge of the day. This time Lucy volunteered to go for Team A, because it was her turn again, and she just hoped that it went better than the last time she did this. Her team cheered her on, the loudest coming from Happy and Natsu of course.

As she stepped onto the field, she took note of the other competitors she would be up against. Jellal had been chosen from Team B, and she wasn't looking forward to going up against him. Out of the other teams, she was least enthused about Minerva from Sabertooth. She also wasn't fond of the idea of fighting Black Snake from Raven Tail…he was bound to be annoying. The rest of the competition wasn't too concerning, she was pretty sure she could take them.

As soon as everyone had assembled, Mato popped onto the field as usual – and then a giant clear bubble also abruptly appeared from nowhere, floating in the middle of the arena about twenty feet off the ground.

" **Hello Pumpkins! Today, you will be participating in our 'Aerial Battle Zone!'"**

After he said this, suddenly they were all relocated into the bubble. Lucy squeaked as she began to float and waved her arms around to try and grab ahold of something… _anything…_ to control herself. Unfortunately, there was no friction, just air to grab ahold of, unlike when you went swimming and could push through the water. All she could do was flail around with absolutely nothing good coming from it. All the other competitors were in the same boat though… nobody could control their position and just ended up floating around aimlessly.

" **As you can see, this bubble has absolutely no gravity in it! The goal of this challenge is to knock your opponents out of the bubble while staying inside yourself. There is also an additional five-minute rule that pertains to the last two competitors. As soon as it's down to two, if one of them gets knocked out of the bubble before five minutes have elapsed, that person will instantly take last place instead of second. So goooood luck!"**

At that, a gong sounded and the battle began.

Magic started flying as everyone tried to knock everyone out of the bubble simultaneously. As magic buffeted her from every direction and sent her spinning randomly through the air, Lucy instantly summoned Aries as her first action.

"Open! Gate of the Ram!"

With a puff of pink wool, Aries appeared with her usual greeting of, "I'm sorry!"

"Aries! Quick! Brace me with a wool ball!"

"Of course!"

Suddenly a wall of pink erupted in front of the bubble's shell – which she had been somersaulting towards. With an 'oof,' she landed face-first in the mass of pink fluff and immediately felt all the strength drain from her as she relaxed into it.

"Okay…I'm good…"

She lazily gave Aries a thumbs up, and the wool ball disappeared with a pop. Once her strength flooded back into her, Lucy gingerly felt the bubble's wall, testing its durability. It had a lot of give before her hand slid through the surface tension, and it provided a solid thing to brace herself against.

Sticking just the tips of her fingers through the wall to hook on and stay in place, she turned and braced her behind on the bubble too – basically sitting – and looking up into the battle. She was currently at the very top, so looking down and seeing the sky underneath her was very disorienting, especially as the lack of gravity meant that she felt no sense of direction.

The first person to get tossed out on his butt was unsurprisingly Toby from Lamia Scale. However, Risley from Mermaid Heel turned out to be much more competition than Lucy had given her credit for, since she could perform gravity magic. The lack of gravity was literally no problem for her, she could just recreate it to the degree she wanted, waltz right over to an opponent, and give them the slightest nudge – which would send them flying out of the bubble if they weren't careful. That was how she knocked Toby out on his butt. Jenny from Blue Pegasus was next out of the arena.

The rest of the competitors proved capable of combating the gravity magic though. Black Snake – when he was pushed by Risley – simply sent out a shot of sand that hit the ground and pushed him back into the center of the bubble. Similarly, Jager from Quatro Puppy used long green vines in the same sort of way, and sent them out to attach to the ground and also the walls of the arena to pull himself whatever way he wanted to go.

Meanwhile, Jellal was able to use celestial star magic and zipped around in flashes of golden light, as if he was riding a comet or had turned into one himself…which meant that he was completely unhindered by the lack of gravity. That magic proved to be too much for the Raven Tail guildmember, because Jellal set his sights on the guy and began to pummel him with attacks that were too fast for him to combat. Even with his crazy fast reflexes, he couldn't dodge half of Jellal's hits, and it was only a matter of time before he also flew out of the bubble. The fact that the blue-haired mage had singled out Raven Tail as his first target was obviously driven by a grudge, and Lucy felt even more fond of him as she watched Black Snake cartwheel towards the ground and hit with a puff of dust.

Lucy ceased to watch him though, because she suddenly had to deal with Jager. Out of nowhere, she was abruptly tangled up in a long green vine and was being violently flung out to the side – once again headed for the wall of the bubble. Aries was still out and about though, and she created another wool ball to stop Lucy's exit.

"Thanks Aries! You're a life saver!"

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more Miss Lucy…"

"Oh you can...catch that guy in a wool ball!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Instantly a large ball of pink fluff hit Jager square across his thick chest, and he collapsed into the comfortable cloud with a confused and dazed expression as he began to drool.

"Alright! Good Job Aries! Now…Open! Gate of the Scorpion!"

"Wicked!" Scorpio yelled as he popped into existence with a blast of sand, his tail up and at the ready.

"Shoot that guy out of the bubble!"

"Right on, Miss Lucy! Wicked!"

A huge bullet of sand beaned Jager in the shoulder and he was sent into a deadly spin – which he couldn't do anything about since he was still practically passed out on fluffy pink cloud nine. Without further ado, he popped out of the bubble and Aries let him drop to the ground by dispersing her wool ball into thin air. Shortly after him, Risley was thrown out of the ball as Jellal knocked her out in the same way he had with Black Snake. She simply couldn't keep up with the blows raining down on her, even with her gravity magic.

Finally, all that was left were Minerva, Jellal, and her. Obviously Jellal intended to save Lucy for last, and wait the full five minutes before tossing her out on her butt … unless she could somehow stand up to him. But first, they had to take out Minerva.

Jellal was the first to go after the Sabertooth mage, and she fixed him with a dull and almost bored look, before flicking her finger at him. A ball of black light suddenly appeared around his whole body, and he disappeared with a pop.

"What the…Je- eum…Mystogan!" Lucy shouted, worried about her blue-haired friend and what had happened to him.

With a great deal of relief she saw him reappear on the ground outside the bubble, holding his hooded head and looking very sick to his stomach. That did not bode well for Lucy in the slightest and she turned back to Minerva with a good deal of dread clenching her stomach. A bell went off, signaling the start of the five-minute timer, and Lucy couldn't help but feel like she was probably going to get tossed out before it went off.

Firming her resolve, she determined she wouldn't and sent both spirits back to the celestial realm in preparation for a new attack. Before she could launch it though, Minerva suddenly asked her, "You're that fire dragon's summoner correct?"

"Um…yes. Why?"

A malicious grin curled the edges of her opponent's mouth. "Then I hold you fully responsible for his actions last night. And I intend to punish you for it."

Lucy swallowed hard and gripped her keys, readying for an epic fight. Strangely no attacks rained down on her, at least not at first. Instead, Minerva continued to talk. "I will give you a choice…jump out of the bubble now and take last place…or deal with me for the full five minutes and let me beat you to smithereens. If you choose to stay, I won't show you any mercy."

Gritting her teeth, Lucy made her decision easily. "I'm not going anywhere! The only one who's going to leave this bubble is you!"

At that, Minerva began to laugh. "Oh please…like you could possibly fight me."

So saying, another black ball appeared, right behind Lucy, and it felt like she'd been kicked by a horse with scalding feet. She screamed in surprise as she was sent head over feet through the air. The wall of the bubble approached too fast for her to do anything about it, but before she could get tossed out, another black ball appeared in front of her and burst, sending another massive impact and blistering pain through her entire shoulder and ribs. Once again, she found herself cartwheeling through the air, helpless and cringing from the pain.

Based off the scorching sensation of the bombs – or whatever they were – Lucy made a relatively easy choice. It was only natural to go for water, especially when she felt her skin blistering and desperately longed for the cool touch of the ocean. She couldn't summon Aquarius, not without water, but she could still don her star dress – even without her presence.

So, she did her best to focus solely on the salty oceanic magic that was Aquarius's. Every time another black ball went off, her concentration was jarred, and it took far longer than it should have for her to equip the mermaid's star dress. Eventually though, she felt the shivery sensation of her outfit rippling over her skin. The experience was like having cool water trickling down her body in a wave from her crown to toes.

As soon as the star dress had fully manifested, she put up a wall of water between her and the next bomb, using the salty wave as a shield. Considering the fact that she was somersaulting through the air at the time, it was a minor miracle she managed to do so. The bomb went off, spraying water everywhere and sending Lucy spinning in the other direction – but at least this time it hadn't hurt.

Without the crippling pain, she was better able to orient herself and managed to erect another shield between her and the next bomb. Thinking fast, she remembered how Black Snake and Jager had been able to use their magic to move themselves in the zero gravity, and so she followed their example, shooting a jet of water at the ground to stop her out of control momentum.

As soon as she stabilized and was facing the right way, Lucy grabbed a fistful of keys and started summoning spirits while Minerva was still surprised.

"Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

Even before the golden flash of Leo had finished solidifying on one side of Minerva, she was already onto the next one. "Open! Gate of the Bull! Taurus!" A second golden flash appeared on her opponent's other side.

Suddenly Minerva was sandwiched between two very powerful spirits. For once, Lucy didn't waste time greeting her spirits…she simple didn't have the time to spare.

"Take her out!"

"On it!" Leo shouted, all business like her.

At the same time, Taurus turned to face their opponent as well and lowed, "Count on me Miss Luuucy!"

Her spirits attacked in unison, giving Minerva very little time or space to counter it. Actually looking a little worried for the first time, she quickly spun and created a black ball that surrounded Leo and transported him outside the bubble. However, that still left Taurus, and she only barely managed to dodge his swing by transporting herself out of the way. It still connected though and left a shallow cut along her shoulder which began to bleed freely. Drops of blood started to float through the air, which Lucy did her best to ignore, though it was pretty disturbing.

As soon as Leo was transported out of the bubble, Lucy had closed his gate, and at the same time that Minerva transported herself, Lucy was already summoning another spirit. "Open! Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!"

He appeared beside Lucy and began his normal polite greeting. "Hello Miss Lucy! What can I do for you today!"

"Shoot her out of the bubble!" Lucy rushed to say, almost talking over him, and he instantly snapped to attention.

His bow was drawn within a second and he had taken aim. Minerva had just transported Taurus out of the circle, and Lucy closed his gate as Sagittarius loosed his first arrow. None of her spirits could move any better than her in this atmosphere, so she just had to summon them to the place she needed.

Unfortunately, Minerva saw the arrow and managed to deflect it with another black orb…which Lucy was starting to think were black holes or something. To her horror, the next black hole sucked in Lucy's keys before she could summon another spirit, and Sagittarius disappeared with an apology. Even worse, Aquarius's star dress flickered out of existence, leaving her bare and defenseless.

"Shit…" she hissed, and then watched as Minerva manifested the keys into her hand and grinned.

"Without these…you're powerless correct?"

Lucy growled under her breath, ticked off beyond belief now and a little bit scared. She was afraid of Minerva of course, but also of Aquarius's wrath when she found out that her key had been stolen…again.

She had to get them back pronto. The only good thing about this situation was that Minerva was underestimating her.

When another black ball popped up in her face and burst before she could get away, Lucy was sent flying once again as pain radiated through her face, neck, and chest. However, despite the pain, she focused on Natsu's magic, and easily pulled it into her veins. Unlike Aquarius's star dress, it didn't take Lucy any effort at all to summon Natsu's…by this point their magic was so intertwined it practically felt like it was a part of her.

The change rippled across her form, this time feeling like fire licking her skin from top to bottom. The second it was stable, she summoned fire to her feet, screeching to a halt inches from the next black hole bomb. With a blast of dragon fire, she managed to put enough distance between her and it that the explosion didn't tear her a new one again.

"Not powerless…no." she answered Minerva's previous question.

Her opponent scowled, looking both confused and displeased, but she quickly rearranged her face into a mask of smug indifference. "How quaint. But no matter how you struggle, it won't do you any good."

"Just keep telling yourself that." Lucy growled, and then fired up her feet again and launched herself at Minerva in a rescue attempt.

At that moment, a loud bell went off, which signaled that five minutes had elapsed. So at the very least, Lucy was now safe from getting last place if she did get tossed out…but she had to get her keys back first.

Naturally, as soon as she got even remotely close, Minerva transported herself out of the way, and Lucy had to put on the breaks or go flying out of the bubble under her own power. That would have just been embarrassing. Thankfully she was able to flip around and stop her forward momentum with fire coming from both hands and feet.

While she was distracted, Minerva took the opportunity to pop another black hole next to her, and suddenly she had pain blasting her whole side as she was sent careening across the space of the bubble again. Apparently her opponent was less interested in defeating her and more interested in beating her to a bloody pulp, because instead of letting her cartwheel out of the bubble, Minerva made another black hole to knock her back into the ring. She hadn't been able to stop herself from running into it this time, and the fresh blast of agony across her senses didn't do much to help her reflexes.

She was thrown back and into Minerva this time. The other woman snagged her by the hair and then lashed out with a vicious kick that caught Lucy in the back. That one hurt, and she couldn't help but yell as she felt her spine pop in some very disconcerting ways. After this she was taking a trip to see Porlyusica, that was for sure.

Her hair was released only for a fist to be shoved into her solar plexus, and all the air was forced out of her lungs. This was not going well at all, and Lucy had to try and think fast through the oxygen deprivation and shards of pain. The answer came in an instant, and it was so simple that Lucy almost laughed, but ended up choking instead.

Heat filled her body, and she built it up as high as she could before releasing it all, right as Minerva went in for another blow – this time a knee to her gut. It never landed though, because flames erupted all over Lucy's body and Minerva fell back with a startled shriek. She could vaguely hear a dragon's roar from the stands and allowed herself a grin.

Taking advantage of Minerva's shock and recoil, she twisted and launched an attack of her own, managing to slam a fist coated in fire and reinforced with tough scales into her face. This time it was Minerva who went careening towards the wall of the bubble, but she managed to teleport herself at the last second before being knocked out.

"You might want to put your hair out." Lucy advised, before dashing forwards and going for another punch.

Naturally, Minerva teleported out of the way again, much to Lucy's irritation. To her amusement though, when she turned around, Minerva was indeed patting her hair to snuff out the flames still making a nasty smell radiate through their fighting space.

It seemed that she was pissed, because her attacks abruptly became vicious and deadly. Before Lucy could dodge or get out of the way, another black hole thing appeared and sent her flying one way, and then second one appeared almost instantly after the first to knock her back. Over the course of the next few seconds, she was hit repeatedly, knocked back and forth like a ping pong ball, with no hope of recovering. Pain became the only thing she could feel as the repeated impacts battered her and that strange scalding heat burned her skin.

Less than a minute later though, all the blows ceased, leaving her shaking and close to passing out. "Wha-?"

When she looked up through blurry eyes and a film of sweat, she saw a lightly glowing green barrier now circling her on all sides.

"Yo. You okay?"

She glanced back to see Bartolomeo standing behind her with his arms crossed and a thoroughly pissed expression on his face. Those shark-like teeth of his were hidden behind tightly pressed lips and he was glaring daggers at Minerva. "She got your keys huh?"

"Yeah…" Lucy groaned as she heaved herself to her feet, sort of. They were still floating, so it was more a matter of uncurling herself from the ball she'd tucked her body into. As she did so, she absentmindedly noticed that red scales coated most of her skin now, probably in an attempt to keep her in one piece.

"I can help with that." A new voice sounded, and Lucy looked to the side to see Amy appear in a flash of light. Relief flooded her now, and new hope filled her body with strength. It didn't hurt either when she felt a fresh wave of fire pour into her from Natsu as he lent her his strength.

Minerva had paused temporarily in her blasting to stare at the spirit who had appeared behind Lucy, but this time she didn't bother to question how he had appeared. Instead, she restarted her bombardment, doing her best to make a ball appear inside Bart's shield. It didn't work though, his shield was impenetrable by all things physical and magical, so all she could do was hit it and send them flying like a couple of hamsters inside a hamster ball. Really, she probably could have just teleported them and the shield completely out of the battle zone, but apparently she was still intent on toying with Lucy.

"Shit!" Bart snapped, holding the barrier in place but helpless to stop their spinning momentum.

Amy hopped out of the shield and bubble entirely, circling from the outside to get at Minerva's blind spot while she was focused on knocking Lucy and Bart around. She managed to prowl close and then pounced, her jaws closing over Minerva's hand where she was holding Lucy's keys. Minerva screamed, and Amy came away with the key ring clamped in her teeth while Minerva's hand was left bloody.

In a fit of rage, a huge black ball appeared in the center of the bubble, and Amy hightailed it back to the turtle shell shield. She made it seconds before the black hole bomb detonated, sending a wave of power out through the whole battle zone and definitively knocking them clear. Thanks to Bart's shield, they weren't damaged, however the velocity at which they were flung out of the bubble sent them flying towards the wall of the arena at a deadly speed. Bart managed to slow them down somewhat by grasping control of the shield, but they were going so fast that he couldn't entirely stop them before they slammed into the wall with a jarring crunch.

Lucy grunted as they all piled into each other and then fell to the ground. By the end of it, they were all breathing heavily and wincing with bruises.

" **Wow! What a fight Pumpkins! And that concludes this round of the games… In first place is Sabertooth!"** Mato exclaimed.

Lucy squinted up at Minerva – who was hanging out of the bubble with only her feet and hands still inside – and met the other woman's glare head on. She got the distinct impression that this wasn't the end of this particular feud. However, there was now a glint of respect in those previously derisive eyes, which made Lucy hope that maybe there would be a chance to make peace with them…eventually.

Her attention was pulled away though when a loud bang sounded and shook the ground. She glanced over to see that Natsu had just leaped out of their balcony and landed on the ground with a crash, and from the smoke that drifted up from the now cracked dirt, he had only slowed himself a little with a blast of fire at the last second. Happy was hot on his heels of course.

"Luce!" he yelped and ran over at top speed, coming to a screeching halt that covered them all in a fine layer of dust.

"Yeah…I'm fine…" she said, waving her hand through the air a little to disperse the dust that hung around them now.

"You don't look fine…" Happy whimpered, looking up at her with big teary eyes.

Natsu seemed to agree. He squatted down and squinted his eyes, giving her a major hairy eyeball as if to determine the validity of her statement. She squirmed under the intense stare, and was almost grateful to have something distract her. Amy gently dropped her keys in her lap, and she grinned tiredly at the loyal white wolf.

"Thanks Amy. You too Bart. You guys are amazing."

Bart flushed and uncomfortably turned his head away while scratching the back of his green hair. "Yeah well…you should have called me sooner."

That made her blink. "I thought you didn't want me to summon you at all."

His cheeks flushed even harder and he scowled, sending her a slightly sharp look from his maroon eyes before instantly averting his gaze. "W-well…I guess you can call me every now and then."

"Really!? That's awesome. I'll look forward to working with you more then."

She sent him a broad grin, and he cleared his throat – flushing even harder – before turning away. It seemed he was going to say something else, and made a few awkward noises and starts to words, before he apparently gave up and simply went back to the celestial realm with a flash of green fractured light.

Natsu snorted. "He's such a fanboy."

"Huh?" Lucy asked, confused by the strange comment.

"You're pretty famous among the celestial spirits Luce. You've got ten of the twelve zodiac keys…plus three mythics. You're a freakin' celebrity. And he's sorta... got like a crush on you or something."

"A crush? So that's why he gets all flustered and blushes?"

"Yep."

Happy naturally chimed in with, "He _looooves_ you…" and snickered loudly in amusement.

For a moment Lucy chuckled along with her blue companion, and then a slightly sobering thought caught up with her. "Does that bother you?"

"Huh?" His head cocked and he looked at her with confused eyes, before he seemed to get it. "Oh! You mean that he's got a crush on you? No! Don't be stupid! I think it's hysterical! Besides…it's just a fanboy crush, nothing serious."

"Oh. Good."

A few seconds later, Wendy came running over with Sherria in tow. "Lucy! Are you okay?"

Natsu scoffed. "Yeah, that's the question isn't it? She told me she was just fine."

Wendy stumbled to a stop, doing a faceplant inches from Lucy's knee. Sherria performed the same trick right next to her, and Natsu, Lucy, and Amy all sweat-dropped. Happy's cheeks puffed out, trying not to laugh.

Barely fazed, both healing mages peeled themselves off the ground and scooted over to Lucy, instantly looking her over for serious injuries. That was a little difficult, given that she was still coated in scales that hid a lot of her skin from sight. At their request, she let Natsu's star dress slip from her form. Everyone sucked in a deep breath at the sight revealed to them and Happy's eyes started to water again.

"Woah…this is bad…" Sherria murmured as she stared at the damage.

What almost looked like burns – raw bloody patches of flesh where the skin and several layers of tissue had been blown off – covered Lucy's body. Paired with the bruises that were already starting to turn dark purple, she was sure she looked anything but 'fine.'

Wendy looked majorly distressed. "We need to do some emergency treatment here and then we'll all go to the infirmary."

"I'll help too." Sherria offered, and Wendy shot her new friend a relieved smile of thanks.

They instantly started, their hands hovering over her and sending cool relief through the sharp pain still assaulting her senses. Now that the adrenaline from the battle was wearing off, all the aches and pains were getting worse, and so she was grateful for the relief. As she sunk into the sensation, Natsu scoffed again.

"Yeah…fine my butt." he chided, reaching over to tug on a chunk of her hair gently.

She just sent him a tired smile and then zoned out as the two healers made quick work of her injuries. The worst of the torn skin was treated first, and by the time they let her walk out of the arena, she wasn't bleeding any longer. Then, they carted her directly to the infirmary for even more treatment.

By the time Lucy had been bandaged up and was declared fit to return, the next fight had finished. Thankfully, with Wendy, Sherria, and Porlyusica all treating her, she had mostly been healed – aside from a few scabs and bruises here and there. They had also checked for any internal damage and made sure her spine was all right after that brutal kick. By the time she came back out onto Team A's balcony, she was feeling like she could actually participate again, after a little bit of rest.

"Welcome back Lucy!" Erza exclaimed as she saw her. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, between Porlyusica, Wendy, and Sherria, I feel great actually. Still a little sore though…"

"Understandable. You were beat up pretty badly."

"Yeah…but you really held your own out there Lucy. We were all really impressed." Juvia added, sending her a happy grin.

"Thanks!"

At that point, Gray stalked past her and got up into Natsu's face. "And you! You can't just go disappearing every time Lucy gets hurt!"

Predictably they got into a slight scuffle, but as soon as the scores from the last battle disappeared – Milliana had won, giving Mermaid Heel another ten points – Mato came on over the speakers and the two ruffians stopped to listen with the rest of them.

" **What an exciting battle! All right! Now, on to the next Game! Each team is to choose 2 players this time."**

With a shared look, all the girls sent Gray and Natsu down to participate in this round. Wendy and Gajeel made sort of an odd pair, but they also walked down onto the field. The rest of the teams were Sting and Rogue, Kagura and Arana from Mermaid Heel, Ichiya and Hibiki, Rocker and Warcry, Obra and Alexie – the two members of Raven Tail that they hadn't seen yet – and finally Sherria and Lyon.

Once all the teams were assembled, Chapati addressed them all on the lacrima speakers. **"Alright Contestants. This game is called 'Blinders.' You will all be placed in a maze, and your sight will temporarily be taken away with a spell. Your goal, of course, is to escape the maze first."**

At that point, Mato took over. **"Simple right? Let's get started Pumpkins!"**

A gong sounded, and suddenly a huge hedge maze popped up to fill the entire arena. Each of the contestants was teleported to a random spot, and the teams were split up so they were each on their own. It was obvious to see that the removal of their sight threw them all for a loop, and they all froze for a while as they got their bearings. Most reached out to touch one of the sides, but of course Natsu just barreled straight forwards blindly. When he came to the first barrier, he met it with a flaming fist, obviously just planning to plow through the maze. However, the hedge didn't catch fire or burst apart under his blow, instead he bounced off it.

Happy and Lucy both winced, and the blue cat murmured, "Ouch."

Lucy nodded and scowled. "Yeah, that's really weird. I can't imagine how…"

Before she even finished her statement of confused shock, the question was answered for them.

" **Oh, I should mention that the maze itself is immune to all physical and magical attacks. And there's a barrier over the top, so you can't fly out or climb the walls."** Yajima said over the speakers.

Natsu hopped back to his feet and glowered blindly around him, looking mightily peeved. Eventually he just started stomping forwards again and then turned down a random pathway, obviously sulking.

As for the others, some did the same sort of thing and seemed to wander around aimlessly, following the walls, but a few were approaching it logically. Gray, for instance, methodically explored and left a trail of ice along the wall behind him so he would know where he'd already been. Whenever he reached a dead-end, he marked it with a spike of ice and doubled back to pursue a different path. He coated the path next to the wall with ice and skated along at a brisk pace, always keeping his hand on the wall to guide himself, and he was making pretty quick work of it.

As for the others, Ichiya was using his parfum to mark a path, while Hibiki was making a map using archive, which apparently he could use even though he was blind. He must have uploaded it to his mind directly so he could see it with his mind's eye. Mermaid Heel was performing similarly well – Kagura was methodical about her search, while Arana used webs to mark her way.

Meanwhile, Lyon was doing something similar to Gray, only he was being more aggressive about it. He completely blocked off every path he came across – marking which ones he had been down, and dispersing the ice only when he needed to try a new path. He also coated the floors completely with ice instead of just a strip along the walls. Gray had taken the simple approach probably to avoid giving his opponents too much to go on, while Lyon was going in the opposite direction and had turned his entire area into an icy trap.

However, Lyon's partner – Sherria – wasn't doing so well. Her wind magic didn't seem to really help her in this particular event. Similarly, none of the members of Quatro Puppy seemed to be having an easy time of it either. And as for Raven Tail…. Lucy honestly didn't know _what_ they were doing. Both members just stayed put where they found themselves.

As for the dragon slayers and dragons, they were all acting the same way and were using their sense of smell to make their way through. They didn't really run into walls because they could tell when one was coming up, and none of them – except for Wendy – even bothered touching the walls to guide themselves. Gajeel was the only slayer who left markers in the form of iron posts that he stuck in the walls and ground. The speediest of them though was Rogue, who amazingly transformed himself into shadow and zipped along the walls with blinding speed.

The next part of the challenge became apparent when people started to run into each other. Sometimes it resulted in nothing but a few exchanged words, while other times a battle broke out. Lyon and Gray got into it when they ran across each other, and it was amusing to watch them blindly send magic flying willy-nilly, which more often than not simply blasted against one of the hedges or careened down the pathway. Then that particular fight became even more amusing when Natsu found them and got a face-full of ice.

"Oi! That's my face, ya Pervy Popsicle! Where are you?! I'm gonna shove my fist where the sun don't shine!"

"What the…Natsu?!" Gray shouted back, and then burst out laughing, probably at the thought of Natsu getting blasted with ice.

A short three-way battle commenced, which was quickly put to a halt when Lyon got knocked silly. He ended up stuck between Gray and Natsu – who were aiming for each other's faces, but ended up both punching him instead. When he passed out, they seemed to realize that they were teammates, and after a few last wild swings, they set off to try and find the exit.

Gajeel ended up running into Sting, and they also had a short fist fight… which got significantly more interesting when Rogue showed up. Gajeel had already managed to break Sting's leg, so it was mainly between the iron dragon slayer and the celestial shadow dragon. At that point, they both turned to shadow, and started the strangest fight that crawled across the walls and floor of the maze.

At Happy and Lucy's exclamations of shock, Erza informed them that while Lucy had been in the infirmary after her incident with Flare, Gajeel had gone up against Rogue in a one-on-one duel and ended up absorbing some of the dragon's shadow powers, which apparently turned him into a dragon slayer with two kinds of dragon magic.

Lucy didn't know why Gajeel hadn't used the shadow powers to whisk around the maze and find the exit the way Rogue had… unless they were just so new that he'd forgotten about them. But whatever the case, his impressive new abilities still didn't prevent him from having his ass handed to him. Rogue _was_ a dragon after all. He put up a good fight, but in the end Gajeel was knocked out.

As soon as he was out of commission, the shadow dragon went back to retrieve Sting and they started heading towards the exit he had already located. They had to go at the light dragon slayer's pace though, so even though Rogue knew where the exit was they were still slow getting there.

Only a few moments later, Sherria stumbled over Gajeel, and ironically Wendy ran across Lyon only a few seconds after. Then, they ended up bumping into each other, and naturally the two healers were very helpful and told each other how to find their teammates.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the maze, Alexie from Raven Tail abruptly started walking and unerringly made his way to where his teammate still stood unmoved. Then once again he stopped and stood there. Neither seemed to be talking, they just stood there doing nothing, which was exceptionally weird, and Lucy just knew they were cheating somehow.

As for Quatro Puppy, Bacchus had somehow managed to find Warcry, and they were running around together looking for the exit. They were actually in the general vicinity of it, so there was a slim chance they might accidentally stumble across it before anyone else.

Sherria and Wendy both reached their teammates at the same time and healed them. Gajeel instantly popped up and set off, following Rogue and Sting's scent since he knew they were heading for the exit. On the way, they ran across Arana from Mermaid Heel, who tried to pick a fight. With a combined wind and iron dragon roar, they ripped through the webs she tried to catch them with, and she got knocked out cold. Simultaneously, the stands erupted in exclamations as Quatro Puppy somehow found the exit and took first place out from under everyone who actually knew where the exit was. Their win was pure luck, but in a way, it worked in Fairy Tail's favor. It was certainly better than one of the high ballers scoring another 10 points.

Gajeel and Wendy soon caught up to Sting and Rogue and barreled right past – following the scent of Quatro Puppy drifting on the breeze to find the rest of the way. Sting and Rogue shouted obscenities after them, but Gajeel just laughed and jeered – saying, "Geehee…nice limp ya got there!"

"That's because you broke my leg Asshole!" Sting shouted after him as they blew past.

Wendy called back, "I'll heal it on the other side of the finish line!" which left Sting dumbfounded and gaping after her in shock. Apparently her offer to heal him had been the last thing he expected. A few moments later Team B scored eight points, bringing them up to a total score of 36.

Meanwhile, Team A was also zeroing in on the exit quickly as Gray raced ahead on his ice while Natsu barreled along following his scent. They whipped past Ichiya and Hibiki who were also getting close to the exit, and Gray nearly bowled them over in passing. Natsu finished the job as he plowed through the two Blue Pegasus mages, shouting a laughing, "Sorry!" as he did so.

"Maaaaaan!" Ichiya groaned as he peeled himself off the ground and dusted himself off.

Team A snagged third place while Blue Pegasus followed in fourth. Both teams passed Sabertooth as they limped towards the finish line, shouting at all the passersby. They eventually made it and got 3 points for their trouble.

After that, suddenly Raven Tail began to move and made their way to the exit without taking any wrong turns… as if they could see. They exited a few seconds after Lamia Scale and only received one point, much to Fairy Tail's cheers. Mermaid Heel received zero points because by the time Arana woke up everyone had already scored.

After that Game, the scoreboard read: **Sabertooth: 51 – Raven Tail: 42 – Mermaid Heel: 32 – Team B: 36 – Blue Pegasus: 30 – Lamia Scale: 28 – Team A: 26 – Quatro Puppy: 22**

Looking at their ranking, they were all optimistic about their chances… up until Sabertooth beat Blue Pegasus in the next battle and zipped up to 61 points. But Eve didn't have a chance against Rufus and his memory make magic. It was lucky he even survived after Rufus summoned spikes of nearly molten rock and turned the earth almost to magma right under his feet.

After that, it was going to be hard to catch up to them, but the Fairy Tail teams were determined. So for the next challenge – called 'Pandemonium' – Erza volunteered to go. Laxus joined her, along with Olga from Sabertooth, Jura from Lamia Scale, Ren from Blue Pegasus, Nalpudding from Raven Tail, Milliana from Mermaid Heel, and Nobili from Quatro Puppy.

As soon as they were assembled, Mato popped up in front of them to explain the rules of the game. A huge upside-down castle suddenly appeared in the center of the ring and a ramp extended to slam down in front of them as he explained that the castle was full of monsters. There were 100 total monsters, their power level ranging from D to S-Class. There were fifty Ds, thirty Cs, fifteen Bs, four As, and one S-Class monster. Each contestant could choose the number of monsters they wished to fight and the monsters would be chosen randomly. Each monster would give the player one point, and whoever had the most points once all the monsters were defeated would take first place. However, if a player was defeated, their score would automatically be zero.

Once the rules were explained, Mato held out sticks and they all drew lots to see who would go first. Erza's stick glowed for a moment and then displayed the number one.

"I see. I go first then." the redheaded warrior murmured contemplatively, a dangerous spark in her eyes.

" **Yes indeed! Please choose the number of monsters you wish to face!"**

"I choose…a _hundred_."

Mato and the rest of the contestants spluttered – aside from Laxus who just busted out laughing. It took a couple of times of her repeating herself before the referee seemed to believe her, and then she calmly walked into the castle to battle all 100 of the monsters available.

Everyone stood back and watched with amazement and mouths agape as she took on each and every monster, destroying multiple at once with her heaven's wheel armor, then dashing through them all at high speeds with her flight armor. When she went up against monsters who used fire, she paired her fire empress armor with her sea empress sword. She mixed and matched her armor to her advantage, becoming an invincible force as she beat every single enemy down to one. The final, S-Class monster then revealed itself as a tiny little bug creature, which grew into something absolutely enormous. The final showdown happened on the very top of the castle – which was actually its bottom weirdly enough, since it was flipped upside down. So they had plenty of space to fight.

Using her clear heart armor – the one that looked like fiery red hakama and bandages – she wielded her fiercest sword and cut it down.

When the castle crumbled away, it revealed a beaten and bruised but triumphant Erza, and as she thrust her sword into the dusty air above her, sunlight caught the blade and made it gleam like a beacon of hope for all of Fairy Tail. The crowd burst into cheers that were so thunderous the very ground vibrated with them.

…

After that epic performance, the rest of the competitors had to settle for simply striking an MPF (a magic power finder) and they would be placed based on their score. It was incredibly dull, but everyone was interested to see how this group of contestants would line up in terms of magic ability.

Milliana went first and charged the thing with a vicious attack from her furry whips. The result was a score of 365, which Yajima explained was quite high and would put her at the level of a captain in the military. The kitty mage preened and stepped off stage for the next person to go. Bacchus from Quatro Puppy went next and scored a whopping 2271, which had everyone's eyes bugging out in shock. The judges up in the booths exclaimed in wonder and Yajima said he'd never seen such a high score.

Next up was Ren from Blue Pegasus, and he beat Milliana's score with 759 points. Nalpudding only made 620. Then it was Olga's turn, and – as expected – he shot off a fancy bit of lightning streaked with black that caused the counter to read 4825, edging out Bacchus's top score by a significant margin. Following him though was Jura, who showed why he was a wizard saint by hitting the thing with a jut of rock and so much magic power that the entire arena was whited out with intense light. His score read an impressive 8544, which left jaws hanging in shock and amazement.

Last up was Laxus, who stepped up to plate with a confident smirk. Then, throwing off his purple coat, he exposed the strange tattoo on his arm. In the guild's viewing box, Master Makarov sent Master Mavis a shocked look, and she giggled. "I decided to give it to him…so we could have a little edge."

When he shouted Fairy Glitter, and raised his fist, an enormous flash of light nearly blinded everyone, and a ring of gold settled around the whole arena, slowly constricting until it was around the MPF…which was basically fried by the ancient spell. When the dust cleared, it was left blinking 9999…as if it had run out of numbers to count what had just happened to it.

Finally, Team A and B walked away with first and second place, landing their teams 10 and 8 points respectively. Team B shot up to fourth place over all, while Team A was unfortunately still stuck in seventh.

After that show, it was once again a battle round, and judging from the line up so far, it was going to be between Team A and Raven Tail, which was either a good thing or a bad thing. It would give them an opportunity to settle the score, but it also meant that Raven Tail might cheat again. In preparation of that, other members of Fairy Tail scattered throughout the arena to keep an eye on the booth containing Raven Tail's team and also Ivan in the stands.

" **And now! It's time for a rematch! Lucy of Fairy Tail Team A versus Flare from Raven Tail! These two lovely ladies got into an altercation in the very first challenge kicking this year's Grand Magic Games off! It's time to see once and for all who's number one!"**

The bottom of Lucy's stomach dropped out, but she also felt fire burning in her belly, ready to show that she had what it took to beat Flare.

"All right Luce! You go show that hairy bimbo who's boss!" Natsu growled with a fierce grin and punched his fist into the open palm of his other hand.

"Yeah! Go give her a haircut! She needs it bad." Happy seconded.

At Natsu and Happy's encouragement, she couldn't help but laugh, and grinned at all her teammates who likewise told her to kick ass, and then she walked down the hall and stairs and out into the arena to meet the redheaded psychopath.

As soon as the gong sounded though, things got weird. The sky went dark and copies of Lucy and Flare suddenly separated from their bodies and went at each other, while the real Flare just chuckled and cocked her head in that disturbing manner of hers.

"Well hello, Blondie…long time no see…"

"Suuuure… wanna explain what's going on here?"

"It would be my pleasure." A new voice sounded behind her, and she spun around to see Alexie and the other three Raven Tail team members come onto the field.

"Hey! Wait just a minute! You can't be down here! Referee! Oi! Somebody disqualify them!"

"Nobody can hear you…or see us. Those two there?" He pointed at the two copies currently locked in intense battle. "That's all the audience can see."

"So this is an illusion." she summarized, looking around and noting that the other four had copies of themselves in their booth as well.

"Indeed. And now, let's have a little chat shall we?"

"What is it that you want from me?"

"To capture you. The real versions of us will be long gone by the time this battle is over."

Lucy took several steps back and to the side so she could have Flare in her peripheral. "Why do you want to kidnap me?"

"Because I asked them to." a small squeaky voice said from the blue behemoth known as Obra, and a tiny monkey-like creature hopped out. "I told them I wanted you. They wanted revenge on Fairy Tail, as well as something else from them, so we teamed up."

She fingered her keys, figuring this must be the demon. "You're a demon from Tartarus aren't you?"

"Very clever girl." the little monkey demon cackled.

Turning her eyes back to Alexei, she sucked in her breath as he took off his elaborate helmet/mask to show that it was really Ivan under there – which was also against the rules of course. "You're Ivan! Makarov's son and Laxus's father!"

"I see you already know me."

"Yeah…I also know you were kicked out of Fairy Tail for being a dark mage and using forbidden magic and endangering the guild!"

He waved his hand, seeming to blow her off with the gesture as he made a dismissive sound.

"So what else do you want besides capturing me and getting revenge on Fairy Tail?"

"We want the Lumen Histoire. And we plan to use you to get it. By holding you ransom, they'll hand it over without a problem." he said with an ugly grin.

"Of course they won't be handing you over, you'll be coming with me." the demon interjected with an equally nasty expression, showing all his sharp little pointy teeth.

This was turning from bad to worse, and she risked a glance up at the booth where her teammates were sitting. Instantly, her eyes were drawn to Natsu, who had both hands planted on the banister and was leaning over the rail with a deep scowl and fiercely intense expression. It was obvious he knew something was up, probably because he couldn't feel any of the reverberations from the hits her copy was taking.

"Alright…well, have fun trying to do all that. You're gonna have to beat me first though."

Alexei's eyes widened, as if he'd expected her to just meekly go along with them. Then he laughed and said, "Very well. We'll do it your way then."

Instantly, all five of them attacked at once. She already had her hands on her keys though and was summoning spirits before they even had a chance to get to her.

"Open! Gate of the Black Tortoise! Bartolomeo!"

"That was fast." he commented on her summoning him for the first time only a few hours after he had given her permission.

"Sorry! But it's an emergency."

A shell popped up around them and he huffed. "Yeah, I can see that. But why are there five of them and one of you? Isn't that against the rules of this Game thing?"

"Yeah it is. They're using an illusion to try and kidnap me."

His eyes narrowed. "Then it's a good thing I told you to summon me when you need it. You'd be in a sticky situation otherwise."

She nodded and smiled gratefully at him before grabbing another key.

"Open! Gate of the Crab! Cancer!"

"Hey there, Baby," he glanced around and immediately noticed Flare. "You want me to give that girl another haircut?"

"Yes please. Take her out, we've got to thin their ranks."

"I'm on it."

Cancer switched to his battle gear, with red crab-like armor coating his skin to keep him protected from Flare's burning hair and the attacks from the others as he went after her. Next she summoned Scorpio to deal with Black Snake, and he appeared right as a funnel of sand blasted them.

"Holy _Wicked_ Shit!" he exclaimed as the sand hit the shell and slid past them, completely taking away their vision for a moment but doing nothing else.

"Open! Gate of the bull!" she called and Taurus appeared with a loud moo.

"Hello Miss Luuucy." he called and then noticed Scorpio and grinned. They had done combo attacks before, so he knew what was coming.

"Try to take out those two if you can!"

"Noooo problem!" Taurus lowed, donning thick leather armor of his own, complete with a medieval-looking helmet, to combat the sand that was about to pound across his tough hide, and Scorpio grinned. Scorpio's battle form involved red and black metal armor that made him look like a steam punk samurai biker, and his thick tinted goggles topped it off beautifully.

They stepped out to confront the sand wielder, and Scorpio launched his own sand attack. Taurus wrapped the sand around his ax, creating an eye in the vortex, which he traveled through all the way to his target. When he reached Black Snake, he mooed and his ax glowed bright gold, lighting up the sand and making a deadly typhoon that suddenly Taurus was controlling as he slammed his weapon and all that sand down on his opponent. It spun wildly around, smacking Nalpudding as well and tossing him back on his spiky butt.

Black Snake was the first one down, and then Taurus turned and smacked Nalpudding with the next great swing of his ax as he was getting back up. He went back down like a purple spiky sack of potatoes, much to Lucy's satisfaction. She couldn't help but think that Gray would be exceptionally pleased.

As soon as those two were out of the picture, she closed Taurus's and Scorpio's gates to preserve her magic, which was draining fast. Bart continued to just laze around behind her, keeping the shield up and almost acting bored as she dispatched the enemies. When she chanced a glance behind her, she caught sight of him picking his nose and staring off into space.

He snapped to attention though when Flare managed to sneak a tentacle of hair under the ground and pop it up inside their shield. It snapped towards him – aiming for his neck – and he scowled before making a sharp gesture and slamming a floor onto their shield bubble – neatly severing the hair.

Cancer was making slow steady progress towards her, combating all the hair at once and easily holding his own. With a glance, Lucy could tell it wouldn't be much longer before he had beaten her back.

Turning her attention to the other two opponents, she saw the little demon monkey holding his hands out towards her and grimacing fiercely…probably aiming that magic nullification curse at her again. But thanks to Bart's shield, he couldn't reach her at all. Meanwhile, Ivan started sending a veritable tornado of weird little paper dolls streaming at her, constantly battering against the shield but making no dent whatsoever. He also seemed incredibly frustrated and incredulous as he beat against her defenses without any results.

"What is this nonsense?!" he shouted eventually, scowling fiercely and bearing his teeth in an ugly grimace.

From behind her, she heard a final shriek come from Flare, and knew the redhead had finally been defeated, so she was free to set all her attention on the two most dangerous opponents here.

"Thanks Cancer!" she called, and closed his gate.

He went out saying, "My pleasure, Baby."

Meanwhile, Ivan was throwing a tantrum. "You think you can keep this up forever?! We'll keep attacking over and over! Before the thirty minutes are up, you'll run out of magic power!"

"' _We_ ' being who exactly? Three of your team are already down." she pointed out, and for the first time since her shield had gone up, Ivan took his eyes off her to look around him.

"What the… how did this happen!?" he cried and then turned to the demon who was still trying to break through her shield. "You idiot! Why didn't you cast your curses on her spirits?!"

The demon scowled and turned to him. "I was focusing on our main target like you! Why didn't you take out her spirits with one of your Shinigami storms?!"

"Useless! If she summons any more spirits, take them out!" Ivan snarled and turned back to her. His nasty expression relaxed, and a smile formed. "It doesn't matter. You're already obviously running out of magic. It should only take a little longer anyways. Those incompetent idiots can stay behind and get arrested for all I care, as long as I have you."

It was true, she was starting to run out of magic power, especially after having used so much of it already today during the previous battle. Since she had summoned him with his key, even Bartolomeo was using up some of her magic, though he was obviously largely using his own to keep himself out here, otherwise she would've already passed out by now.

A sudden flood of familiar warmth filled her, and she glanced towards the balcony, where Natsu was staring right at her. That took her aback, and she glanced around, seeing that the copies were still in effect – so he couldn't possibly see her. Somehow though, he had found her despite the illusion. The other members of her team were looking around, and she could see his mouth moving as he gestured wildly in her direction, which suggested he was telling them all about the weirdness happening.

Her attention was drawn back to the fight at hand though, when they were swarmed by those paper dolls, a huge mass of them that coated the entire shell and crawled all over it, probably looking for a way in. It was actually pretty disturbing, although she supposed that being swarmed by anything would be creepy. Of course, all they got from Bart in response was a bored yawn as he watched them try to find an entrance with a mildly amused expression on his face.

However, Lucy wasn't nearly as disinterested and wanted to finish this up already and expose these creeps to the world. So she drew another key. "Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

"Hi there Lucy!" Leo said as he popped into being with a flash of light and then looked around their doll-plastered shell with a perplexed expression. "What in the world is going on?!"

"We're fighting against Ivan…Makarov's son. You know, the one who got kicked out of Fairy Tail? Yeah…. he's attacking us with paper dolls." Lucy explained, and Bart snickered at her dry delivery.

"And he's having a really fun time wasting all this magic power trying to find a way into my shell." the celestial tortoise added with another chuckle.

Leo frowned. "Allow me to shed some light on his mistake then. Close your eyes."

Lucy and Bartolomeo instantly snapped their eyes closed, and for good measure Lucy slapped her hands over her face as well. She could still feel the warm, tingly sensation of Leo's magic though as it built and built and built some more, until it washed out over them in a wave of warmth and blinding light that she could still see vaguely even through her closed eyelids and palms. She heard a massive rustling sound as – she could only imagine – all the little paper dolls were blown away and incinerated in the immense explosion of Regulus light that Leo had just released. The enormous power of the spell even had her clothes and hair whipping around, and she staggered a bit under the buffeting winds caused by air being displaced by magic.

Two screams sounded half a second later.

"My eyes!"

"Ah!"

After a moment, she peeked through her fingers once the blinding light had died down, and she could no longer see the glow coming through her fingers. Both the demon and Ivan had their hands clamped to their face and were grimacing in pain.

Seeing an opportunity, Lucy pointed at the demon and mimed hitting it – staying silent so that they wouldn't catch onto what she was planning. Leo grinned and nodded before hopping out of the shell and dashing over to the opponent she had designated. With a Regulus coated fist, he punched the demon square in the face, and – with a sharp and shrill squawk – it poofed in a cloud of black smoke back to the demon realm…just leaving them Ivan to deal with.

He had recovered enough to squint through one eye, though he still looked to be in a great deal of pain, and wildly gestured. Thousands of those little paper dolls flooded the arena, attacking indiscriminately since he apparently still couldn't really see. Leo had to fight them off instead of attacking Ivan for a moment, but they didn't pose any problem for him and his Regulus light. He tore through them like…well, _paper_ , and sent hundreds fluttering in tatters through the air as he made his way towards the man who was still in charge of this massive illusion.

"Can I use my whip through the shell?" Lucy asked Bart suddenly, wanting to assist Leo but not sure if she could.

"Sure." he replied in a bored tone of voice, and she unraveled her whip with a broad grin.

With a pop and crackle, it unfurled to its full blue and golden length, and she wasted no time in sending it flying out through the air towards Ivan. The paper dolls it hit posed no hindrance to its velocity, it just cut through them like a hot knife through butter and reached its mark without trouble. When the tail snapped across Ivan's cheek, he was thrown to the side with a loud yell of pain and shock.

The paper dolls instantly scattered and became less aggressive with Ivan's distraction of getting a whip in the face. Mere seconds later, Leo slammed one glowing fist into Ivan's nose and the other into his gut, sending him flying across the arena. The illusion that had still been playing tore apart, revealing them and the passed-out members of Raven Tail scattered around her.

An eruption of sound came from the crowd and the judges all exclaimed in shock at the sight.

Of course Raven Tail was disqualified, and day three ended on a slightly sour note as the members of the dark guild were all taken away in handcuffs. Thankfully Team A still got it's ten points.

The final score board of the day read: **Sabertooth: 65 – Team A: 46 – Team B: 44 – Lamia Scale: 34 – Blue Pegasus: 33 – Mermaid Heel: 32 – Quatro Puppy: 25 – Raven Tail: Disqualified**

Everyone left in high spirits after nabbing second and third place.

…

That evening, Fairy Tail congregated at the pub downstairs in their own hotel instead of going out for entertainment. Still, things weren't too different. Bacchus even joined them all again, mostly to have a rematch drinking contest with Cana.

Everyone else got a little tipsy too, even Yukino as she was dragged into the festivities with them all. At some point Rogue and Sting showed up too, while Lector stayed in their hotel room and kept the door locked to make it seem like they were still at their hotel. They didn't stay too long, but it was long enough for Lucy to smile and watch the three of them reconnecting.

Then her attention was taken up by Gray suddenly attempting to barrel surf and slamming into a wall. Natsu quickly followed suit, although he got sick before he even faceplanted into the wall. Erza managed to do it and hop off before the barrels ran into some tables, but she still lost her balance on the landing and ended up on the ground. Funnily enough, Jellal happened to be near her when she landed, and he ended up under her when he tried to catch her. They earned themselves some wolf-whistles and cat-calls for the intimate position, and both mages flushed fire-engine-red and leapt back to their feet.

Fro and Panther Lilly were next, though they probably would have had an easier time of it if they'd stayed in their smaller cat forms. When Gajeel hopped on board – and ended up putting his head through the window – the barrel surfing competition was called off thanks to property damage.

Amidst the chaos, Lucy managed to find Master Makarov and pulled him aside to let him know what his son had told her during the little misadventure earlier. When she mentioned the Lumen Histoire, he blanched, and told her that it was their guild's ultimate secret, and she was never to repeat the name. She solemnly vowed to do so.

Aside from that one serious moment though, the rest of the evening was spent in lighthearted celebration.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek:**

 _"The rest of you are fairly evenly matched, so this is where things get tricky…" Makarov muttered, looking them all up and down. "However…I believe that Natsu should remain. He is a dragon after all. BUT! At the same time, he's also one of Lucy's spirits, soooooo…." Suddenly a slightly evil grin appeared across their master's mouth. "According to the rules, if we keep Lucy on the team, Natsu can still fight for her. He just can't participate independently anymore."_


	47. Chapter 47

**Author's Note:**

It's Sunday! Booyah!

As always, HUMONGOUS thanks to all my WONDERFUL reviewers out there! Big kisses and hugs to my repeat reviewers: Anna5949, sakshishetty3003, mikeczajk12, Surfy, valerioux, quidditchChick6, Donthedarkdragon26, Firefly9917, TheJSmooth, The Age of Awesomeness, Lady La-sara, Lucinda, SunnieDayys, Leomae2.0, and dani-yell10. Equally big kisses to my new reviewers: alydragneel, Perfect Memories, Lori Baker, and illleashya.

I'm so happy that you've all enjoyed the GMG arc so much! Not to give away too much, but this is the last chapter that's super duper long, so we'll be going back to the Wednesday upload (as long as we reach the review goal of 10 by then).

Anyways, on with the show! And stay till the end for the sneak peek. ;D

* * *

The next day, they were informed that, due to now having an odd number of teams thanks to Raven Tail's disqualification, Fairy Tail would only be allowed one team. Their lowest score – which was 44 currently – would carry over to the new team, but since their higher score was only two points more that wasn't too big a deal. The real problem lay in deciding who to cut from the team, and for a long time Makarov paced in front of them in the new Fairy Tail balcony. They'd been able to pick which one to keep, and they chose the one that Team B had been using since it had a roof.

They had all come together for Master to inform them of the change, and now he was picking who would stay in the active team and who would join the rest of Fairy Tail as backups. Obviously this was a very important decision, as it could decide whether they would ultimately win or lose.

"Um…I'm okay with joining the backups Master. I'd rather focus on healing everyone between rounds." Wendy announced before he could cut her out.

He nodded, shooting her a small smile before eyeballing the rest of them with that same intense expression he'd been fixing them with for the past few minutes. Now that that had been decided, Wendy gave them all a small wave and jogged out of the room, tripping over the door of course on her way out. With a small whimper of, "…ow…" she stood back up and exited completely, leaving them with nine.

"Erza, Laxus, Mira… as S-Class wizards I believe you should all be part of our new team." he finally said, and the three listed stepped to the side. Now there were only two more that had to be chosen and four that had to go.

"Jellal, you were a former wizard saint, and considering that Jura's out there, you should probably stick around too."

He silently nodded and went to stand next to his redheaded girlfriend. She shot him a small intimate smile, which he returned with a crinkle around his eyes – his mouth being hidden of course.

"The rest of you are fairly evenly matched, so this is where things get tricky…" Makarov muttered, looking them all up and down. "However…I believe that Natsu should remain. He is a dragon after all. BUT! At the same time, he's also one of Lucy's spirits, soooooo…." Suddenly a slightly evil grin appeared across their master's mouth. "According to the rules, if we keep Lucy on the team, Natsu can still fight for her. He just can't participate independently anymore."

Lucy blinked, shocked that she was getting chosen alongside S-Class wizards and a previous wizard saint. The remaining three thankfully didn't seem overly perturbed about being kicked off the team…. if anything, they just chuckled at the sneaky way Makarov had snuck Natsu unofficially onto the team along with Lucy. With waves and brief words of luck, they all headed out to the large booth to watch with the rest of their guild, and Makarov followed behind after offering his own words of wisdom.

"Knock 'em dead out there today!"

After that, it wasn't long before things kicked off for the day. As the last day of the Grand Magic Games, there were no challenges. Instead, there would be three team battles where two members of each team would fight simultaneously. Then, at the very end of the day was the grand finale, which would consist of a battle royal between all teams simultaneously – probably in a large magical environment like the ones that had been used for challenges so far.

" **Alright Pumpkins! Welcome to day four of the Grand Magic Games!"** Mato said loudly over the speakers. **"Today's first team battle will be Blue Pegasus against Quatro Puppy!"**

The crowd erupted into cheers, and the new Team Fairy Tail settled in to watch the first match.

Naturally the teams were composed of the two strongest members – or at least the most compatible – to give them the best chance of winning. Blue Pegasus sent down Ichiya and Ren, while Quatro Puppy sent down Bacchus and Warcry to meet them.

When the gong sounded, the Quatro Puppy contestants immediately geared up to fight. However, before they could, Ichiya and Ren stepped forwards and thrust their hands out for a pre-match handshake like true gentlemen.

Erza groaned and looked a little sick – the way she always tended to look around Ichiya – but the rest of them were busy laughing at Quatro Puppy's reaction to such a thing. Both looked utterly dumbstruck and just gaped at the two Blue Pegasus wizards. After a long ringing pause, they eventually reached out and awkwardly shook Ichiya and Ren's hands, almost acting like they'd never shaken hands with someone before – which, to be fair, they probably hadn't… at least not in this particular context.

Chapati exclaimed how gentlemanly the act was over the loudspeaker, and a mixture of sounds rung from the crowd – some cheers, groans, swooning women, and also laughter.

A particular cheer caught Lucy's attention as the fight started, and she risked glancing away from the battle to look over at the Fairy Tail section. Cana was whooping and cheering for Bacchus noticeably loudly, and Lucy let herself smirk. A quick side-eye showed that Mira had noticed as well and was smirking in that direction too.

When she finally looked back down at the ongoing battle, she wasn't surprised to see that Ichiya had been KO'd and now Ren was fighting both members of Quatro Puppy by himself. He easily managed to take out Warcry with a wind funnel that slammed the spiky haired blond back into the wall of the arena… knocking him out. However he was unable to keep up with Bacchus's drunken fists, and soon lost the match to Quatro Puppy's one and only S-Class mage.

The ten point boost launched them into third place right behind Fairy Tail.

As soon as the contestants for the first match had vacated the field, Chapati got back on the loud speakers.

" **Wowie! What a fight!"**

Yajima agreed. **"Quite a spectacular battle indeed."**

" **So cool!"** the commentator from Sorcerer Weekly supplied, but that was pretty much what he _always_ said about _everything_ so everyone ignored him.

After some more comments from the judges, Chapati said, **"Mato! Why don't you tell us who our next contestants will be?"**

" **I'd be happy to!"** the referee/mascot chimed in. **"Next up we've got Lamia Scale against Mermaid Heel! Remember you've got only thirty minutes to win!"**

Out onto the field walked some super strong mages from both teams. Mermaid Heel sent out Milliana and Kagura, and Lamia Scale sent out Jura and Lyon. As far as Lucy could tell, if Jura was out there, the two ladies from Mermaid Heel had no chance. Which made it even stranger when Kagura stepped back and apparently told Milliana to take them both on by herself.

Lucy had no idea what was going on in that woman's head, but it seemed like a nasty thing to do to her teammate.

Whatever the case, as soon as the gong sounded, Milliana attacked and actually turned out to be surprisingly fierce competition, attacking with those furry whip things – which Lucy had only just noticed had kitty paws on the ends of them.

"That's the way Milliana! They're tough so be careful!" Erza shouted from beside her, and Lucy let herself grin. It was nice to see Erza with friends outside of the guild for once.

"Fro thinks so too!" the little green Exceed chirped, agreeing with them all indiscriminately as usual.

As the fight continued, Milliana escalated from using one whip to using many at once, and she also took off her gloves to scratch the dickens out of them. Even Jura seemed to have trouble keeping up with her. He created earth spikes beneath her feet and pillars of rock, along with simply shooting earthen projectiles at her, but she was able to dodge most of his attacks with alarmingly fast and exceptionally unpredictable feline moves. She dashed and darted to and fro, sometimes running on all fours even, and was able to leap high into the air. They weren't able to land very many hits, and she kept them busy well over a third of their allotted time. Of course, Lucy suspected that Jura was going easy on her, probably because he didn't want to go all-out on someone in a simple game.

Through a series of bluffs, she managed to park herself on Lyon's shoulders and tied his hands behind him with furry whips. Then she proceeded to scratch, claw, and punch without mercy until he went down. When he was on his knees and well-beaten, she looped one of those furry ropes around his neck and choked him till he passed out. Jura couldn't do a thing about it because she had her claws bared over some places that should never be scratched on poor Lyon and threatened to use them if the Wizard Saint tried to attack. Besides that, most of Jura's attacks were so large and powerful that he would likely take out Lyon along with her if he attacked.

As soon as Lyon was down for the count, she dropped him and leapt away from his motionless body – which was still visibly alive thankfully. However, once she could no longer use Lyon as a captive, Jura used his full power on her, and within a few seconds she'd gone down. Apparently Lucy was right and he'd been holding back, but the sight of his comrade being taken down had obviously driven him to going all out.

At that point, Kagura stepped forwards and took on the Wizard Saint head on without even looking the least bit concerned… a feat that Lucy wasn't even sure Erza could do with a straight face. Then again, Erza could take just about anything with a straight face, as long as it didn't involve her cake getting smashed… or someone's socks being torn up apparently. Lucy was still confused about the incident from yesterday.

For the remainder of the battle, Jura attacked with devastating magic, which Kagura either managed to dodge or cut through with her undrawn blade. She also unleashed gravity magic that sent him and all his rocks floating up towards a massive magic circle in the sky, which obviously disoriented him and even seemed to unnerve him a bit. Although, it would make sense that an earth mage wouldn't feel overly comfortable away from their element.

Before a winner could be decided, the bell sounded signaling a draw, and Mato stepped in to tell them to put away their weapons and magic.

Both calmly settled down and collected their teammates before walking off the field…showing similar levels of control over themselves and their emotions.

Then, finally it was time for them to go… which meant they would be facing Sabertooth.

"Let's go Luce!"

"Um…me? Are you sure that one of the S-Class mages wouldn't be a better choice?"

"Na…it's a good choice. Look." Laxus pointed.

They glanced down to see Sting and Orga walking out into the arena. Lucy grimaced at the thought of fighting Sting – who she now considered a friend – but it was true that she was probably the best match for him.

Furthermore, Laxus added, "And I should be your teammate. Come on, let's get going. Don't wanna keep them waiting."

"Knock 'em out!" Happy cheered.

Shrugging, she decided it was best to go along with this crazy plan and followed him down the hall and out into the arena. Once there, they faced off with the lightning god slayer and the light dragon slayer.

"Hey there, Blondie. Looks like we're gonna hafta fight, huh?"

"Why does everyone always call me Blondie!? I have a name you know!" Lucy exclaimed, and sent Laxus a dirty side-eye while she was at it.

"Uh…okay, well…anyways…. let's get this thing started shall we?" Sting said after stumbling over himself for a moment at her outburst. Obviously he hadn't known what to do with it, so he just changed the subject.

Coincidentally, at that moment the gong sounded, officially starting their match.

"Open! Gate of the Fire Dragon!" Lucy immediately called, and with a burst of flame Natsu appeared.

Over the loudspeakers, Chapati exclaimed, **"Woah! Wait a minute, wasn't Natsu Dragneel cut out of the Fairy Tail Team? And this is a two-person match, not a three on three. Isn't Fairy Tail breaking the rules right now?"**

" **Actually no…"** Yajima countered. He seemed to be the one who knew the rule book inside and out. **"Lucy Heartfilia is the competitor here… and he is one of her celestial spirits. It is completely legal for her to summon him to fight in her battle."**

The crowd of course reacted with shock and then erupted into cheers. However, the opposing team didn't seem at all surprised to see their new enemy.

"Alright…Rogue! I need you!" Sting called. Of course, he didn't need a key.

With a black wisp, the shadow dragon stepped onto the field. Once again, there was an explosion of sound, which Laxus and Lucy both participated in.

"Hey! I can do it because he isn't on our team anymore! But Rogue is still on your team! You can't summon him! That would still be considered outside help from your teammates!"

"Actually, we officially replaced him for this fight with a substitute. So, just for this battle, he isn't a part of the team anymore." Orga explained in a dull voice that said he thought they were maggots and certainly weren't worth his time.

A similar sort of conversation was taking place in the judging booth once again, and Yajima admitted it was stretching the rules a bit. However, considering that the two teams were now evenly matched, the judges decided to let it slide.

With all those surprises out of the way, they finally settled down into the actual fight. Lucy eyeballed their opponents to try and determine which one she would be taking on. Orga and Laxus had already launched themselves at each other and were going at it with a flurry of fists and lightning, which made her hair stand on end from all the electricity in the air.

Meanwhile she and Natsu were standing off against a dragon slayer and another celestial dragon. Lucy wasn't sure if she could hold up against a slayer, but the choice was obvious here. Dragon had to go against dragon. So, she squared off with Sting.

"Alright then Sting…let's do this." she announced and shifted into her fire dragon star dress. That would at least level the playing field a tiny bit.

"Wow…that's pretty awesome." Sting commented, grinning briefly, and then attacked with a blast of light shot from his mouth.

Yelping, she threw herself to the ground to avoid it and quickly rolled out of the way. Then with a grunt she heaved herself back to her feet and grabbed for a key. "Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

He instantly appeared next to her in a flash of light. "What's up Lucy?"

"You're gonna want your battle gear for this one." she warned straight off, and with a cocked brow he disappeared again.

The white laser shooting out of Sting's mouth clicked off as his teeth shut and he grinned. "Good dodge there. Let's see what you can do with this one!"

He launched himself at her with light glowing from both fists, but a second before he reached her, Leo popped back into existence in full black and golden armor. His appearance threw Sting off his game for a moment, and Leo took advantage of the distraction to shove his glowing armored fist up Sting's nose, tossing him back on his ass.

"So he wields light too, huh? Interesting." the lion spirit said with a grin, and his furry ears twitched forwards all the way, like a cat hunting prey.

"That's right kitty! I'm a holy light dragon slayer, taught by Weisslogia the celestial light dragon!"

"Rogue's mom? I thought I recognized the feel of that magic." Leo said, and Sting looked momentarily flabbergasted.

"You know Weisslogia?!"

"Of course. We both live in the celestial realm."

"Well that makes sense." Lucy commented with a thoughtful finger to her chin.

"Oi! How about less chatting over there!" Laxus yelled from his battle on the other side of the arena, and Lucy flushed a little.

"Focus on your own fight Sparky!" she yelled back – borrowing Natsu's nickname for the lightning dragon slayer – and heard the faint laughs of her team and guild up in the bleachers.

She dutifully turned back to her battle though and thought hard about who to pull out next as Leo and Sting went at each other in an all-out brawl. Going with her gut instinct, she drew a key and called out, "Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

Loyally, the pink-haired maid showed up and bowed. "Is it punishment time Princess?"

"Uh…never mind that. Can you make some traps for Sting to fall into? Make them shallow enough that his head will still be above them."

"Of course Princess!"

And with that, Virgo drilled down into the ground. Thankfully, Lucy knew that Leo was familiar enough with Virgo's magic that he wouldn't be tripped up, but hopefully it would give him some great openings to beat on Sting. As soon as the holes were done, Lucy sent Virgo back to conserve her power, and almost instantly began reaping the rewards of that trick. Sting fell into one of the holes with a surprised shout and Leo capitalized on it by kicking him upside the head.

He was strong though and burst out of the hole piping mad. "Alright! Now you did it!" he yelled, and with a burst of power that singed her cheeks, he altered his magic signature.

All of a sudden, she could feel the hairs on her arms stand on end as an immense magic power flooded out of him. He answered her unspoken question of, ' _what the hell is he doing_?!' when he shouted, "WHITE DRIVE!"

She still had no idea what 'white drive' was, but she assumed it must be some kind of magic enhancement spell that he'd cast on himself. And suddenly, he was much tougher to land a hit on. Leo seriously began to struggle against his attacks, and Lucy knew she would have to summon some back-up… and quickly.

"Open! Gate of the Wolf Pack!" she cried out – using the keyword needed to summon all of them at once – and Amy flashed into being at a run. Behind her streamed her whole pack, one after another popping onto the field. Exclamations of amazement sounded from the crowd and she heard her team cheer, but Lucy ignored all the sounds in favor of focusing all her attention on the battle.

"Wow…you rarely summon all of us!" one younger wolf panted happily and wagged his tail while grinning up at her with a dangling tongue.

"Well, I think that's what it's going to take this time." she responded and pointed at the fired-up dragon slayer pounding on her lion spirit. His armor was doing its job and keeping him in the fight, but she could see that he was starting to become taxed.

"We're on it." Amy said, and with a howl she called all the wolves into formation. As one, they circled around the two fighters, until both were surrounded.

It took Sting a moment to realize the change, and his attack stuttered as he noticed the ring of massive pony-sized wolves now all staring at him with glowing eyes. The hair stood up along their spines and every single tooth out there was bared as positively terrifying growls ripped from their throats. Leo backed out of the circle to let them do their thing as he caught his breath, and they started to close in. Then, a new set of snarls made Sting look up, and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw the wolves now prowling through the air above him, thoroughly trapping him. Even the arrogant dragon slayer looked worried, though he tried to still act cocky.

"Oh yeah? A bunch of mangy mutts ain't gonna be able to do anything against me!"

He followed the statement with an attack launched at one part of the circle. Before he could even reach the wolf he had aimed for though, wolves darted in from the sides and behind in perfect synchronization with each other to attack his back. He was forced to stop his attack so he could protect himself and block the vicious bites that landed on his shoulders and back. One wolf was sent flying out of the circle with a blast of light, and it disappeared back to the celestial realm to heal. That still left way too many for him to deal with though.

"Just so you know, I've seen these guys actually fight a dragon before… and hold their own. So be careful." she called out to him in warning and he shot her an exasperated look that plainly said, ' _thanks so much.'_

This was an intimidation tactic that Lucy had seen several times before on tough missions, but it never ceased to impress her as the wolves successfully herded their opponent. They were also familiar with Virgo's traps, so they knew where to lead him.

Meanwhile, Natsu and Rogue were just standing off to the side staring at each other.

"So…come at me then." Natsu said – earlier on in the fight – and waggled his fingers.

"I would really rather not." Rogue responded with a frown. "Unless you intend to attack Sting, I'm content keeping you here."

That didn't really sit well with Natsu, and he frowned. "Ah come on! That's no fun!"

"You know I don't like to fight, Natsu… especially not my friends."

It was true enough; the guy was a major pacifist. That wasn't to say he couldn't fight, or that he didn't necessarily enjoy it once he got going. If his darker instincts were woken up, he could enjoy bloodshed and carnage more than just about anyone, but Natsu knew he didn't really like for those instincts to be woken up.

With a sigh, Natsu backed down…for now. "Alright, fine. But that goes for me too! If you get involved in the fight, then you and I are gonna go at it!" And then they turned to watch the fight unfold.

As for Lucy and Sting, they were somewhat at a stalemate for the time being. The wolves had pushed him into a hole and went at him mercilessly, but he countered by surprising them all with an explosion of light and magic, similar to when he went into white drive. The shockwave tossed all the wolves back and he leaped out of the hole and clear of their formation.

With that one blast of magic power, more than half the wolves poofed back to the celestial realm, which meant that Lucy had to switch gears – and fast. Leo thankfully stepped in to engage him again as the wolves regrouped, and Lucy herself joined in on the fight. Part of her was still considering the best spirits to bring out, but like hell was she going to stand back and let her spirits get pummeled without lending a hand. It was true that she had to stand back and act as captain more and more lately – especially as she learned how to bring out multiple spirits – but she still got into the thick of it whenever she could.

Using a star dress, she didn't have her normal weapon, so instead of her flueve d'etoiles, she fashioned a whip made of fire – something she had worked hard to perfect on the island. With a crack of her wrist, she snapped it at Sting as soon as he was in range, and it landed squarely across his back, leaving a cut in his shirt and skin and lighting his fur collar on fire. With a loud yelp, he jerked the article of clothing off and stomped on it before turning to see what had just hit him.

When he saw her standing there, his eyes widened in shock and he exclaimed, "What the…you're fighting too? Don't most celestial mages let their spirits fight for them?"

"Not this celestial mage. I fight alongside them."

He blinked for a moment and then grinned. "Alright then!"

For the next few hectic minutes, Lucy engaged in battle alongside her wolves and Leo, but the longer they fought, the more apparent Sting's strength became. Even against all of them, he was holding his own and just sent more and more wolves back to the celestial realm. That holy light of his was nothing to mess with. It was powerful stuff, and Lucy had a hard time keeping up with him.

With a roar, he blasted her with a hundred rays of light all at once. She somehow managed to dodge by doing a faceplant in the dirt once again and dove into one of Virgo's holes for cover. As soon as the light disappeared from above her, she clambered back out again to see him readying yet another attack. It shot out – at the speed of light of course – and she ducked back down into her hole. Unfortunately, this attack was significantly more powerful than the last, and when it hit the ground layers of dirt started to peel back, slowly exposing her hiding spot.

If Leo hadn't shot his own light attack at Sting, she would have been in deep trouble, but thankfully when Regulus's light hit from the side, Sting's attack blipped out. That gave Lucy the chance she needed to get out of her hole and back into the ring.

At this point, her magic was running dangerously low, but Natsu started feeding her some dragon fire to bolster her reserves, and so she was able to keep going. For the bizillionth time, Lucy was grateful that her mate and partner was a natural battery. Having the energizer bunny as backup never ceased to come in handy.

She momentarily played with the idea of using Urano Metria against Sting but dismissed it quickly. That spell was her trump card, and she'd probably need it for the grand finale. It used up too much magic for her to risk it before then.

So, she decided to switch strategies and hopefully catch him off guard. To prepare, as Leo and the wolves kept him busy, she cycled through a few summons, briefly letting her spirits know what was about to happen so they would know what to do. As soon as her battle companions were all ready, she began.

She closed the gate for the wolves, momentarily surprising Sting, which gave Leo an opening to land a hit. The dragon slayer bounced back fast of course, and as he was mounting an attack on Leo, she swapped the lion spirit out for Taurus. Sting was suddenly facing a much larger opponent, with a huge ax, which certainly wasn't what he expected. It worked just like Lucy had hoped it would and the attack that had been meant for Leo didn't quite work – partially because Sting had stumbled in surprise and hesitated for a split second. Taurus managed to block the blow with his ax, and then flipped it around and knocked Sting back with a hefty smack of his blade.

Lucy quickly summoned Capricorn behind him. The goat spirit wasted no time in unleashing a vicious kick to Sting's posterior, which bounced him back towards Taurus. Both spirits got a good number of hits in as they traded him back and forth, but it wasn't long before Sting had rallied. He managed to get out of his predicament by spinning to block Capricorn, and then sent the goat spirit back to the celestial realm with a swift series of attacks. As he was focused on that, Lucy swapped Taurus out with Aries and she shot a wool ball at Sting's back.

He must have sensed it, because he spun just in time to blow the wooly pink puff away with a laser beam. Lucy sent Aries back right before she was also pierced by the light. Anticipating his next move, she summoned Gemini, who immediately took her form. By the time he whirled around to attack her, they had swapped places, and he was looking at Gemini instead, while Lucy had hopped into one of Virgo's holes.

While Gemini summoned various spirits to keep him busy, Lucy summoned Virgo and tunneled underneath him. He was so thoroughly preoccupied with Gemini's attacks that he didn't even notice them emerging from underground behind him – which was precisely what Lucy had hoped for. The other Lucy had summoned Scorpio, who was bombasting the white dragon slayer with small sand tornadoes.

Knowing she didn't have much time before Sting noticed her, she hurried to summon Pikachu. Making eye contact with Scorpio, she nodded, and he nodded back, showing he understood her silent command. Abruptly, his small tornadoes converged on Sting from all sides and turned into a giant funnel, wrapping around him tight.

At the same time, she said, "Get him Pikachu!"

With a high-pitched squeak, he stood to his full height and did his war-cry of, "Piiiiiiiiiiikaaaa!" As he did so, a ball of high-charged electricity built above his head, and then released when he squealed, "CHUUUUUU!" Multiple blasts of intense lightning hit the sand ball that was Sting at the moment and instantly turned it into a glass prison.

For a moment there was absolute silence, and Lucy let herself hope that she had won. To conserve energy, she closed all gates and all her spirits disappeared with various poofs and flashes of light. When nothing happened, she started to hesitantly relax and think she'd actually done it, but then a deep ominous sounding 'CRACK' let her know that Sting wasn't done yet. Abruptly and without warning, brilliant light illuminated the glass ball from the inside, and Lucy quickly threw up a shielding arm to prevent eye damage. What followed was an explosion, and she flinched as shards of glass pelted her. Luckily most bounced off her dragon scales. Natsu's armor almost seemed sentient in a way, because it always rushed to cover any area of her body at risk without any urging from her.

After a few moments, the light died away, and she risked a peek through her fingers, only to see a sight she most definitely did not want to. Gajeel had explained Dragon Force to her once. It was when a slayer took on the true power of a dragon – or as close to one as was humanly possible – though of course Natsu had scoffed and informed him that it was far from actually reaching the strength of a true dragon. Still, it would definitely create a huge burst of power nonetheless, plus certain physical changes – like scales and such. She had imagined it would look sort of like Natsu's first transformation or when Gajeel put on metallic scales.

When suddenly faced with it in reality though, it was less visually impressive than she'd expected. There weren't that many changes, only a pattern of white scales that appeared at Sting's hairline, down his neck, and across his shoulders. But the sight of it still terrified her. His magic exploded out of him in thick rivers, and when he grinned and leaped into the air, she cringed as he inhaled deeply and roared.

Meanwhile, this entire time, Laxus and Orga had been having it out in a fierce battle on the other side of the large arena. Laxus had intentionally drawn his opponent as far from his teammate as possible so he could go all out without fear of knocking Lucy out… or worse. Orga however, hadn't seemed to care about Sting or the other battle going on and had gone with full power from the get-go. So, it'd been a bit of a struggle for the first few minutes, up until they were far enough away that Laxus could unleash his own beast.

As he'd suspected, Orga was a god slayer like Sherria – though none of them really knew what the hell that meant – so his lightning was black and blatantly more potent than Laxus's. The other problem was that god slayers could eat dragon slayer's elements, but if a dragon slayer tried the opposite it acted like poison to them. Thankfully, Laxus didn't need to actually eat the black lightning to successfully conduct it through his body. It stung plenty more than any normal lightning and left him feeling a bit sick to his stomach as he inevitably absorbed a bit of the poison, but it didn't affect him nearly as much as eating it would have. Channeling the stuff like that also let his body slowly adapt to it, thanks to the powerful lacrima imbedded in him.

Thanks to his weak constitution, he'd been implanted with a lacrima possessing lightning magic, which gave him power over that particular element. He had then been trained in the ancient dragon slaying arts through a forbidden text his father had come across during one of his many ventures within the black magic market. Therefore, while he was a second-generation dragon slayer, the lacrima's true purpose was simply to give him power over the element itself…which made him more adaptable than a first gen dragon slayer. And that meant…

As he slowly let the new kind of electricity into his body little by little, his lacrima began to accustom itself to the black lightning. For the first few minutes of the fight, he was at a serious disadvantage as he intentionally let Orga's attacks land, and he acquired a nice set of bruises to show for it. The entire time, he heard the Fairy Tail section in the stands erupting with noise. Plenty of his guildmates were shouting at him, almost angrily asking him why he wasn't fighting back, but there was also lots of encouragement too. Of course the loudest cheers came from the Thunder Legion, particularly from Freed… and Fro was yelling her little heart out from their team's booth.

As soon as he felt his body fully accept the new form of lightning, he allowed himself a grin as he peeled himself off the ground. He was looking forward to giving his guildmates something to really cheer about.

"Why are you smiling? Are you happy to be beaten to a bloody pulp?" Orga asked derisively, sneering down his nose at Laxus the same way he had the entire fight.

"Not particularly." Laxus answered dryly as he wiped blood from his newly split lip. "But it was worth it."

Standing fully now, he took his battle stance and got serious for the first time, watching and waiting for Orga's next attack. Sure enough, he sent bolts of lightning searing through the air, but this time Laxus opened his jaws wide and inhaled the whole lot…much to Orga's shock.

"You do realize that a god slayer's power is poisonous to a mere dragon slayer…?" he asked, sounding a little less bored now, but sort of like he thought Laxus had come down with a sudden case of stupid.

"Sure. For MOST dragon slayers, you'd be right."

However for him, he had now completely absorbed the black lightning, and instead of poisoning him it had strengthened him to previously unknown heights. "How about you taste it for yourself? Black Lightning Dragon Roar!"

After that, it was simply a matter of who could beat the snot out of the other through purely physical attacks, since their magic was equal now. They never did figure out who was stronger though, because at that moment, Sting unleashed his roar and the ground was ripped out from under them. Both lightning users scrambled for the edge of the arena – where a strip of ground stayed intact – but only Laxus made it in time by transporting himself through lightning. Apparently that was a spell Orga lacked, because he went down with the rest of the floor. If they'd kept fighting, that ability would have undoubtedly let Laxus win, and he was a little peeved that he hadn't had a chance to use it in their fight.

"Well…so long I guess. If you survive, I'll be looking forward to a rematch." he snorted and then casually leaned his back against the arena wall to wait for the timer to expire.

Once the dust settled, there were two figures hanging in midair where the floor once existed. On one side, Rogue had wrapped himself around Sting while in shadow form to keep him afloat. That was an interesting sight to behold, Sting appeared to have turned black from head to toe, which was really just Rogue's shadow-form encasing his. Only Rogue's head and shoulders were visible, lifting directly out of Sting's back, and immense black wings held them both aloft while his black tail whipped through the air behind them. Meanwhile, Natsu had simply caught Lucy, and she was currently cradled in his arms as they faced off across the open expanse of the now much deeper fighting space.

As for Lucy, she was pretty exhausted and a little traumatized after having the floor zapped out from under her. That blast should have incinerated her as well, only Natsu's fast thinking had saved her hide as he flashed in at full speed and yanked her out of the direct path. They had fallen together, but not for long of course.

The lacrima vision showed that Orga was still alive but had been knocked out cold. However, neither dragon or mage paid attention to the screens now hovering around them. Instead, they were focused entirely on each other.

With her state of exhaustion, she wasn't sure how much more she could take. She'd already been boosted twice by Natsu's magic, and she was loath to leech off him anymore, but he didn't really give her a choice in the matter as fire pumped directly from him to her once again.

"Don't you have a limit to how much magic you can give me?" she groaned, feeling a bit weak for needing yet another transfusion.

"Nope. Not until I'm out…and refilling you barely makes a dent in my reserves, just so you know."

When she shot him a disbelieving glance, he flashed her a boyish grin. "Dragon…remember?"

All she had to say to his nearly cocky statement was a tired roll of her eyes.

"Do you think Sting and Rogue can do the same thing? Because if so, this fight's gonna last a reeeaaaallly long time." she muttered, eyeballing them.

"Not if we knock him out. He can't be refilled with magic if he's out cold."

"True."

"Ready for round two?" Sting called across their new ring and flashed a cocky grin her way. He was still in dragon force of course.

"Bring it on I guess." she sighed. Then she brought out yet another golden key and called, "Open! Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!"

The dapper centaur appeared in a green flash on the narrow lip of ground next to them.

"Cheerio Milady!" came his cheerful and polite greeting.

"Hey Sagittarius, could you- whoops!" They had to dodge as light shot towards them. "Pepper him with arrows!" she eventually shouted, and then had to focus her attention entirely on the fight.

"Straight away!"

Soon sharp projectiles shot at their enemy, forcing them to perform some of their own evasive maneuvers.

Natsu took advantage of the distraction to swoop in close and engage them in direct combat. At the same time, Lucy relocated herself on his body. After all their training, it was easy enough to do. When he sensed her intention, he just grinned down at her and took a short detour to accommodate. She flipped in his grip so that he was holding her wrists while her back now faced his legs. In a single fluid move, he folded his wings close so that he dropped, while simultaneously swinging her up. She went with it, and as soon as he released her hands, she reached out to grab his shoulders and latched on. They fell together for a few short feet before she was seated, and his tail snaked out to whip around her and lock her in place like a seatbelt.

She was now seated high on him, her thighs clenching tight to his ribs as her upper body poked up above his head and shoulders, which gave her free reign to shoot fire balls at their opponents or spank them with a fire whip.

This whole exercise had been caught in bits and pieces by Sting and Rogue, who had both been shocked and amazed by the aerial maneuvers. However, much of their attention was eaten up by dodging arrows and trying to take out the centaur that was shooting at them with such deadly accuracy. He was too fast though, and deceptively nimble for his large size, and he was able to run around the lip of the arena to dodge every attack they shot at him. And all the while, he continued to shoot arrows at them.

That gave Lucy and Natsu plenty of an opening to come in and launch their own attack. With a crack, Lucy snapped her fire whip out – aiming high to avoid Natsu's wings – and managed to wrap the flames snuggly around one of Rogue's wings instead. With a shout, they were sent into a careening drop, which of course dragged Natsu and Lucy along for the ride. Rogue yelled in pain as his wing got burned, and she felt bad about it, but kept the attack up. Sting countered with a roar meant to drive them off as they both cartwheeled down through the air. Natsu blocked it though with his own roar. However, when Rogue added his roar to Sting's, theirs managed to break through. To dodge the attack of light and shadow, Lucy had to let the fire rope disperse and released Rogue so they could roll to the side and avoid getting a face-full of roar.

Both dragons had a tough time for a moment regaining their flight – Rogue more-so with his injured wing – but eventually they were both airborne again. They shot upwards, each trying to gain altitude over the other. According to the combat rules though, they couldn't get too high or it would be considered leaving the arena entirely, so they stalled out at a hundred feet or so. However, the drop was much further down since they were hovering above such a deep hole.

Rogue had transformed fully into his first form on the way up judging by the horns now atop his head, the black scales adorning his face, and the claws that Sting seemed to have sprouted. So, to even up the playing field, she felt Natsu go into his fully draconic human form to match him…. With a blast of heat of course. The increase in temperature didn't go unnoticed by Rogue and Sting, who both flinched back as it reached them and probably stung a bit.

"Woah! Watch it, you're gonna cook your passenger!" Sting barked while squinting and recoiling.

All Natsu said to that was to start laughing, and flames erupted all over his body, coating Lucy too. That spurred her to slap him on the head though. "Put those out right now or my clothes are gonna burn off!"

"Not my star dress. It can handle a little fire."

"Oh…" she glanced down to see he was right. How nifty. She made a mental note to slap on his star dress anytime he got overly toasty around her.

This left Sting blinking at them in shock, and then a lightbulb seemed to come on. "Oooohhhh. Of course. Duh." He started laughing too. "I'm dumb. You're mates."

The fight resumed then, but only a few moments later the bell rung, signaling that it was a draw.

Both dragons landed on the thin ring of land still standing in the arena. Then Rogue separated from Sting – a really odd sight to be sure – and dipped down into the huge hole to pick up Orga from the bottom. Meanwhile, Natsu had landed near Laxus and was already picking a fight with him.

"Lazy, you've just been standing here and watching the whole time?!"

"Nah, I finished my fight. It's you two who talked more than fought and wasted all their time." he countered, and Lucy pouted.

On the other hand, Natsu revved up and got in Laxus's face. The entire way back through the halls to their booth, he was pestering the lightning slayer, trying to provoke him into a fistfight. He only shut up once they had arrived back in their booth and Erza gave him THAT look…. the one that made you feel like a fly on her cake.

They only had a short respite before the grand finale, during which time Mavis popped in on them to talk strategy, much to their pleasant surprise. She told them everything she had observed about their opponents and the plan she had cooked up to get them in first place. Each of them had a part to play, and they all payed close attention, recognizing that she was obviously very knowledgeable about strategy.

Meanwhile, Orga was taken to the infirmary to be woken up and bandaged, but as it turned out he wasn't too badly injured, all things considered. Everyone else who had fought in the team battles were also bandaged up during this time. Sherria had healed Lamia Scale of course, while Wendy and Porlyusica made a visit to their booth to heal Lucy, Natsu, and Laxus. The other teams had been treated by whatever medical mages they had brought with them, and it wasn't long before everyone was ready to go.

Soon, all six teams were assembled in the arena.

" **This is it! The grand finale of the Grand Magic Games will be a full team survival game!"** Chapati yelled across the speakers.

" **Strap in Pumpkins because a very special arena has been selected for the final game! The entire city of Crocus!"**

" **The teams will now be spread throughout the city…"** Chapati exclaimed.

A huge magic circle appeared beneath them, and suddenly they were transported to a random location in the city.

Then Yajima took over to tell them the rules, his voice echoing out even into the streets of the city so the combatants could hear. **"The combatants will rush through the city, attacking any opposing teams they come across. Knocking out or incapacitating an opposing wizard will net that team one point. If you knock out the other team's leader, that will land you five points! However, none of the other teams know who has been elected leader!"**

" **Strategy will play a big role in this game…whether a team splits up, stays together, or splits into teams of two and three will play a big role in how everything goes down."** Mato called after Yajima finished. This time the third judge actually was Mato, so he was sitting up in the judging booth and was coming across the loud speakers alongside them.

" **Indeed, that's a very good point."** Yajima added.

After a few more random comments, Chapati took over again to kick everything off.

" **Ready! Start!"** he cried, and the gong sounded, signaling the beginning of the game.

Lucy and her fellow teammates shared a look and then nodded before splitting up. As agreed on beforehand, Amy hopped out and four other wolves followed her – all of which had been spared from the previous fight. Each of the other wolves went with a member of Fairy Tail, and since they could communicate with each other telepathically, it would keep the team in contact with each other. That way if something unexpected happened, they could strategize on the fly.

As soon as they had gone their separate ways, Natsu popped into being next to her with a flash. "All right! Let's go kick some ass Luce! I'm all fired up!"

"Yeah!" she agreed, and they picked the path through the city suggested to them by the first master, walking at a brisk pace.

For the next few minutes nothing much happened, though the announcer and other judges continued to commentate and wonder who was going to meet first. They also told everyone what the starting scores were, which was interesting to listen to as she and Natsu jogged to their first set of coordinates.

" **Sabertooth is starting in the lead with a whopping 70 points! In second place, 21 points behind them, is Fairy Tail with a total score of 49! Lamia Scale is in third place with 39 points and is closely followed by Mermaid Heel with 37 points, Quatro Puppy with 35 points, and Blue Pegasus with 33 points."**

"Well let's get started on that 20 point gap…" Lucy muttered to herself.

She absentmindedly listened to the commentary as they kept moving along their road. The first action of the day was between Quatro Puppy's Nobarly and Lamia Scale's Toby and Yuka…with the later team winning. That brought Lamia Scale up to 40 total points.

The next battle that came across the loudspeakers was between Blue Pegasus's Ren and Eve against Mermaid Heel's Arana and Beth. Ren and Eve won their team two points.

Finally though, right on schedule, came, **"Woah! It's Mira from Fairy Tail, and she's found herself some prey! Look at her go! Fairy Tail's Mira Jane against Quatro Puppy's Semmes! Well that was fast folks! Fairy Tail has just netted itself 1 point!"**

That brought them up to fifty and Lucy grinned, thinking back to when Master Mavis had laid out the master plan and how well it had gone so far. Every encounter had been calculated, and by listening to the commentary, Lucy could tell which scenarios were going to pan out…if her memory served correctly. It had been a lot of information in a short period of time, and she'd only been able to memorize the parts that would affect her and where she should go.

When she heard the commenter then call out that Toby and Yuka were going up against Rocker from Quatro Puppy, she knew to turn down Rose Street instead of Baymont Way because it meant Scenario C was panning out. And when Kagura leapt into the fight and took out all three, bringing Mermaid Heel up to 30 points, she knew to take a shortcut through the alley to the right.

If everything was going according to plan, then she should be hearing the sounds of a fight – or more accurately, Natsu with his keener ears, should be hearing it from about five streets to the left…. and sure enough, Chapati described the battle between Erza and Jenny, which of course their teammate won easily, getting them up to 51 points.

"Alright, keep 'em coming! I'm getting a fire in my belly now!" Natsu crowed and spat a little flame into the air in his excitement.

"We'll be the next one to score if it all goes according to plan. Let's just hope we get there in time…" Lucy huffed as she picked up the pace and listened for the telltale sign that Jura and Jager were in a fight. Hopefully it wouldn't come before she reached her next location or she could miss her targets.

Thankfully, it came right as she was crossing Crane Street, and she relaxed marginally, knowing she was on time. Right as an announcer was saying that Lamia Scale was now at 41 points, she turned the corner and ran right into Ren and Eve.

"All right! We made it!" she whooped, getting a weird look from the two boys now in front of her.

"Um…were you planning to meet us here?"

"Yep! Thanks for showing up right on schedule!" she chirped, and uncoiled her whip.

Natsu went for a headlong attack, which worked well against Eve's snow. He just melted it all with his fire and drove his fist right into the little blond's face. Unfortunately, Lucy wasn't having as much luck with Ren, as her whip was being derailed by Ren's wind magic. But with a subtle eye motion to Amy, she just focused on distracting him really good with a bunch of flashy whip work while the white wolf ran back out of the ally, hopped up onto the roof of the nearby building, and snuck up on Ren. A few moments later, she dropped down right on top of him, and that was all she wrote.

Lucy listened proudly as her name was listed next to the two points they had gained…bringing Fairy Tail's score up to 53 points.

"Well, let's just hope Jellal hits his mark too…because if he doesn't, this is all going to get a lot tighter."

He was the first to take down a leader, and if it didn't go as planned, Sabertooth might get the points instead and they would have a much harder time catching up. According to Master Mavis's calculations, Sabertooth would be going after all the leaders and not wasting their time on single points. And of course Fairy Tail needed at least a couple of leaders to make up that gap… and absolutely _had_ to prevent Sabertooth from getting any further out of reach.

So it was with bated breath that they listened to the fight between Bacchus, Milliana, and Risley as they proceeded to their next designated location. Bacchus took out Risley, but then the commentary was interrupted by everyone exclaiming over how a fight had suddenly broken out on a nearby roof. The breath she had been holding released on a relieved sigh.

" **Oh my gosh! Would you look at that?! Mystogan and Sting have just suddenly broken out in a fight!"**

Yajima said, **"It looks like Sting was getting ready to mount a surprise attack on Bacchus…but Jellal took him out in one massive attack."**

" **He took out the house too…"**

" **No need to worry, Pumpkins! All the damage from this challenge will be repaired with magic after the Games have concluded."** Mato said perkily.

" **It appears that Milliana has managed to escape thanks to that massive distraction…smart kitty."**

" **And now it's Mystogan against Bacchus! It'll be fun to see the outcome of this match!"**

" **Yes indeed!"**

At that point Amy snickered and said, "Daimios is bored. He says that his human partner, your Jellal, is hogging all the action for himself."

Lucy just rolled her eyes. "He's surprisingly motivated when he thinks it's something that will impress Erza… even if she can only hear it over a speaker."

Natsu laughed out loud. "Never would have thunk it…he comes off as so serious all the freakin' time."

"Yeah I know."

Their conversation was paused a moment as they listened to the announcer. **"And that's it Pumpkins! Mystogan has landed Fairy Tail 5 points!"**

Another joined in. **"And Quatro Puppy is now officially out! I don't think they expected to be taken out this early in the games…"**

" **Yes, Master Goldmine does look rather depressed, doesn't he?"**

After that, Lucy stopped listening to the commentary for a while because she was entirely focused on reaching her next goal. Unlike their last target, this next one was really important, so they really booked it to get there in time. Mavis had tasked them with taking out the leader of Blue Pegasus – which of course had to be Ichiya – but if they didn't get there in time, Sabertooth would take him out with a 90 something percent probability, according to the first master.

Thankfully they skidded out of the alleyway into a cobbled courtyard and found Ichiya and Hibiki alone…or seemingly alone anyways. Rufus was nearby on a rooftop – which he seemed to like to do a lot – but the Blue Pegasus team hadn't noticed him yet. So they were just in time, and Lucy hurried to summon Sagittarius.

She didn't even wait for him to greet her before she was yelping, "Shoot him!" and pointed at Ichiya.

At the same moment, three flashes of blinding golden light rained down from above, aiming right at Lucy, Hibiki, and Ichiya. Mavis had warned them about this attack and told them that to avoid it, they needed to wait for it to be directly above, and then they had a 2 second window to avoid it. So, while her spirit shot Ichiya, she kept an eye to the sky and then dove to the side at the last moment. Sagittarius managed to snipe their opponent a second before he was zapped with lightning – or whatever that golden light was – and the force of the blunted arrow sent him flying out of the way and crashing into a nearby wall. He passed out upon impact, giving her the 5 points for taking out a leader, and she fist-pumped the air from her spot on the ground.

Hibiki had been zapped, but it was okay for Sabertooth to get one measly point.

" **And Blue Pegasus is out of the Games as well! Fairy Tail is knocking them out one after another! What a comeback!"**

Lucy wasn't really paying attention to the announcer though, because she was busy avoiding another round of bright flashing death. She also sent out a warning through wolf walkie-talkie to let the others know it was coming when he sent out five in retaliation for her taking his target.

They all dodged, according to the commentator at least, and Rufus seemed to just get more and more irritated and twitchy. He disappeared off his roof after moment, and Natsu instantly took chase with Lucy and Amy following. Amy was tracking his scent too though… so really it was Lucy who was playing catch-up with her super-sensory friends.

They eventually skidded to a halt outside of a library – which was very Rufus-like and she didn't doubt that he had taken refuge inside. With his memory make magic, a library was probably the best place for him to be…it would provide him with a broad arsenal of things to memorize and spit at her. However, the major weakness of memory make magic was her type of magic – holder type. He could memorize it all he liked, but without her keys he couldn't do diddly with it. Plus, he likely couldn't mimic the magic of her spirits, since it was a type of magic specific to a particular species – celestial beings. If he tried to take it on, it would probably hurt him in the same way that god slayer magic was poisonous to dragon slayers. It was simply incompatible.

And since Natsu was a dragon, he couldn't take pure dragon magic. Or, if he could, it would simply come out as dragon slayer magic, since that was how it was applicable to humans. Otherwise he would be burned to a crisp.

After catching her breath from running after the other two, they opened the grand double doors which made an ominous creak that signaled their entrance.

"Oh yeah…he's in here. OI! Come out and fight us you fancy feathered idiot!"

Lucy snorted at Natsu's description of his feathered hat.

"I'm not hiding, if that is what you were implying." A voice came from directly in front of them, and after walking around a bookcase, they came upon a huge marble seating space, completely surrounded by book shelves and sporting a few comfortable looking couches. Rufus was currently lounging on one with a pile of books around him.

"Oh good."

He snapped his book closed and elegantly rose from his chair, brushing out his clothes. "Picking a fight with me here is highly unintelligent. I have all the ammunition I need to destroy you quickly and efficiently." He gestured at the books all around him, and then that golden helix spell appeared and all the nearby books lifted into the air to float as he apparently memorized all the spells in them.

Lucy cringed, but she'd been expecting that. So, instead of waiting around for him to finish stocking up on super overpowered spells, she summoned Scorpio.

"Open! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!"

"Wicked! What can I do for you Miss Lucy?"

"Blow him away!"

"Alright!" The scorpion spirit bent down and aimed his sand canon tail at their opponent, launching a funnel at him that should have swept him and his books away in a tidal wave of destruction. Instead, the memory make mage stopped his previous spell, tossed aside all the books, and cast a shield spell which he had undoubtedly just memorized. Scorpio's sand just bounced right off.

"What a fine attack, I believe I'll memorize it too." Rufus calmly stated, as if stealing spells was as normal as offering someone a cup of coffee.

Lucy scowled, disgusted with him. According to Master Mavis, this memory make magic was an ancient spell that had long been forbidden and forgotten, due to the fact that whenever he memorized someone else's spell, that person completely forgot it and would have to relearn it before they could cast it again.

"Memorizing spells from a book is one thing but stealing them from your opponents is just wrong." she scolded, but of course it had no effect on the man.

He still put his fingers to his temple and grinned, activating that helix light again. However, as he stared hard at Scorpio, that smile slowly slid off his face, to be replaced with a pained expression.

"Ah! What is…what is this magic?! Why can't I memorize it?" he finally exclaimed, the spell breaking as he cried out in pain that apparently got too bad for him to continue his attempted thievery.

"This is celestial magic, you putz. Good luck trying to memorize something that's not even from this world." Lucy gloated, beyond happy that Mavis had been right and he couldn't memorize her spirit's magic.

He glared and erected another barrier as Scorpio sent more sand his way. Then, with a growl, he started casting another ancient spell, one that caused the ground to break apart underneath their feet and fire to burst up from the cracks as if they'd been cast into hell. With a gasp, Lucy quickly donned her dragon's star dress, which thankfully gave her immunity to other types of fire besides Natsu's, but she also quickly sent Scorpio back before he could be burned.

The fire didn't last long either, not when Natsu sucked it all up into his mouth and then belched with satisfaction. "Thanks for the meal man. That fire was tasty!"

Rufus was left gaping at him in shock, but he quickly schooled his features back to calm and collected. "Oh yes, that's right. You are a celestial fire dragon, correct? Then perhaps this would be a better spell for you."

The fire disappeared, and in its place a sudden rush of water poured into the room, apparently from the ceiling – as if a tap had been opened up. It was another crazy ancient spell of amazing magnitude, and he paired it with a bubble of air around himself as the room began to fill – obviously with the intention of drowning them.

"Open! Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" she summoned, and the mermaid spirit popped into existence with her normal scowl.

She glanced around herself and then huffed, "You can handle this one on your own. I'm taking a spa day."

Lucy rolled her eyes, but unlike in the past when Aquarius refused to help, this time she was correct. The spirit herself poofed back to the celestial realm, but her door remained ajar, allowing Lucy to call forth her star dress. This of course allowed her to control the water and she easily created her own bubble of air. That was her first priority of course, but after that, she was purely focused on taking down Rufus as quickly as possible. She didn't want to give him a chance to pull out another crazy spell from his magical hat.

So, with that goal, her mind started shifting through all the possibilities afforded her by her spirits. Considering time was an issue, it made the most sense to use what she already had out, but if she used Natsu's power to boil the water, it would cook Amy. Normally she could just close the wolf's gate for the rest of this battle, but that would send all her wolves back as well and their lupine walkie-talkie system would disappear. So, she had to go with option number two.

"Open, gate of the rabbit! Lepus!"

Out came Pikachu with a squeak. Lucy quickly grounded them, making sure to push all the water away from their feet so they were just standing on the floor of the library, and then pointed at Rufus. "Zap him Pikachu! Make all this water crackle!"

With a happy chirp, the little rabbit spirit did exactly as she requested, and widened his stance before sending out a constant stream of lightning into the water from his tail. The sudden crackle and pop of electricity sounded from all around them, turning their surroundings into a deadly weapon. Now she had to be careful, making sure that they didn't touch the water as she tried to make sure that it did touch Rufus. To do that, she grabbed control of the swirling liquid using Aquarius's power and sent it at him, making it spin around him like a cyclone… which, of course, spun him too.

He screeched and hopefully got very dizzy. His bubble popped, leaving him at the mercy of Lucy's oceanic electricity-laced typhoon, while she and Natsu remained perfectly stable in the peaceful little bubble Lucy had created for them.

"Remind me to never piss you off around open water…" Natsu chuckled, shooting her an impressed glance.

"Indeed." Amy agreed with a solemn nod.

"Aquarius taught me _very_ well." she answered back with a smile.

Unfortunately, Rufus was able to cancel his spell, and the water all drained away as if they'd just been in a big bathtub and the plug had been pulled. He landed coughing up water and looking pretty beat up. All his muscles were still spasming from the electricity he had just been exposed to, and she was surprised he was even conscious. When he attempted to stand, he wobbled and nearly fell back over, showing that he was probably very dizzy on top of nearly getting drowned and flash fried.

However, he quickly started up another spell, this one obviously for self-recovery, as he was surrounded by a gentle white glow and stopped spasming and stumbling around. It was apparently pretty potent and fast acting, since he was able to stabilize so quickly, and before they could stop him he was already finished with that and launching a new attack.

When he started up another of those stupid ancient spells – this one creating a whole army of magical armored soldiers – Natsu lost his patience. With one irritated roar, he sent the entire army flying, and they dispersed into sparks of mere energy. Bookshelves went up in flame, books disintegrated into ash and flaming paper that flew through the air, and the wall behind Rufus was taken out entirely. Of course Rufus himself also went flying, despite the shield he hastily brought up. The magical barrier he erected held, but he still got cooked from the flames on either side of him and then slammed into the rubble that piled up against the next building over.

He stayed down, only attempting to get up once before slumping back into an insensible heap.

While they were fighting, Lucy completely missed the commentary, so as soon as it was apparent that he was down for the count, she tuned back in to what was going on.

Apparently, Milliana had taken out Lyon and Mermaid Heel was up to 41 points. Also, near the end of Lucy's fight, Mira and Sherria had started a battle which had no end in sight. They seemed evenly matched for now, but that was the plan. With Sherria being able to heal herself indefinitely, the tactic that Mavis had suggested to defeat her was to slowly wear her down with a constant low-level attack. That wouldn't use up too much of Mira's power, but it would force Sherria to use up hers as she kept having to heal herself. Then eventually, after wearing her magic down enough, Mira would land a huge final strike with her Satan's Soul form, and hopefully Sherria wouldn't have enough magic power left to heal herself.

So that fight was going to last a loooooong time.

The next thing to come across the loudspeaker was, **"Oh my! We have another epic match-up in the works! Check that out folks, it looks like Laxus from Fairy Tail is now squaring off against Sabertooth's Olga! This is going to be a fight to remember!"**

Lucy didn't remember anything about that being in the plan… but then she _had_ been focusing mostly on her part, so it wouldn't surprise her if she'd forgotten other people's roles by now. At the moment, all she had to do was recover from their fight with Rufus – and put out the fire in the library with some leftover water – but in a few minutes they would need to head out and get going towards their next destination. Being that Natsu was a dragon, it only made sense to go up against the other dragon present in this competition before he could mess with any of their team mates.

So, after finishing with the library, they exited and she sat on a bench just outside to catch her breath while Natsu paced impatiently in front of her.

"Come on Luce, let's get the lead out!"

"Yeah, yeah, just give me a minute here. Not all of us have the constitution of a mythical beast of legend."

Amy snorted in amusement. When Natsu shot her a nasty look, she glanced away and raised a hind foot to casually scratch her ear.

After a few more minutes of watching Natsu fidget, Lucy finally sighed and got back to her feet. "Alright, we can go."

"Finally!"

As they headed off to where Mavis suspected that Rogue would be, they listened to the commentary to catch up with what was going on, and Lucy's eyebrows shot up on her head when she heard that Jura had suddenly shown up to join in on Laxus's fight with Orga. That was one match-up that she _knew_ hadn't been in the plan, and she was interested to hear how it would play out.

They were halfway to their destination when a nearby explosion shocked the hell out of them, and a shot of black lightning zapped the top off of a tall building several streets to the left of them.

"Shit! We must be close to those three! Let's get out of here quick!"

"How about we join in?" Natsu asked with a shit-eating grin and cracked his knuckles, his head pointing in the direction of where the lightning had come from.

With a deep scowl, Lucy grabbed his scarf and hauled him after her at top speed as she power-walked them out of there.

He groaned and protested, but she remained firm in her decision as she plowed them through the streets and towards their destination.

"We've got other things to do, besides…"

She was interrupted by the commentator as all the judges exclaimed loudly over the speakers. **"Oh! Ouch! Wow! Jura just took out Orga with one hit!"**

" **Again folks, don't worry, the hole in the street will be fixed immediately after the games. As will the buildings…and the whole city."**

" **This could get pretty expensive couldn't it?"**

Lucy snorted. If they were only just realizing that hiring a hundred mages to reconstruct the whole city would probably cost an arm and a leg…she didn't really know what to tell them. Then again, they might be planning on employing all the guilds who had lost during the preliminaries to do it.

At any rate, she needed to focus now, because she could already hear the expected sounds of battle and carnage ahead of them. The combatants' identities were confirmed when they heard over the loud speakers that Rogue had found Erza and Jellal – who were on their way to another target. Mavis had suspected that Rogue would go after Jellal after he took out Sting, and it seemed she was right once again.

Now their job was going to entail pulling Rogue off Erza and Jellal so they could go and do their business unhindered by an enraged shadow dragon – which would definitely slow them down.

As they rounded the corner, they came face to face with destruction as Rogue went on a rampage in his halfway dragon form. Even Jellal and Erza were having a tough time fending him off, and when they saw Lucy and Natsu they both called out.

"It's about time! You're late!"

"Sorry! We passed by Laxus's fight and nearly got fried. And this one here got distracted." Lucy added, jerking her thumb at Natsu.

Instead of paying attention to his teammates, Natsu had instead zeroed in on Rogue and a dangerous grin had started to split his lips. "Yo Rogue! Have you gone feral?"

The called dragon's head snapped around and glowing red eyes glared at them as he growled warningly.

"Yep…he's gone. This is gonna be fun!"

Lucy was doubting her boyfriend's definition of 'fun.'

He cracked his knuckles and that fangy grin only widened as one leg slid back, putting him in a battle stance, and he raised his hand. His fingers crooked in a 'come hither' gesture, and he growled back at their opponent. "Come on."

For a second Rogue wavered, and when he turned towards the already retreating backs of their teammates, Natsu took things into his own hands and shot a fireball at the distracted dragon – which successfully got his attention as it smacked into the back of his head and lit his hair on fire for a brief second. With a shake of his head, the flames went out – apparently dragons were partially resistant to other dragon magic in a way – but it still got his attention.

Lucy and Amy stepped back and got out of the way as the two dragons went at it, Natsu soon taking on his half-way form too. Thankfully, Natsu had enough presence of mind to push the fight a little down the street to keep it away from Lucy, which she was very thankful for. They were taking out buildings left and right, and she had to duck to avoid flying rubble more than once. For safety's sake, she equipped her dragon star dress, which would help somewhat in surviving the experience since it gave her extra strength, stamina, and resilience.

While she was watching the destruction and chaos that Natsu and Rogue created, she was also listening to the commentary on the battle between Jura and Laxus.

" **Look at them go! Rocks against lightning, who do you think is going to win?"** Chapati yelled excitedly.

" **Surprisingly they seem evenly matched. I'm amazed that Laxus is holding his own against one of the Ten Wizard Saints…"** Yajima commented, sounding impressed.

" **Ouch that had to hurt! Is that it for him? No! He's standing back up! Man, these Fairy Tail wizards are tough!"**

" **It's amazing that he's able to avoid so many of Jura's attacks, even while so badly injured. He might really stand a chance."**

This continued on for a few minutes, during which time Lucy had to relocated at least twice to get out of the way of the rampaging dragons and the rubble they were throwing around. Then, finally, over the lacrima speakers, Chapati yelled, **"There it is! I think that was the final blow! It was simultaneous, so who will remain standing?!"**

" **Jura's down! Laxus takes five points for Fairy Tail!"**

" **Whoops, now Laxus has passed out as well. That's one point for Lamia Scale too."**

" **And that brings Fairy Tail up to seventy points! They're almost neck and neck with Sabertooth! What a match, ladies and gentlemen, what a match!"**

Lucy breathed out a sigh of relief, thankful that Laxus had been able to secure Jura's defeat. That gave them a little extra wiggle room in terms of points. Now, it was up to Erza and Jellal to defeat Minerva…

…

As for those two, they had arrived where Mavis had told them to go, and sure enough, Minerva was there unintentionally waiting for them. She engaged them both, acting cocky and confident…and for good reason. Shortly into the battle, she pulled out an ancient spell, Yagdo Rigora, one of the Yakuma Eighteen War Gods Magic. It summoned forth an enormous giant tattooed with magical incantations and carrying a huge war-hammer that looked like it could do some serious damage. Unsurprisingly, when the huge warrior slammed its massive hammer into the ground, an explosion of magic blew away basically everything in the area – breaking apart buildings, reducing walls to rubble, and throwing rock and soil everywhere. Even Erza and Jellal weren't immune to the ferocity of the attack, and took shelter behind Erza's adamantine armor, which shielded them from most of the blast.

"That was one of the eighteen war gods…I can't believe she knows that spell." Erza commented, shocked and amazed.

Jellal just hummed contemplatively and narrowed his turquoise eyes at their opponent, taking her significantly more seriously. It seemed that Minerva was doing the same.

"I'll admit, I underestimated your power. For you to still be alive after that spell is unprecedented." she commented mildly, sounding impressed and also calculating, as if she was being forced to reexamine her plan of attack. But then her gaze refocused on something behind them and a broad, cruel smile stretched her lips. "However, it seems that luck is on my side."

Both Erza and Jellal risked a glance back, to see Kagura coming up from behind. She had a bland look on her face, but she definitely looked ready to fight.

"Perhaps it's time to play my trump card…" Minerva said, and produced Milliana – who seemed to be cringing in pain – floating within a dark blue bubble. "I believe you all know this little stray?"

"Milliana!" Erza bellowed, and Kagura instantly took a step forwards, a terrifying look on her face as she glared at Minerva.

Milliana dropped to the ground and started to cough, then whimpered when Minerva yanked her up by her hair.

"Minerva…. Release my team member this instant." Kagura growled, taking another step forward and fingering her sheathed blade.

Their attention was distracted though when the cat-girl's eyes slit open to look at them. She glanced from Mystogan, to Erza, and then to Kagura.

"Erzy…why are you with _him._ After everything he did to us…" she mewled, sounding completely devastated, betrayed, and angry.

All three froze, while Minerva cocked her head and observed them all with interested eyes.

"Are you saying…" Kagura began, her voice starting to tremble with pure rage. "That this man is _**him**_?!"

Milliana nodded. "I'd recognize him anywhere…and I caught a glimpse of his face earlier when he was fighting Sting and Bacchus."

"Well, well…isn't this interesting? I was going to force you to fight for this little prisoner, but it seems she's already done it for me. I'll just let the three of you tire yourselves out and come back later to collect all the rewards." So saying, she quickly slammed her fist – coated in a black orb of magic – into the side of Milliana's head, and she instantly went limp.

Erza gasped and headed towards her, but Kagura didn't even seem to notice. All her attention was focused on Jellal, and with a blood-curdling scream she broke the bindings and seal on her scabbard and drew her blade.

Minerva disappeared, and after a very quick check to make sure that Milliana was still alive, Erza turned back towards the battle, to see Jellal struggling under a barrage of lightning fast sword work that even Erza wasn't sure she would be able to keep up with. The only way he'd manage to stay alive was by cloaking himself in Meteor and dodging her attacks at lightning fast speeds. She kept up with him though, managing to attack even his fastest form of magic.

Meanwhile, she screamed, snarled, and growled, "You killed Simon! My brother! You killed him! I've been waiting years to get my revenge!"

Unfortunately, Jellal refused to attack back, only blocking and dodging to the best of his ability, and Erza could tell that he simply couldn't bring himself to hurt Kagura… not while knowing who she was. He was always riddled with a guilt that nearly incapacitated him at times, and right now that handicap was preventing him from properly combating this woman. So, Erza stepped in.

Getting in between the two was no easy matter, but by using a combination of her flight armor for speed and her adamantine shield, she was able to zip in between them and then repel Kagura's attack, sending her staggering back as she slammed into the impenetrable shield – which she was obviously not expecting.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" she bellowed, and attempted to slash her way through Erza.

The redhead wasn't having any of it though, and reequipped on the fly, donning her lightning empress armor and leveling a bolt at her opponent, which stunned her for a few seconds.

"Your opponent is me, not him. He will not fight you, not with the burden he carries. So I'll fight for him."

"Anyone who allies with Jellal is my enemy! I will cut you down alongside him!"

And so, they commenced trading blow after blow, and Kagura proved herself to be one of the best sword fighter Erza had ever gone up against. She was barely able to keep up, much less land another attack. It wasn't long before she was forced to don her clear heart armor and wield her demon blade Crimson Sakura to match her opponent's speed and ability. By placing every ounce of magic she possessed into her blade, she was able to finally hold her own against Kagura's unsheathed sword.

While they fought, they also spoke, and Erza told her some of her time spent in the tower of heaven… how she had known Simon very well, and how he had told her of his little sister. She also shared that she too had often thought of Kagura and hoped she had survived the attack on the night they were all taken. Ironically – despite the fact that Kagura was currently attempting to kill her – Erza, Simon, and Kagura were originally from the same village. In fact, Erza had saved Kagura's life during the invasion of their home by hiding the other girl in a barrel.

This information seemed to stun her opponent for a moment, before she shook it off and said, "Whatever our pasts may be, the fact remains that you are still shielding the murderer of my brother, and that makes you my enemy!"

Still, her attacks were slightly less aggressive than before, and Erza could only hope she was getting through to her.

…

Meanwhile, Lucy was avidly listening to the commentary on their battle.

" **Well it sure does look like those two ladies are talking a lot while they fight. Wouldn't that make it harder to concentrate on the battle?"**

" **I don't know, but it seems like they're doing great to me!"**

" **It's certainly amazing to watch, that's for sure."**

" **My word! That attack took out the whole building! It's collapsing from the sides… they're going to be crushed!"**

" **No, no, wait…it seems that Mystogan used Meteor again to zip in and carry out both ladies…what a gentleman."**

" **Yes indeed…oh dear, it looks like he was injured! He must have taken a few blows from falling rocks in his rescue. That looks nasty…the whole side of his head is bloody. It took off that mask he always wears too…I wonder why he wears it?"**

Lucy tensed at that, but then relaxed when nobody commented on the fact that he was Jellal. He must have been able to do his transformation magic to camouflage his face.

" **He's always been very mysterious. I suspect he's just incredibly shy and antisocial."** Yajima suggested.

" **Oh my word, that was a close one. Minerva almost just stabbed Kagura in the back with her own sword! It's a good thing that Mystogan is so fast. Whoops, looks like she was too late anyways, Kagura's just fainted dead away. Five points to Fairy Tail!"**

"Yes…" Lucy whispered, pumping her fist. "We're in first place! Finally!"

And then her attention was completely distracted by Natsu and Rogue as they both started to transform fully into dragons.

"Oh no…this is _not_ good." she groaned, and hurried to run over as fast as she could. As she ran, she called over her shoulder to Amy, "I'm joining this fight, you better get out of here!"

The wolf nodded and jumped into the air, rising up high enough to watch from a safe distance.

Thanks to her sprint, Lucy reached Natsu halfway through the transformation and quickly jumped onto his tail, knowing that it was much safer to be _**on**_ him, rather than hidden nearby in a building that could be accidentally crushed under one of them. Besides that, she had to get up to his head and tell him to stop it… turning full dragon here was completely unnecessary and would probably destroy the entire town!

She managed to snag his tail in passing as he wagged it back and forth, and looped her arms over it, her legs dangling a little until she managed to hook one over the red appendage. Thankfully his tail stopped whipping around in excitement, and she was able to mount it properly, glancing up towards his head as she did so. Sure enough, his head had swung sideways so he could glance back at her, and when he noticed the figure on his tail he grinned and faced forwards again but stayed still while she clambered up his body. Rogue though wasn't patient and attacked, going for Natsu's head with his claws, which forced the red dragon to swing around – taking a house out with his butt – as he dodged and then retaliated with his tail.

Lucy clung to the large spike between his shoulders as he whipped around, and very nearly got thrown off for a moment. It was a good thing they'd done so much training with him in this form, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to stay put. It was only due to her familiarity with the way he moved that let her adjust her weight to compensate. Once he stopped moving quite so much, she continue to climb up until she was in her favorite spot at the base of his neck, where there were plenty of spikes and raised thick scales to grab onto.

"Natsu! Don't you think this is going a little overboard?" she asked, knowing he could easily hear her.

"No way! This is tons of fun!"

"But you're gonna take out the whole town!"

Her protest probably would have included other important points, but she cut it short when Rogue made another attack. As a shadow dragon, he could turn his entire immense body into shadow and attack from any surface that could hold a shadow…which was pretty annoying since he could attack from directly underneath them. He managed to get in a good punch and clawed up Natsu's belly pretty good, but of course Natsu didn't just sit back and let him do that for too long. He instantly reared back and blasted fire directly downwards, driving Rogue back.

This repeated a couple of times, but Natsu spent that time memorizing how he moved. Finally, when Rogue tried to attack from yet another shadow, Natsu reached and grabbed him in one clawed fist, dragging him out of the wall where he'd been hiding. Seeing something that big come from such a small space was pretty freaky.

After dragging him completely out by his tail, Natsu flipped him…sending him flying backwards to land on his back, and he skidded through several houses. Naturally Natsu followed and pounced on top of him, straddling him and raining punches, bites, and claws down. Behind them, both powerful tails battled each other too, almost looking like another pair of creatures fighting for dominance.

Eventually Rogue kicked him off and tried to slink away back into the shadows, but Natsu wasn't having any of that. He snagged the tip of a wing and this time took flight, dragging Rogue out by his wing and forcing him up into the air. The black dragon desperately paddled with his other wing, trying to get away as Natsu tossed him around, kicking and biting. A thick black tail lashed across Natsu's belly, cutting him with the sharp arrow head that Rogue possessed on the tip, and Natsu let go momentarily. A little space was put between them, but the fire dragon was too close for the shadow dragon to try and escape again. So Rogue attacked, roaring and blasting them with a wave of black magic.

They got tossed back a ways before Natsu got them out of the blast zone, and Lucy hung on for dear life.

"You guys need to calm down and stop this nonsense!" Lucy scolded as Natsu's wings pumped and then sent them back at Rogue. Although she was sure that Rogue could hear her too, given a dragon's sensitive hearing, he didn't respond in any way.

"He's gone feral Luce, there's no talking to him right now. If we don't subdue him, he'll probably wipe out Crocus entirely."

"Oh…shit. Why didn't you tell me that to start with?!" she felt her blood run cold.

If that was the case, she'd better do more than just sit here like a useless mosquito. Mounting up higher onto his head and grabbing onto a horn, she said, "Let's hit him hard then and finish him quick as possible to minimize the damages. I'll use Urano Metria with your magic – giving it a major fire boost – and then you can blast him once he's down."

"Let's do it!"

With a fierce grin of her own, she put both hands out, and started the long incantation. Natsu's dragon fire licked through her, pouring into her and then into every word of the spell, and she felt the magic almost grow too intense for her to contain. As always, the sky grew dark, their surroundings disappeared, and heavenly celestial bodies hung heavy in the sky. However, with Natsu's magic thick in the spell, the dark starry sky was lit with brilliant golden flames and every heavenly body looked like a scorching sun. Then, as she finished the spell, the stars plummeted down in what looked like a rain of meteors.

Every flaming projectile hit Rogue, shoving him face first into the ground and then pounding him flat. When the barrage finally let up, he was limp – but pushed himself to all-fours after a moment, though he wobbled a little. At that point, Natsu swooped in and gave him a heavy punch followed by a tail to the face, and the black dragon went flying a pretty good distance.

He crashed into a group of buildings that were already broken.

…

Meanwhile, Erza and Jellal had been fighting Minerva. Of course Jellal was badly wounded by the falling building, but he still put forth a massive effort. However, Minerva's magic – territory – was truly formidable. It allowed her to do whatever she wished with everything inside her "territory" … including blowing it up – which explained how she could make those black hole bomb things. The 'black holes' were actually her territories.

Unfortunately, Jellal had slowed significantly with his injuries, which made it possible for her to capture him in one of these black bubbles. Inside, he couldn't access any of his magic whatsoever and was completely at her mercy, which she used against Erza with a sadistic grin. He became her hostage, and with him she was able to force Erza to disperse her weapon and armor, and then made her strip.

Erza was in the middle of complying with her demands, grudgingly, when an enormous black shape came hurtling through the air and crashed into them. Somehow, in the resulting chaos, Minerva's magic broke, and Jellal was able to use Meteor to dash out from underneath a huge black wing before he was crushed. Meanwhile Erza escaped by reequipping her flight armor. Minerva though, wasn't as lucky. She attempted to use her territories magic to teleport herself out of there, and actually did so successfully. However, she reappeared right where a huge heavy tail landed and still got squashed.

She then somehow managed to teleport herself out from under the tail before it _completely_ crushed her. However, when she reappeared, Natsu had already landed and instantly turned to eyeball her. She sent a barrage of territory bombs at him, but they did precisely zero damage to his tough hide, and before the smoke had cleared and she realized this fact, a massive paw reached out and slapped her – sending her flying. She hit a nearby wall and stopped, hanging there for a moment plastered against the surface, and then flopped down to lie face down in the dirt… limp as a noodle.

Rogue likewise didn't get up. In fact, he transformed back into his human form. He groaned and pushed himself to a sitting position, but when Natsu growled and stepped towards him, he shuffled back on his behind and held up his hands in surrender.

"I forfeit…you knocked me out of rage mode. I'm good." he said with a wince, and Natsu heaved a disappointed sigh before transforming back into his human form as well.

Lucy hopped off halfway so she wouldn't end up sitting on his head. That had happened the first time they trained, and she ended up toppling off him, while he was knocked over as well. Hitting the ground and then having a heavy dragon (in human form though he might be) fall on top of you is not exactly fun, so they decided not to do that again.

After that, it was just a matter of Mira and Sherria both tiring out. Apparently Mira decided to finish things once the announcement came that everyone else was done, because she went into she-devil mode and knocked the god slayer out cold with one strike.

In the end, the final scores had Fairy Tail in first place with 81 points and Sabertooth in second with 72 points.

Naturally, following the conclusion of the Grand Magic Games was a huge feast and celebration, complete with a parade and the offering of a trophy to the guild in first place. It was hosted by the king himself, and they all stuffed themselves and celebrated in highest spirits. There was also an announcement that every guild who had been eliminated in the preliminary round would help to put the city back together, and since that was over 100 magic guilds, the city was back in shape mere days after, despite the major beating it took.

Of course, Fairy Tail also lent a hand, even though they weren't required to. And with their help the job went much faster. After that, they headed home with their heads held high, a glowing article in every paper and magazine throughout Fiore, and a trophy to put in their guildhall.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek:**

 _And then they were interrupted by the other biggest change to the guild – the newest four-person team – walking through the doors of the guild after getting back from their first job._

 _"Hey they're back!" she exclaimed and Levy turned around to see who she meant._

 _"Oh cool! I hope it went well for them."_

 **(extra brownie points for anyone who can accurately guess who the new team will be) ;D**


	48. Chapter 48

**Author's Note:**

Hello! We reached the review quota so here's the Wednesday update!

As always, HUGE thanks to all my WONDERFUL reviewers. Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: mikeczajk12, Donthedarkdragon26, The Age of Awesomeness, Firefly9917, quidditchChick6, Anna5949, dani-yell10, Leomae2.0, SunnieDayys, sakshishetty3003, Ikityan, valerioux, TheJSmooth, and Daisy73. Equally big hugs and kisses to all my new reviewers: freeminds4all and Mihara. And as promised, a batch of imaginary yummy cookies for everyone who correctly guessed the question at the end of last chapter: 2 Guests, The Age of Awesomeness, Anna5949, freeminds4all, dani-yell10, Leomae2.0, and sakshishetty3003. ;D Great job you guys.

 **IMPORTANT NOTE !**

Now, as I'm sure you'll note (and without giving away too many spoilers) I just wanted to say that, starting this chapter, we are now entering the final arc for this story. So, we're coming to the end folks. *goes and hides to cry in the corner* That said, I'm going to start a poll here on story ideas for the next runners up I'll be writing. I've got several in the works and would like to see which one you all seem most interested in. I've got the side stories for this story, the first one I'd be writing is the Gruvia one since it's the most plotted out. Or I've got two NaLu stories already somewhat plotted out, specifically a story involving Natsu going into heat (which mainly focused on his and Lucy's relationship) or there's one that's about half-way plotted out that involves Lucy having a very dark/hurtful past (lots of triggers and Natsu helping her get over stuff in that one, focusing on trauma and emotions, probably some action and missions too) and lastly another half-way plotted out one that's an AU NaLu story that's called the Princess and the Arsonist...take that how you will. ;D So, I'm open to hearing what everyone would prefer to read next, and at the end of the very last chapter I will announce the winner!

Alright, now that that's over with, on with the show! And stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

One lovely blue-skied day, several weeks after returning home from the Grand Magic Games, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy walked in to the guildhall, before splitting up to go and do their various normal activities. Lucy headed to the bar to visit with Mira, Natsu picked a fight with Gray, and Happy followed Lucy to try and get some fish from the white-haired barmaid.

"Hello Happy! Lucy! What can I get you today?"

"Fish please!" Happy called, and Mira smiled before reaching under the bar and into his fish cooler to retrieve the requested item. Happy grabbed it with both paws and a big grin before zooming off to find Carla.

Lucy watched with a fond smile and then turned back to her friend for a little gossip. "So…have you heard any news from Cana this morning?"

"Not yet…she still hasn't come in."

"Hmm…well that could mean her date with Bacchus went _really_ well." Lucy snickered while wagging her eyebrows a little.

Mira laughed behind her hand. "My goodness Lucy…you certainly have become lewd."

"Ha! Not really. I'm just a lot more comfortable talking about stuff like that these days…but I'm not a pervert. Cana and you still have the corner on that market."

She gasped in mock offense. "I'm nothing of the sort!"

"Oh please. How many times did you and Cana double-team me and talk about sex just to embarrass the snot out of me? I mean sure, Cana is waaaay more explicit, but you did your fair share."

All she got in response was a giggle and shrug from her friend before Mira wandered off to take someone else's order.

Lucy just shook her head and snorted before turning around on her stool so she could watch the guild. It had already been a couple of weeks since they had returned from the Grand Magic Games, and not much had changed. Almost everything had gone back to normal as soon as they returned…aside from a few key differences. For instance, Lucy was about ninety percent sure that Gajeel and Levy had gotten together, but just hadn't made it public yet.

Levy was probably one of her closest girl-friends within the guild, but she still hadn't managed to pull the truth out of her… not that she'd really tried yet. But when she caught sight of Gajeel and Levy coming into the guild together, and the iron dragon slayer was making a motion like he'd just removed his arm from around her shoulders, she couldn't resist. Before Levy could be absorbed by team Shadow Gear, she gestured for her blue-haired friend to join her at the bar, and Levy came over with a curious look in her eye.

"Hey Luce…what's up?"

"Nothing much. I was just waiting for Cana to come in so we can get the scoop on her date with Bacchus."

"Oh right! That was last night! I totally forgot."

"Yep…." She paused to ask for a strawberry milkshake. "Soooo, speaking of…how's it going with Gajeel?"

Levy turned bright red. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Well, you guys are a thing now right?" Lucy commented casually, hoping to catch Levy off-guard.

"A thing?" she repeated, the last word rising in pitch dramatically.

"Yeah. I mean it's obvious you guys are together."

Finally, Levy blew out a deep breath. "Is it really that obvious?" she whispered, deflating a little.

Lucy made sure to keep her triumphant smile hidden. "Uh-huh. To me at least."

"Well shoot. I thought we were doing a good job of keeping a low profile."

"I guess you don't want to make a huge fuss?"

"Yeah…Gajeel's pretty private. He doesn't want anyone messing around in his business and having a bunch of busybodies poking their noses where they don't belong. At least that's how he put it."

"Sounds like him. Looks like he's going the same route as Gray did at first."

"Yeah…" she sighed. "But after this I doubt it'll stay a secret much longer." She glanced at Mira, who was a ways down the bar looking totally innocent, but had probably heard at least some of what they were talking about.

And then they were interrupted by the other biggest change to Fairy Tail – the newest four-person team was just walking through the doors of the guild after getting back from their first job.

"Hey! They're back!" she exclaimed and Levy turned around to see who she meant.

"Oh cool! I hope it went well for them."

Lucy smiled broadly as Yukino spied her and started walking over to where she and Levy were parked at the bar.

After the Grand Magic Games, Sting, Lector, and Rogue had left Sabertooth, for multiple reasons. One of the biggest causes was that the master of Sabertooth had confronted them shortly after the Games had concluded. Not only had they lost – which was apparently normally enough to get them kicked out as it was – but the fact that they were gay had been hinted at. Basically, he had threatened the two and told them that if they really were a gay couple and he found out, they would be kicked from the guild and publicly humiliated. He had planned to keep them, even with their loss, since he wasn't stupid enough to kick out all of his most powerful mages at once – but to stay, they all had to participate in some sort of horrible punishment.

Naturally, Sting, Lector, and Rogue had decided to leave of their own accord, which made complete sense to Lucy. She would have done the same thing if she'd been in their shoes. Besides that, they had already probably been planning to leave so they could be with Yukino, and this was just the perfect excuse.

After that, they had met up with their white-haired girlfriend and the three of them had come to Fairy Tail to ask if they could join a "real" guild… saying that they'd seen how a guild _should_ act by watching them at the Games. Naturally Makarov had been more than happy to accept them…. especially since it meant that Fairy Tail had an unprecedented number of dragon slayers in it. Not to mention dragons.

"Hi Yukino! So how was your first mission for Fairy Tail?" Lucy greeted and smiled as her fellow celestial mage sat herself at the bar with them.

"It went really well. Although they were confused when we showed up, since they thought we were still members of Sabertooth."

"I heard Sorcerer Weekly is planning to interview you guys, so it'll become popular knowledge then." Levy said from the other side of Lucy.

"I would really like that. After what you did for us, taking us in like this, I'm happy to let the world know that we're part of Fairy Tail now."

"Yeah! For sure!" came a new slightly hoarse voice as Sting waltzed over and joined them, closely followed by his shadow of course. That was the first thing Lucy had noticed about the pair, Rogue really took his role as a shadow dragon seriously, since he was basically Sting's shadow…or Yukino's shadow…whichever. Lector was also with them of course and hopped up on a stool next to Sting.

Yukino frowned, looking perturbed. "There was one thing that bothered me though…"

"Oh yeah, we definitely need to talk to the master about this. It was freaky." Lector interjected, making a face.

"What happened?"

"Well…the whole time we were on our mission…I kept getting this feeling, like we were being watched and followed."

"Someone was definitely following us. Their scent was always there, but no matter how much Sting and I tried to track them down-"

"They always gave us the slip! It was damn irritating!" Sting interrupted.

The shadow dragon nodded in agreement. "It _was_ highly disturbing."

"That's not good…do you think it could have been Tartarus?" Lucy murmured, looking towards Levy and getting a worried shrug.

"Tartarus?" Yukino tentatively asked. "You think it was them?"

"Their scent was demonic, so it's very likely." Rogue interjected, which lowered their optimism a few more levels.

"And if they were following you…"

"They could be planning another kidnapping attempt on Yukino…" Sting finished her sentence, his expression dark and worried.

"You're right. This is definitely something Master Makarov needs to know." Levy agreed with their previous statements, and they all nodded.

Coincidentally, the master happened to show up at that exact moment, and Yukino, Sting, Lector, and Rogue all headed towards him to report on the strange occurrence they'd experienced.

Lucy watched them go, and uneasy feeling building in the pit of her stomach. "I just don't like it Levy. If this _**is**_ Tartarus we're dealing with, they're really getting bold. I feel like something bad is going to happen soon."

"Don't worry Lu, I'm sure it'll all work out." Levy replied, but her tone was unsure and didn't do much to ease Lucy's sense of foreboding.

Still, she tried to put on a happy face for her friend's benefit. "Yeah, you're right. We'll be fine… we always are."

Levy smiled, seeming to relax some, and then turned to Mira to order herself a smoothie. While she was distracted, Lucy glanced back towards the four talking to their master. At the serious look on Makarov's face, she knew that she wasn't the only one who was worried about impending trouble.

…

After that, Yukino was put under close protection. She wasn't to go anywhere by herself and had to stay in town near the guild. That meant she couldn't go on any missions outside of Magnolia, so Rogue and Sting had to take turns doing solo missions to help support them.

Just for safety's sake, Lucy was put under the same guidelines, and she was also temporarily moved to Fairy Heights, the dormitory for Fairy Tail. Yukino already shared a two-bedroom suite there with Sting and Rogue – and Lector of course – so she didn't have to move. Of course, Fairy Hills wasn't exactly cheap, which was why Rogue and Sting had to keep taking jobs to pay the bills, but thankfully Lucy was given a room for free since it was strictly a temporary safety precaution. She doubted she would have been able to pay two rents.

Lucy appreciated the reason for it, but she also kind of missed her apartment. From the very start, Lucy had always rented her own place, at first simply because she hadn't known about Fairy Hills. But even after discovering it, she had already been so settled into her apartment that she hadn't wanted to move. She'd been in that same apartment for years, ever since she ran away from home, so moving was definitely unsettling.

Still, at least Natsu was allowed to stay with her, so she couldn't really complain. Apparently the previous dorm mother had been very, very stern about keeping the guys on their side and the girls on their side, without any mingling whatsoever. Ms. Fumio though, an older woman with spiky gray hair and a personality just as tall, didn't seem to care at all if the dormitory inhabitants comingled in their rooms. She ran the place like an apartment building, not a dormitory, and was only truly strict with the underage persons living there.

Despite her misgivings about moving into a new place – temporary though it might be – Lucy settled in quite well. She really liked Ms. Fumio and also enjoyed living so close to her guildmates.

A few nights after moving in, Lucy was lying on her new bed with Happy on her stomach and Amy's flank under her head as she read a new novel she had just picked up. It had been a lark, normally she didn't indulge in straight up romance novels because she had always held a somewhat snobby attitude towards them – thinking the whole genre was smut. But she'd recently been playing with the idea of including romance in her next novel…and wanted an idea of how to go about it. So, she had purchased an interesting looking romance, fantasy, mystery novel. The fact that the main male lead was a dragon had intrigued her for obvious reasons.

The book she had only just finished writing lay untouched in a box that she had brought with her. Being the first novel she had actually managed to complete, she was perhaps a tad bit possessive and protective of it. She'd already made a magical copy and put it in a safety deposit box that she now rented by the month for 2000 jewel – which was a great deal as far as she was concerned. Another copy had gone to Levy, because she had promised to give her one as soon as she finished it.

However…it had not made it to the one place that it really should. No matter how she tried to convince herself to turn it into a publisher, she just hadn't been able to get up the courage quite yet. 'Soon,' she promised herself.

Besides that, she had much bigger things to worry about right now, with Tartarus at large and apparently gearing up for another attack.

So, reading a new novel was a good distraction from her worries as well as inspiration for future novels she may write. She'd already plowed through the first third of the book, soon realizing that it was much better than she had originally anticipated. There were a few clichés, but overall it was actually quite engaging and funnier than she'd thought it would be. The mystery and action kept her intrigued, and the romantic plot was surprisingly just as thrilling.

Being unused to romance novels though, she wasn't entirely prepared for the first love scene or how quickly it appeared, and her eyes widened progressively as the main characters went past kissing and entered into the territory of sexual activities. Her cheeks were a little flushed by the time clothes started coming off, and she was so engrossed in the story that she missed the slight flash of flames and crackle that signaled Natsu's arrival.

Natsu of course instantly smelled a familiar scent on his arrival, and he paused to sniff deeply before turning to see Lucy reading a book. It was very faint, but the smell was unmistakable, and that meant whatever the hell she was reading was actually turning her on a little… which was weird as far as he was concerned.

Intrigued, he quietly stepped to the side of the bed, up close to the headboard, so he could peer over Amy and Lucy's head to get a look at the page. Pink eyebrows shot up as he took in the words she was so busy staring at, and then a smirk curled his lips and he couldn't hold back a loud snort of amusement.

The abrupt sound made her squeak and jump, which startled Amy and woke up Happy. All three turned to look at him with various levels of irritation, though Lucy seemed more surprised and embarrassed that anything.

"Natsu! When did you get here? And why are you back there?! You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry…I just couldn't help but wonder what had you so … interested. So I decided to get a peek."

"I…you! You know I don't like people reading over my shoulder!"

He waved off her protest with a casual flapping motion of his hand. "Yeah, yeah. But seriously…I had no idea you were into books like that."

She flushed and scowled at him.

"Like what?" Happy yawned before she could fuss at him.

She glared at Natsu in a way that clearly said, ' _This is your fault,_ ' before turning to Happy. "It's uh…a love story."

The blue cat's eyes suddenly sparkled with mischief. "OOOOoooh. A loooove story huh? Is it _**that**_ kind of love story? You know…the kind that makes you a pervert for reading them?"

The fact that Happy knew what might be in a romance novel shouldn't exactly surprise her. He was a full-grown tom cat…and he had been raised by a writer and avid reader. Still, it wasn't exactly comfortable to have him say stuff like that, and she frowned.

"Happy!"

He just giggled and puffed out his cheeks. "I guess I'm right! Haha! Lucy's a pervert!"

Natsu snickered along with him, up until Lucy threw the book at him, hitting him squarely in the face. "You! This is your fault!"

He reared back and clapped a hand over his red nose with a playful glare fixed on her. She turned away from him and then grabbed the nearest pillow to throw at Happy, who was still laughing. "And you! Stop calling me a pervert! You have a girlfriend! Grow up!"

He laughed a little more, but blushed too, always happy to have his relationship with Carla brought up. "I do! And she's super pretty too!"

Lucy sighed, relaxing a little as it seemed that the blue pest had been successfully rerouted. "Yes she is. Very pretty."

"Hey Happy, why don't you go see her? Since we're here, you might as well take advantage of it and spend as much time as you can with her, right?" Natsu suggested with a big grin.

It was true, Wendy and Carla also lived in Fairy Heights.

Happy's eyes lit up the way they always did when Carla was brought up. "Aye Sir!" he chirped and headed towards the door. Right as he exited though, he turned back with a smirk. "But I know you just want me to leave so you can do perverted stuff…"

"You! Cat!" Lucy yelled, grabbing her pillow and throwing it at him, only for it to hit the closed door as he shut it smartly behind him.

They could hear his laughter from the other side, and then he loudly sing-songed his way down the hall. "I got kicked out of Lucy and Natsu's room again…I wonder why?"

Lucy growled and was instantly getting off the bed to go and shut him up, snarling, "I'm gonna stuff his mouth with that pillow…"

Amy just laughed and jumped down off the bed. "I guess I'd better be off too then," she snickered, and disappeared in a poof of mist and light.

"Not you too! Gah! I'm surrounded by immature idiots! It's just a romance novel!"

"… ' _he slowly kissed his way down from her neck to her collarbones, pausing to savor the taste, and she moaned, arching into his lips as she begged for more'_ …"

Lucy blanched and then flushed as she heard Natsu read aloud from the book she had just thrown at him. "Natsu! Stop that!"

"Stop what Luce? I'm just reading your book…" Mirth threaded his voice, which was just a tad husky. One pink eyebrow arched as he flipped a couple of pages to get straight into the sex scene. "This is pretty hot actually…"

"It's _romantic_ …they just survived an attack by the mysterious killer they're tracking, and she finished bandaging his wounds, and they've both been holding back, but now…"

"He's going down on her and making her orgasm." Natsu finished her sentence and she completely lost her train of thought.

"Wait, really? Give it back I wanna see!" she eagerly grabbed for the book – scooting to the edge of the bed – and he laughed, handing it back over to her. She quickly flipped back to where she had been, not wanting any more spoilers than she'd already been given.

She was so engrossed that she didn't really register the bed dipping under Natsu's weight, and only realized that he was now sitting behind her and reading over her shoulder again when his breath brushed over the back of her neck. She squeaked when his lips touched her neck, but kept reading, flipping the page.

"Wait a minute, let me finish…" Natsu protested, and she flipped back until he hummed to signal that he was ready.

She slowed her reading pace just a hair to match his, so they could finish at the same time. She jumped a little when his fingers traced her collarbone – matching the action in the story – and then slid down to cup her breast as the main character did so.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh? Oh, just following along." he replied, his tone both lustful and amused.

She laughed quietly and refocused her eyes on the page, deciding to just enjoy the attentions. It wasn't long before both his hands were up under her shirt and he was massaging her chest, pausing to play with her nipples periodically. On the one hand, it made it very easy to match his pace, since she knew exactly where he was on the page based off his actions, but it also made it harder to concentrate on reading at all. When his fingers tweaked one nipple hard to match a nip in the book, she squeaked, and nearly dropped the book.

"Natsu!" she chided, but her voice didn't sound very convincing when it was slightly breathless.

She was so distracted in fact, that he managed to get ahead of her in the story, and she was a little lost for a moment as one hand slid down her belly. "Wait…what're you…"

"Keep up Luce…" he taunted, and the tip of his tail pointed at the sentence he was presumably following. Skipping ahead the few sentences she'd missed, she synced back up with him right as his fingers dipped into her underwear.

In the story, the male lead had just kissed down her body and was now licking at her center, which Natsu replicated with two flattened fingers. Lucy hissed and bucked up into it, her eyes blurring for a moment and making it hard to focus on the words she was supposed to be reading. Understandable, under the circumstances. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up.

When a finger slid inside and his thumb reached up to rub her clit in circles, she was pretty sure she was reaching her limit. A second finger quickly joined the first, in accordance with the story – which formed the backdrop to this whole scene. Even audibly. Instead of the normal verbal vomit that spewed uncontrollably from Natsu, he was mumbling along as he read, not really loudly enough for her to understand all of it, but loud enough to make a constant rumble in her ear. It was actually kind of funny, and she was pretty sure that he wasn't even aware he was reading out loud.

By that point, she'd pretty much given up reading and her eyes were partially closed, focused more on his fingers than the book still held in her hand. That changed though when Natsu suddenly stiffened a little and sputtered, "Wait…what? That's a thing?"

Blinking, she refocused on the page he'd just flipped to, and tried to figure out what could have surprised him. It didn't take long, and she also stared – a little shocked. The male lead had just slid in a third finger…but in a different location to the first two.

"He…um…well…huh. I didn't expect that." Lucy muttered to herself, still somewhat stunned.

Of course she'd known there was sex in this book, but hadn't thought it would get so… kinky. Though, she supposed it shouldn't have surprised her… Levy _had_ said this was one of Erza's favorites. Lucy distinctly remembered a previous conversation about the redhead's taste in books and how they tended to venture into the land of dirty.

Of course, the little surprise made her suddenly pay more attention to the story – which was helped because Natsu's fingers had stilled, apparently busy reading too. Her cheeks burned a little as she read, somewhat embarrassed and even a little grossed out by the notion of butt-stuff. It wasn't like she hadn't been aware it existed. If she logically thought about it, she had to admit that it was actually probably pretty common, but _**she**_ hadn't ever really considered it. It hadn't even occurred to her.

Naturally, the story was unrealistically romanticized, meaning that – even though the main female lead protested at first and called it 'dirty' – there was no mention of what was naturally produced from that area. It was made out to be perfectly clean, which she knew it couldn't possibly be. Just the idea of any contact with feces was the main reason that it grossed out Lucy. No matter how thoroughly you shower, there's always the possibility of something being up there, and that just couldn't be sexy.

However, the more she read, the more she was intrigued. Of course, the scene was obviously prettied up quite a bit, so maybe the pleasure that the female character got from the act was exaggerated. She just couldn't imagine how **that** would be pleasant. Although, if people did it, then she supposed it _had_ to feel good – at least to them – otherwise they wouldn't do it…right?

All of these squirrelly thoughts were interrupted though when Natsu said, "So, wait, it feels good to put something up your butt?"

Blunt as always, and Lucy couldn't quite hold back the surprised and amused snort at his comment. "Um…I dunno. I mean, there's lots of people who do that sort of thing…so, I guess. But it seems kinda gross to me."

"You mean cause it's where ya crap?"

Talk about a turn off…Lucy rolled her eyes and decided to just go with it. The conversation was already happening, so why not?

"Right. _That_. And there might be stuff up there."

"Oh yeah…hadn't thought about that." he mused, and Lucy secretly breathed a sigh of relief that he'd understood what she meant. He could be pretty dense at times and she really hadn't wanted to explain what she meant by her last comment.

After a slightly awkward pause, he suddenly said, "Well, we won't know till we try!"

"What?!" she squawked, shocked.

"Yeah, come on Luce, let's give it a shot!" he said again, and his ring finger slid down.

The movement abruptly reminded her that his fingers were still lodged inside her, and she twitched. Then, when the tip of his third finger pressed against her in the spot they'd just been talking about, she yelped and clenched tight, making him hiss as she squeezed his fingers.

"I don't know about this Natsu…" Lucy protested, blushing bright red for the first time in a very long while. With Natsu's stamina and sex-drive, she'd gotten over any sort of shyness pretty early on in their physical relationship.

"Why not?"

"I already said why!"

"Eh, I'm not worried. If it's dirty, I'll just go wash my hands and be right back."

That made sense, and she _was_ intrigued, so…. after a slight pause to consider it, she finally muttered, "…I guess we could try it."

"Awesome!"

His enthusiasm for trying new things would never cease to amaze or amuse her. However, right now she was too busy wincing as he tried to shove a finger in her ass to be amused. Seconds after agreeing, she was rethinking that decision and had to stop him.

"Ow! That hurts Natsu."

"Oh sorry! What am I doing wrong?"

"I think you need to make it wet."

"Okay."

However, when he went to put that finger inside her vagina, she protested again. "Don't switch from one to the other! That'll probably give me an infection!"

"Oh, uh, okay…so how do you want me to do it?"

"Use your spit I guess?"

"Right." With a nod he withdrew his hand, which made her shudder as he pulled out, waking up some nerves that had temporarily gone to sleep with the strange non-sexy conversation.

Realizing then that they might as well do this properly, she pulled away, saying, "If we're going to do this, let's go ahead and get naked."

"Okay!" he agreed enthusiastically, and they both shed their clothes in record time.

Soon, they were back on the bed and the book had been discarded entirely. Ironically though, they ended up in the same position as had been described, with Natsu's head down at her crotch level and his hand in between her legs. The only difference was that he was watching and not licking. He started with his fingers back inside her v-zone, and she sighed, arching into the familiar pleasant touch.

For a moment she wondered if maybe he'd forgotten the ass thing – he did have a legendarily short attention span, so she wouldn't necessarily be surprised – but she quickly forgot to think at all as his fingers lit on fire. As always, it sent a shot of heat through her, lighting her up like a firecracker from the inside, and she softly moaned at the sensation.

"…Good…you're getting all wet…just a little more. Fuck you're so hot Luce…I love feeling you like this…around my fingers…and the faces and sounds you make are fucking fantastic…love making you feel good…how's this?"

He crooked his fingers up and rubbed up into what she now knew was her g-spot and she gasped, answering his question without words.

It felt so amazingly wonderful that when he pulled his fingers out she whined a little in protest. He chuckled.

"Yeah I know you like that…but we've got other stuff to do."

"Huh?" she mumbled, having forgotten completely about the other stuff from before.

She quickly remembered though when a very wet finger relocated down to her butt, and she jerked, tensing up as he pressed it to her back entrance. The pressure there instantly made her clench, and he stalled out, unable to get past the tightened muscles.

"You're gonna hafta relax Luce…I can't get in when you're all tensed up like this."

"I can't help it." she groaned back, trying her best to relax the muscles down there.

They just wouldn't though, because she was worried. Not only was she concerned about the uncleanliness, but she was also a little worried about it hurting now…especially after the painful experience from before.

He grunted and dipped his head down to suck on her clit, which surprised her so much that she jumped and her pelvic muscles pulsed, clenching with pleasure. Right after though, they relaxed for a second, and he used that to push in. She sucked in a breath, tensing up again for a moment. Thankfully his finger was still very wet, and the moisture helped him to slip in a little more.

It felt really weird. It was kind of like when he put his fingers inside her vagina, the same sort of penetration and fullness…but it was a completely different set of nerves. It actually felt pretty good, and when he wiggled that finger in an attempt to get in further, she squirmed and chirped a little with pleasure.

After a moment, he pulled out and his mouth dipped to his hand, rewetting his finger, and when he returned it was much easier to slide in. She'd relaxed, trying to catch her breath, and he managed to catch her off-guard and push in while her muscles were loose. He only got a little ways though, because her muscles automatically clenched up against the intrusion.

At that point he lost his patience a little and kept pushing, using the extra lube he'd just put on to slide in past her tightened muscles. It stung a little and Lucy gasped, immediately yelping, "Gentle! Go slower!"

"Whoops…sorry." he mumbled, looking a little chagrined and dipped down to give her a few apologetic kisses along her lower lips.

Mumbling into her groin, he then said, "You've gotta relax though, unclench if you can."

Grumbling more protests, she focused on her breathing and tried to relax her muscles. It was tough, but his mouth helped to distract her, although his kisses also made it harder to focus on her breathing. When he started moving his finger, he thankfully followed her request and did it slowly and gently. She couldn't help but clench spastically, however he still managed to slide in and out, and she could slowly feel herself loosening up a bit. Mainly it didn't feel like such a stretch and the stinging slowly eased, to be replaced with pleasure.

Still, she was worried about the state of things down there, and after a moment she breathlessly asked, "Is it…empty?"

His head popped up for a moment so he could give her a grin. "Yep."

She breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed some, which made it a lot easier for him to move his finger, and that subsequently felt even better. Soon his mouth was working magic on her clit and she was squirming under the attention. When he managed to fit a second finger inside, she tensed up again for a moment at the slight sting, and he slowed his movements a bit till she relaxed again. It felt amazing actually, and it wasn't long before she had decided that there was nothing wrong with butt stuff and it was pretty great.

When the fingers of his other hand got involved and worked inside her v-zone while his mouth stayed on her clit, she nearly came off the bed and started making a few louder sounds than she normally would. And then she abruptly had to grab the pillow and slam it over her face to keep her noises from waking the neighbors when his fingers and mouth poured fire into her. She instantly orgasmed, the tight knot in her belly unwinding with a snap so intense that it nearly gave her whiplash. Her thighs clamped down on his head and hands as she bucked and squirmed nearly violently, but he somehow managed to stay put.

When she shuddered to a stop, he popped out from between her thighs and fixed her with a bright excited look. "So, does it feel good?"

She peeled the pillow off her face and cracked open an eye to give him a look as she huffed a weak laugh. "Isn't that obvious?"

He answered with a grin and removed his hands – getting a few more shudders from her – and then slid up her body. At her pointed stare, he rolled his eyes and wiped his fingers on the tissue she handed him. Then his lips were on hers and he was fitting his hips between her still shaky thighs. Fire poured into her mouth as his penis slid into her core. Both sensations made her arch up into him and softly groan into the kiss, swallowing his fire and feeling it settle in her belly and then groin.

As always, her mind went a little blank and she was consumed by the act of making love with him as he set up a fast, hard pace. Apparently trying something new had riled him up – which it always seemed to do – and it wasn't long before he'd gripped her hips and tilted them up into his, finding her most sensitive areas with ease. He pounded into her mercilessly, sending shards of pleasure across her senses, and her thighs clamped down on his hips, bucking up to meet him to the best of her ability. One of her hands ended up tangled in his hair, and then wrapped around one of his horns, while the other hand clamped down on his butt, digging her fingernails in. He growled into the kiss at the small sting.

As for Natsu, he'd had an insanely hot idea while he was fingering her before, and it'd excited him so much he couldn't hold back. His pace was probably just a little too fast for Lucy, so he made sure to hit all her good spots so she'd enjoy it too. It seemed to be working based off the small sounds that she kept making and the way her nails were biting into his ass. Of course, that was a huge turn on and made it even harder to control himself.

It wasn't long before he felt the tension in his belly peak, and a growl erupted from his chest as he snapped his hips tight to hers and froze. Pleasure numbed his brain – not that it'd been functioning all that great before, he always went dumb when having sex. An equally loud sound came from Lucy and she clenched spastically around him as she came too, her orgasm milking his to be twice as long – as always.

As soon as the intense sensations eased up, he rolled over, bringing her with him so she landed straddling his hips. Of course, she was already reaching for that fire extinguishing lacrima she always kept next to the bed, and he clenched his eyes closed as the icy spray hit his skin, grimacing a little at the feeling. It wasn't pleasant, but at least it kept her happy, so he put up with it. Otherwise he had to deal with her getting mad whenever he set fire to the bed, and that could get really annoying after a while. And scary. Mad Lucy could be amazingly terrifying.

He waited till she was done, and then he started up round two by sliding his hand in and pressing his thumb to her clit, letting just a little fire out to get her going again. The way she jumped and squeaked meant that he'd caught her by surprise, and he couldn't help but grin, thinking she was too damn cute for her own good. And then he smirked, thinking back to his awesome idea.

He kept thumbing her clit and slid his other hand up her body to play with her nipples, which immediately got her on board and she started rocking on him. That made it a little harder to focus on his plan, but he still managed to keep it firmly in mind and not get too sidetracked. After a minute of getting her thoroughly aroused again, he stopped and grabbed onto her hips. With a grimace, he lifted her off him, having to force himself to do it. She whined and he nearly lost his resolve, but the thought of what he wanted to do kept him strong.

His dick plopped onto his belly with a wet smack, and he held her in place above it as his tail snaked around her thigh and then up inside her. She made one of her soft little groans and he matched the sound with a much louder one of his own as words spewed from his mouth.

"Fuck!...feels so good Luce…not as good as putting my dick inside…but it still feels great…damn you're wet…it's awesome…makes this super easy…gonna make it nice and slippery…"

As soon as he was done, he slipped his tail out and then propped his dick back up with one hand while guiding her onto it with his other. She looked a little confused about it all, and stuttered something, but he answered her half-assed questions with his thumb back on her clit. A gasp cut off whatever she was saying, and he grinned, loving the look of pure pleasure on her face as her eyes shut and scrunched up a little.

Her eyes flew back open though when the tip of his tail snuck back up between her legs, but this time he was aiming for her ass.

"What are you…ah!"

She figured it out for herself when the wet tip snuck past that tight ring of muscle that he'd loosened up earlier with his fingers.

"I dunno Natsu…" she moaned, but he didn't really think her voice sounded all that upset.

"Relax Luce…it's gonna feel great…if it hurts I'll stop…fuck…you feel amazing…shit you're tight…try and loosen up a bit…"

The tip of his tail was really narrow, so it was easy to fit the point in, and the wetness he'd just scooped up from inside her made it easy to slide in a couple of inches. That was probably about the same width as his fingers, but after that, it was harder to get in. It was even harder for him to take it slow and steady. It felt absolutely mind-blowing…having his dick inside and the tip of his tail too was slowly driving him nuts. His tail wasn't as sensitive as his dick, but it was pretty damn close – especially the tip – and he wanted to shove as much as he could in her…but of course he didn't. That would probably hurt her, and he wanted this to feel as good for her as it was for him.

Meanwhile, Lucy was also losing her mind as he pushed more and more of his tail up into her…making everything feel tighter than usual. She felt insanely full and stretched, but in a good way – though it did sting a bit when he pushed a little too fast. As she'd discovered only a little while ago, there were a bunch of pleasurable nerves in her butt, so it felt amazing as long as he didn't overdo it.

She quickly found herself squirming and bouncing up and down on him and he soon started thrusting up to meet her. When he wiggled his tail, they both moaned, and he immediately started moving it as well. He couldn't really thrust it properly, not while he was so thoroughly distracted, but he did set up a rhythm of ripples that felt insanely good. It was obvious that it felt good for him too, thanks to his explicit narration of everything that went through his head, and his pleasure only ramped hers higher. As always, Lucy loved watching and hearing him and knowing how good he felt while they had sex.

This time she was the first one to cum… with his finger brushing her clit with fire she didn't really have a choice in the matter. As pleasure washed over her, she couldn't keep herself from yelping loudly, and he answered with a roar as her orgasm apparently launched him into his. That made hers restart, and she was sent into another round of pulsating goodness as pleasure seared her senses. She immediately curled into him, her forehead pressing to his shoulder as she shuddered.

Finally, they both collapsed into a heap, and Lucy whimpered as Natsu's tail slithered free. She was a little bit sore after using that part of her body in a new way for the first time, but it had definitely been worth it.

After a long moment of just catching their breath, Natsu mumbled, "We should read more books together."

That startled her into a laugh, which she muffled in his chest.

"Okay…"

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Then Yukino suddenly perked up just a little. "Maybe we could do something about it. To make us feel in control of the situation again."_

 _"Like what?"_

 _"Like…maybe we should do some really intense training or something. It would help to distract us, and if we get stronger, we won't be so scared."_

 _Lucy perked up too at her suggestion. "You know…that's actually a really good idea! Why don't we?"_

* * *

(Note: Yes I know we just did a bunch of training for the GMG... but whatever. These ladies are going to need an outlet for the stress I'm about to put them through, so bear with me.) ;D


	49. Chapter 49

**Author's Note:**

Alrighty! It's Sunday! And you know what that means...a new chapter!

As always, humongous thanks to everyone who reviewed! Big hugs and kisses to all my repeat reviewers: sakshishetty3003, mikeczajk12, valerioux, Anna5949, Donthedarkdragon26, quidditchChick6, TheJSmooth, The Age of Awesomeness, Daisy73, SunnieDayys, illleashya, Firefly9917, Leomae2.0, Mihara, and stranger1999.

Also, someone asked where I wanted people to send in their votes on which story will come next. And the answer is: you can give me your vote in the reviews, or you can PM me. Either way is fine. ;D

Anywho, on with the show! And stay tuned for the sneak peek at the end.

* * *

Aside from all the safety precautions and extra training, things kind of went back to normal – although everyone was certainly more on edge. The missions on the board had finally picked up again in a huge way, and many members of Fairy Tail were kept busy with them. Everyone aside from Lucy and Yukino came and went as usual, taking on all the new jobs that came flooding in, and the guildhall felt like it had gone back to the way it had been before everyone got stuck on Tenrou island.

That, at least, was a bright spot amongst the tension and anxiety over Tartarus.

As for Lucy, the decision to temporarily move into Fairy Heights turned out to be a good one. Only a few days after Yukino complained about being followed on her mission, Lucy started to feel the same sort of prickly sensation just walking around Magnolia with Natsu and Happy. Natsu had also picked up on it of course, and they'd hurried to the guild at top speed, glancing over their shoulders the whole way.

As soon as Lucy had stepped through the guild's front doors, Natsu had torn back out to try and grab whoever had been following them, but an hour later he returned empty-handed and pissed.

That hadn't been the last time either. Off and on for the next couple of weeks she continued to feel like someone was watching her, and she started to experience a stronger and stronger sense of paranoia.

One day, Yukino and Lucy were together getting lunch. They were in a café near the guildhall, so they felt safe enough that it was just the two of them for once… plus Happy and Amy of course. Natsu was planning on joining them shortly, he was just checking on some business in the celestial realm along with Rogue. They had teamed up to do even more recon through celestial channels to try and track down Tartarus once and for all.

"This is so crazy…I hate it." Lucy eventually sighed, putting down her fork and rubbing her forehead.

Happy looked up from his fish, eyebrows scrunched in concern, and he relocated to her lap. Amy sat on her foot and tilted her big fluffy head back to look up at her upside down with big golden eyes. She was currently in her white dog form.

"You mean being on edge all the time?" Yukino asked with a sad smile.

"Yeah. That. I mean, we're literally two minutes from the guildhall, and I still feel like I'm about to jump out of my skin just because Natsu's not here. It's so stupid! I hate feeling so weak and frightened all the time."

"I know. Me too."

There was a long pause as both celestial mages sulked for a moment.

"Do you want some of my fish?" Happy asked, offering his prize up to her with a hopeful look.

She smiled down at him, feeling warm fuzzies at how sweet he was being. For the past few days he had been super comforting.

Then Yukino suddenly perked up just a little. "Maybe we could do something about it. To make us feel in control of the situation again."

"Like what?"

"Like…maybe we should do some really intense training or something. It would help to distract us, and if we get stronger, we won't be so scared."

Lucy perked up too at her suggestion. "You know…that's actually a really good idea! Why don't we?"

"Aye Sir!" Happy chimed in, and they both chuckled.

Naturally, right as they both started to feel a little better about the situation, something had to go wrong.

The front window of the storefront blew in, sending shards of glass everywhere. Everyone screamed and ducked down. Yukino and Lucy both dashed under the table of their booth. Panic flooded Lucy, the culmination of all the anxiety and paranoia that had built up over the past few weeks.

Her eyes met Yukino's, which were just as wide and frightened as hers.

Suddenly a couple of new voices sounded, and they stood out because they were the only calm ones amongst the panicked noises.

"Damn it all Xades…now you've done it. We're just supposed to follow them, you idiot!"

"They're alone! And together! If we can capture them both, we'll be praised and maybe even given our keys back!" The second voice sounded almost desperate. That didn't bode well.

The tense ball in her stomach clenched even tighter, and she squeezed her eyes closed. For a moment, she felt herself shrinking and cowering, until a warm furry paw landed on her leg. She squinted her eyes open and looked down at happy.

"Lucy…why are we hiding?" he asked.

Her mouth opened to answer the obvious question, but she stalled before the first word even left her lips. Why _was_ she hiding? She was a strong, capable, confidant mage. She'd fought fearlessly in the Grand Magic Games less than a month ago! She was a member of Fairy Tail for cripes sake! In any other situation, she would already be confronting the enemies, not cowering under a table.

Suddenly, she was angry. How dare these demons cow her like this?! How dare she let herself be cowed?!

With a growl, she slid out from under the table and stood. "Everyone! Please! Leave this building immediately! And you…" She turned her attention to the two demons standing in the center of the destruction as all the previous patrons of this establishment edged around them and fled.

"How dare you bust in here and scare everyone?!"

Yukino also inched out from under the table and cautiously stood behind her. Amy flanked them both, her form shifting into that of an enormous wolf as she snarled at the two enemies in front of them.

"If we can capture you, all our problems will be solved!" the first demon shrieked at her, wild-eyed and more than a little perturbed in the head.

"All right…. there's no talking to these two…" Lucy muttered and summoned Aries.

"I'm sorry!" she mewled as usual when she poofed into existence in a puff of pink fluff.

"You're fine, Aries. Now, wool ball these two goons!"

"I'll try my best. Wool ball!" A bunch of pink fluff exploded out of her and captured the demon who was so desperate to catch them that he'd apparently gone against orders. The other one, however, managed to sprout wings and fly away.

"Open! Gate of the Scales! Libra! Reverse the balance of that flying demon!" Yukino called, and suddenly the guy was flying down into the ground instead of up into the sky.

Amusingly, Natsu and Rogue appeared right as the demon performed a crash landing directly in front of them, and they both flinched back a little in surprise from seeing someone suddenly slam into the ground inches from their toes.

"What the…what's going on here?!" Natsu barked, his eyes flashing.

"These two demons showed up and tried to 'capture' us. They must be super low-level though, because…well, see for yourselves."

Natsu glanced at the demon currently dozing in a bed of fluffy pink clouds and the one who was trying – and failing – to peel himself up off the ground. A slow grin worked across his face…and it was about as far from pleasant as one could get with that particular facial expression. He cracked his knuckles and a little smoke escaped between his teeth.

"Great job you two… now we've got a couple of prisoners to question. Maybe we'll finally get some answers."

Naturally, they escaped by poofing back to the demonic realm as soon as Lucy and Yukino released them… much to Natsu's disappointment.

…

After that, Lucy was careful not to go anywhere alone. In fact, she stuck close to the guildhall as much as possible. Even though those two had been super easy to deal with, she knew good and well that the next group wouldn't be nearly as low-leveled. It didn't take long for her to be proven right either, the replacements for the last two were much harder to sense.

However, while they stuck closer to the guildhall, Lucy and Yukino also followed through with their plan to make themselves feel better about the situation. They trained their butts off.

Yukino was several steps behind Lucy, so she helped her fellow celestial wizard in some of the more advanced techniques – such as star dresses and the like. Of course, it was all up to Yukino whether she could meld her magic tightly enough with her spirits, so she spent much of their training doing just that. Likewise, Lucy also spent a lot of her time working with the remainder of her spirits to master the star dresses she didn't possess yet.

Surprisingly, each successive star dress seemed to come a little easier and faster. The more she grew accustomed to the process, the better she got at tailoring it to each spirit, but it was still hard work.

As for who she trained with first, she decided the best way to go about it was to go in order of the spirits she had collected, starting with the ones she was most familiar with. So, to that effect, she started with Taurus - who had been her second spirit after Aquarius.

That had been an interesting experience. Naturally, as soon as she summoned him, he'd poofed in with a moo, and then commented, "Hello Miss Luuuucy. Your boooobs are as amazing as ever."

Yukino flushed and looked over from where she'd been training with Libra, and both women shot Taurus an offended look.

Lucy felt a vein tick in her forehead. "Taurus…how many times have I asked you to not talk about my boobs?!"

"Sorry Miss Luuuucy." he lowed, but sounded thoroughly unapologetic.

She just sighed and shook her head before explaining what she had summoned him for. He seemed surprisingly excited by the prospect. "Moooo! Alright! I was wooondering when you'd want to doooo this!"

She couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm and got even more pumped up herself. When he held out his large black-furred hands, she rested her palms in his…a little startled by just how much bigger his hands were than hers. She'd never held hands with Taurus, so it was no wonder that she had never noticed…though it shouldn't have come as a surprise. He was ten feet tall - at _least_ \- and massive in every other way.

Closing her eyes, she focused in on him, the way she had learned to do with Natsu and Aquarius before. It still took almost a week of intense training, but eventually she was able to meld her magic with his. Upon further inspection, she decided that Aquarius had taken extra-long because she'd kept trying to drown Lucy and lacked any sort of patience. Taurus, on the other hand, surprised her with a great deal of patience…probably because he was just happy to be around and look at her boobs the whole time… although, he had to focus too of course.

It probably wouldn't have even taken that long if he had focused more.

Whatever the case, about five days of solid training later, she was finally able to mesh her magic with Taurus's. Unlike Aquarius's cool salty ocean magic, Taurus's was warm…and felt sort of barnyard-y. It was also salty in a way, but it felt more like clean sweat. It also had a sweet scent and feel to it…almost like the sweet notes of hay that cut through a barnyard. It was very earthy and potent, and the thing that had kept throwing her off was the sheer physicality of it.

Eventually though, she felt his magic run through her own veins and fill her muscles with strength that she'd never felt before. As always, the prickly sensation of her clothes changing overtook her, and when she finally looked down and detached her hands from Taurus's, she noted her new outfit with a smile. She now wore black leather pants and a black leather breastplate that almost looked like armor. The sides of her pants were cut and laced with leather all the way up, showing hints of skin, and a pair of kickass boots completed the look. Up top, her tough but surprisingly supple breastplate was held on by a series of complex leather straps crisscrossing over her back. On her arms were a pair of fingerless gloves that went up to mid forearm, and she could already tell by the feel of them that the backs and knuckles were reinforced. Reaching up, she felt along her head to get an idea of what her hair was doing and felt thick braids along her scalp and only a few long twisting strands coming down to frame her face. The braids made two big spirals around two horns that protruded from the sides of her head. On her hip was a long black leather bullwhip that looked positively deadly.

After acquiring Taurus's star dress, she spent the rest of the day training with it, and quickly discovered that this particular form granted her enormous strength, lending a lot of power to her attacks. He stuck around too to give her tips – and also probably to ogle her in tight leather pants. They sparred a bit, getting hoots and hollers from the onlookers and other people training that day.

By that point, everyone was aware that Yukino and Lucy spent almost all day every day training in the large grassy space between the dorms and guildhall. People began to join them, and every day there was a different assortment of people training their powers.

Anyone who was actively training made sure to keep some distance between them and everyone else so a random magic attack wouldn't hurt anyone. But people who were taking a break, or were just passing by, often parked under the trees and watched them train. Whenever someone made a breakthrough in their training and produced something new or exciting, often the others would stop their own training to come take a look.

So Lucy wasn't surprised when her new star dress gathered a crowd, and she received a lot of praise and encouragement from her fellow guildmates. They also shouted out challenges like, "Hey, pick up that big rock over there!" and "Holy shit! That's awesome! Now how far can you throw it?!"

Eventually the crowd dispersed, leaving her semi-alone once again with Taurus, though Yukino stayed closer than the others so she could call for advice whenever she needed it. They both trained longer than anyone else but were never alone. When people started thinning out, Natsu, Sting, and Rogue all joined them, along with Happy and Lector. The two Exceeds usually visited, ate fish and hamburgers or hotdogs – Lector's favorite foods – and had even gotten into the habit of playing cards and other games for fun.

Meanwhile, sometimes Sting, Rogue, and Natsu actually joined in on the training, but other times they stayed off to the side doing their own thing. Sting had recently joined in on the investigation efforts, though he mostly worked with Laxus on the Earthland side of things while Natsu and Rogue took the celestial angle. They often spent their time talking about Tartarus while Lucy and Yukino were training. They had made some progress in trying to track down Tartarus, and everything they'd found out said that the demon guild was becoming more and more active. It was only a matter of time before they made a move.

Soon enough, only a week or so after Lucy had acquired Taurus's star dress, what they had all been waiting for happened…but not at all in the way they'd been expecting.

One day, an urgent message arrived from the capitol, begging them to send powerful mages that were good at tracking. The news was shocking. Someone had kidnapped the princess of Fiore and had taken out the entire guard while doing so, leaving them helpless and unable to try and get her back. So they'd sent out an SOS to all the most powerful guilds in the nation.

Of course Fairy Tail sent a very strong, FAST, and capable team to answer the summons. Sting and Rogue went by air, Laxus by lightning, and Jellal used Meteor. That would probably get them to the capitol in mere minutes.

Long after they'd left though, the taste of anxiety and perturbation soured the air.

The news was extremely concerning, especially to Lucy and Yukino. The fact that Tartarus had gone after the princess meant they were getting a lot bolder.

All Lucy could do was just hope and pray that they got the princess back and maybe took out some of Tartarus or finally acquired some sort of clue about their hideout. Worrying wasn't going to help anyone though, so she just threw herself back into training to distract herself and make it feel like she was doing something productive at least.

By that point, she'd settled into a rigorous training regimen, and started every day by shifting through her acquired star dresses and working with them for about thirty minutes each as a warm up. Then she would spend the rest of the day training with whatever spirit she was currently working with.

The day that Jellal, Rogue, Sting, and Laxus zipped over to the capitol was no different. She tromped out to the field and started by summoning Natsu's star dress. The dragon himself was parked under a nearby tree eating lunch, and watched with Happy and Amy who were also eating lunch. She ignored them as she summoned fire to her hands and practiced throwing it out in front of her in the form of fire balls, jets of flame, and then her whip. After doing that for a while, she then practiced covering her body with it.

As soon as she was finished with fire, she switched to water and practiced using Aquarius's star dress for a while. Using the mermaid's powers, she could summon water from nowhere – which was handy in case she actually did need to summon Aquarius and didn't have any water nearby. The water she created could be used as a shield or as an attack, but she still hadn't quite mastered it yet. After the Grand Magic Games, she had especially put extra effort into mastering Aquarius's technics… mainly because she'd been chewed out for failing to use them properly in the games. Personally, she thought she had done pretty well for herself, but her mermaid spirit apparently disagreed and thought she could do better.

By this point, Natsu had finished his lunch and was raring to go, so he bounded over with a big grin and faced off with her.

"Alright! Come at me Luce! See if you can put me out!"

This had also become part of their training regime. He would light himself on fire, and she would use Aquarius's water to try and douse his flames. So far it had been impossible, but she'd at least managed to force a good flicker or two out of him and lowered his brilliance quite a bit. Today was no exception, she was able to get his flames sort of low, but eventually gave up when the steam became so thick that it made breathing difficult.

After that, she switched to Taurus's star dress and Natsu's grin broadened.

Along with various weight training, she also used him as a punching bag…in a way. She'd been training a lot lately with Capricorn as well in hand-to-hand combat, and she put it to use with the extra strength granted by Taurus's star dress in a devastating combo. Undoubtedly, when she eventually mastered Capricorn's star dress, it would give her mastery over hand-to-hand combat, but she wanted to be at least proficient at it without having to rely on a star dress. It seemed like a handy skill to have.

And so, when she shifted into the leather gear, Natsu cracked his knuckles and lowered his stance, ready to spar. He always went relatively easy on her, but she still generally went home with a nice set of bruises every day from it.

She wasted no time in going at him, aiming for what would be a devastating punch to his midsection. Of course he just turned his abs into hard red scales and skidded back a little ways, dirt piling up around his heels. She kept up her momentum though, taking the necessary steps to follow and went for an uppercut that would probably knock a normal person's head clean off. This time, Natsu dodged, leaning back just enough so her fist swung past his face, and then he turned his body into her space. His hand grabbed onto her extended arm and he twisted, using his grip and her own momentum to throw her forwards. She might have been able to stagger and regain her balance, if he hadn't followed it up with a kick to her backside that splayed her out flat.

Taurus's star dress also increased her durability somewhat, definitely not to the extent that Natsu's did, but at least it allowed her to take the blow without her butt breaking – which it probably would have without the extra help. Natsu was definitely using more force than he ever did the few times they sparred with her in normal clothing. It still hurt though, and she grunted as her face nearly met the ground.

Thankfully, she still managed to roll out of the way before he could mount her, because being pinned by Natsu was not fun. Not only did she have to deal with Happy – and others – teasing from the side-lines, but also the dragon tended to get a little … clingy. He seemed to take way too much enjoyment from wrestling on the ground, and she almost always ended up feeling something hard poking her by the end of it all. Personally, she didn't really see sparring as a turn-on, except in very rare circumstances.

Scrambling back to her feet, she managed to put a little distance between them and then spun to face him again. He was standing there with a shit-eating grin that made her scowl at him… but her reaction only made him flash more fang at her.

"Saucy dragon…" she muttered, half irritated and half amused.

He obviously heard her because he bit his lip in a way that he knew she liked, and she felt her scowl deepen at the obvious tease. Ignoring the slight tightening of her gut, she went at him again, this time aiming a kick at his hip. His tail whipped out and blocked her, grabbing onto her. Instead of panicking though, she used that grip to her advantage. She ducked, planted one hand on the ground, and swept her other leg around from behind to knock his feet out from under him. When he lost his balance, she used her first leg – which he was still holding – to propel him backwards from up top. It was a scissor technique that she'd just learned from Cancer and she was delighted it had worked.

With a slight yelp, he flipped over backwards as she caught him by surprise, and she was able to yank her leg free of his tail. While he was tumbling back, she tucked her feet under her and pounced, landing on him right after he hit the ground. Her hands instantly pinned his wrists to the dirt and held tight as he immediately started struggling to free himself. She managed to keep him down long enough that she felt accomplished, and then his tail got involved and she was toast.

She soon found herself flat on her back, pinned under his weight as he turned the tables and sat on her. His tail immobilized her legs and then they commenced fighting for dominance over her hands. He kept trying to grab her, and she kept smacking him away, and also trying to knock him off her. Of course he won in the end – even Taurus's star dress wasn't enough to overcome the strength of a dragon.

"Alright…I give…" she finally huffed and went limp under him.

He chuckled and gave her wrists a squeeze. "So how're you gonna get me off then?"

Her lips twitched at the – probably unintentional – double entendre. Lowering her voice till he was the only person who could possibly hear her, she said, "Do you want to have sex tonight?"

It was a perfect response, it answered both of his questions at once. That would certainly 'get him off,' and it would also prompt him to release her… thanks to the underlying threat that he wouldn't be getting any if he didn't.

His eyes widened and his cheeks flushed just a tad. Then he grinned and his eyes darkened. "Hell yeah." he said as he hopped off with no resistance.

She chuckled as she stood and then brushed herself off. Unfortunately her good mood didn't last very long, since she suddenly remembered why she was out here…. to distract herself from a harsh reality that terrified her. Her brain was being a real brat, and whispered, " _Tartarus_ ," into her ear when she least expected it, spiking her in the butt with anxiety.

As the fresh shiver of tension wound down her spine, she refocused on just training, knowing that if she could get into it her mind would shut up, like it had when she was sparring with Natsu.

After brushing herself off, she switched into her next acquired star dress. Cancer's.

It consisted of a short sleeveless red dress with a turtle neck. The mid-thigh length skirt was cut into two loin-cloth-like flaps, one in front and one in back, but luckily she wore black leggings underneath. The red knee-high boots lent a more dangerous vibe to the ensemble, as did the twin blades that were strapped onto her back. They were super cool swords, their shape mimicked the two sides of a pair of shears. In this form, her hair was held back from her face in a complex lattice work composed of strips of hair crisscrossing across her head. Each intersection of hair was held by a red bead, and at the bottom of the lattice – at about ear-height – each section terminated in a braid, while the rest of her jaw-length hair was loose underneath.

This form granted her mastery over twin swords and extreme speed, which was super nice, and she used that extra speed in another sparring session with Natsu – though of course she didn't use her swords. For the rest of her warm-up, she wore herself out sparring with Natsu, and then exhausted herself further by working with Virgo to try and gain her star dress. By the end of the day, she was completely wiped of any and all energy.

That was probably why Natsu found her asleep in the tub much later that night.

She only stirred when Natsu reached into the water and pulled her out to carry her to bed, but she didn't wake fully until he lit his arms – and her – on fire to flash dry her. The intense heat was impossible to sleep through, and with a small grunt she peeled her blurry eyes open.

"Oh…hey Natsu…what's going on?"

"You fell asleep in the tub…weirdo."

"I…did?" She squinted, trying to think back to what she had been doing right before falling asleep. Sure enough, all she could remember was taking a bath.

"Yep. Looks like you overdid it a bit today with the training."

"Probably…" she sighed, and then grunted as Natsu dropped her onto their bed.

After he'd crawled in and was on his side facing her, he asked, "So, why'd you do it?"

"You know why. I was trying to distract myself."

He huffed, and there was a pause as he thought about it for a minute. "Why're you so upset about it? I mean, sure, she's the princess and all…but you don't know her personally. Besides, I'm sure we'll get her back. Gramps sent some of our strongest."

"Yeah I know…it's just…she's a celestial mage too. She's not a personal friend, but celestial mages are so rare that when you find out about another one you can't help but relate to them. And we're being picked off one by one. Angel got stolen out of prison, and even the Duke of Waterloo disappeared a month ago. Not that I really care about him…but still. It's just getting worse and worse. Next thing you know, it'll be Yukino or me. They've already come after us twice."

"You know I'll never let them take you…or Yukino." Natsu snorted, his hand reaching out to lightly pet her cheek.

"Well they managed to kidnap the princess of Fiore…and that couldn't have been easy."

"She didn't have a dragon as her mate though."

"True." She couldn't help but smile a little at him. After a long pause, she added. "Hey Natsu?"

He grunted.

"Do you know how much I love you?"

His lips twitched into a happy and loving smile. "If it's even half of how much I love you, then anyone who tries to separate us must have a death wish."

At that, she couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah…I would Lucy Kick them all the way to the celestial realm and back."

He squinted one eye as if he was imagining it and then started laughing. "That would make a real funny scene. You suddenly appearing and all the spirits watching as you brought some guy in, kicked him around the milky road and then kicked him back out."

She pictured it too and couldn't help but laugh as well. "That would be funny."

After their chuckles died down, comfortable silence settled over them as Natsu cuddled up to her, draping one arm over her middle and twining his tail around her legs.

After a long moment, he cuddled closer and started pressing burning kisses across her collarbones. With a groan she shifted, peering down at him. Apparently he felt her gaze, because his black eyes flicked up to meet hers and he sent her a lovingly mischievous look.

"What're you doing?" she eventually mumbled when his fingers danced over her belly and pushed her shirt up.

"Collecting my payment for letting you up earlier."

It took her a moment to remember her promise of sex if he'd get off her, and she groaned. "Oh come on…seriously? Natsu…I'm _tiiiired_." she whined, not really up to it at the moment.

"I know. But you don't have to do a thing…just lay there and let me take care of it. You said you wanted a distraction right?"

She pouted, but it didn't take long before she was going along with it. His fiery lips didn't really leave her much room to even want to protest, and soon she was sighing in pleasure. He took his time, sweeping heated palms over almost every part of her. He spent extra time focusing on her most sensitive areas of course, but the long gentle strokes across her sides, back, and hips were almost soothing…like a massage. Once she was a puddle of melted Lucy-goo, he spent more time reenergizing her with burning kisses that stole her breath but left her wanting more.

It wasn't long before he was on top of her, cradling her head between his palms as he essentially made love to her mouth with his…using his tongue almost like a dick and stroking it in and out in a rhythm that soon had her squirming. Along with his tongue came his fire in waves, as if giving her rhythmic drinks of it. His body lay pressed close to hers, and the sensation of skin on skin was intoxicating. Her legs hooked around his thighs, spreading her for him, and soon he took advantage, though not in the way she expected. His tail snaked around their legs, and then between, before sliding up into her. It wasn't the appendage she'd anticipated, but she was equally happy to have it. He curled the tip so it was blunt and wouldn't stab her cervix – a problem they'd run into on their first try of this and never repeated after – and he soon had it moving in and out in the same rhythm as his tongue.

It was a slow and deliberate slide, one that was both relaxing and mind-numbingly arousing, and she was washed away by it. Her thoughts quieted and the only things left were the sensations of Natsu in and around her, and all she wanted was to never stop. Ever so slowly, he increased the speed and intensity just a bit, keeping both mouth and lower parts in perfect sync.

She wasn't particularly surprised when his tail eventually slipped out and slid lower, prodding at her second entrance as he shifted his hips and lined up his penis in place of his tail. He slid both in at the same time, though he did so much slower with his tail, since he had to stretch her gently as he went. It was a common occurrence for them now though, so she had some good practice with relaxing that set of muscles. He managed to get in as much as he ever did before the moisture on it dried and went to waste. That appendage stayed mostly motionless, aside from some very gentle ripples, while he slowly started rocking his hips, still matching the leisurely pace of his tongue.

Everything was so slow and gentle and almost soothing, that if it were any other situation she probably would have been lulled to sleep…. but in this case, it just amounted to an incredibly slow buildup of tension in her lowest belly. Soon she was moaning softly into his kiss, almost matching his pacing with the sounds. He gradually increased his speed and the strength of his thrusts, but kept them long. Each time, he slid all the way in until he hit her deepest parts and then pulled almost all the way out. That long slide meant that even when he started speeding up, it was still slower than usual…and very deliberate.

It was certainly different from his normal love-making, but she was thoroughly enjoying it, especially in her tired state. Warm flutters accosted her, knowing that he was slowing himself down for her sake, and she greatly appreciated the effort he took to make sure she enjoyed herself too. Eventually though he did speed up a little when he started getting closer, and they both tumbled towards release.

The pressure snapped for them both at the same time, his sending her into hers, and they both arched and gasped together, the kiss finally broken as fire poured down her throat in a torrential roar.

After, they stayed locked together for a long moment, both utterly relaxed and most of Natsu's weight propped on his elbows. He peppered her face and neck with kisses, returning to her lips every so often for another long kiss. Lucy was so tired, satisfied, and blissful that she ended up falling asleep before he even pulled out.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _With an unimpressed look, Laxus shut them up and finished quickly. "Anyways, point is, we fought them, beat them, and brought the princess back to the capitol. Apparently she's gonna be put in a safehouse somewhere." Then he turned to eyeball Lucy and Yukino. "Even better though, she gave us this as a reward for saving her. Said it was a demon key, but she couldn't use it. So maybe it'll get us closer to finding Tartarus…if one of you two can figure out how to use it."_

 _He handed over the orange and black key and they all took a look at it._

* * *

Bonus points for anyone who can guess who the demon is. I'll give you a hint, he's a combination of two characters who have a very close connection. One has tails, the other has whiskers. ;D


	50. Chapter 50

**Author's Note:**

Hey all! It's Wednesday! ;D Time for an update!

As always, HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Donthedarkdragon26, Anna5949, valerioux, stranger1999, quidditchChick6, mikeczajk12, illleashya, SunnieDayys, The Age of Awesomeness, Firefly9917, Leomae2.0, Serika2001, and TheJSmooth. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: WyrmTheFrostDragonSwordsman, agirl0ntheinternet, and MUI SSB4 Brandon.

Extra kudos to: Donthedarkdragon26, WyrmTheFrostDragonSwordsman, Guest, agirl0ntheinternet, The Age of Awesomeness, Leomae2.0, Guest, and Serika2001 for guessing who the demon was going to be. ;D

Alrighty, get ready! This one's kicking everything off. ;D Be sure to stay till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter.

* * *

The next several days were filled with much the same as Lucy waited on pins and needles for news from their team. She continued to distract herself by throwing everything she had into mind-numbing training, and every night Natsu thoroughly distracted her with sex. Poor Happy ended up spending the next few nights with Carla and Wendy, but he didn't seem to mind too much.

The exhausting routine lasted until the away team finally returned triumphant.

Naturally, everyone swarmed them as soon as they stepped through the guild doors and Laxus immediately fended them off by saying, "Yeah, yeah, we got her back… now all of you buzz off. I'm getting claustrophobic with this many idiots around me."

As they headed towards the master's office though, Jellal said, "You should probably join us Lucy…Yukino. There's something you'll want to see."

Glancing at each other, both women shared a worried look and then followed the away team into Makarov's office to hear what happened. As soon as everyone was assembled, Laxus launched into the story.

"Well…we got there before anyone else of course, and thankfully the scent hadn't completely gone to shit."

"It was easy enough to track. They stunk." Sting agreed, and then Rogue added, "They were definitely demons, based off the scent."

"It took a while to track them though, because they were quick and tried to cover their trail…though not as much as they would've if they'd known who they were dealing with. But we caught up with them quick enough…." Laxus paused to huff and roll his eyes. "'Course, it goes without saying that we got into a physical altercation as soon as we found them."

At that point, Sting interjected. "They were tough too. There was one bitch who could fuck you up however she wanted with just a touch and another that exploded everything to bits."

"Not to mention the one who possessed all those tentacles." Rogue said deadpan, though it was obvious he was remembering the situation with distaste.

"Oh yeah, he was a pain in the butt too."

With an unimpressed look, Laxus shut them up and finished quickly. "Anyways, point is, we fought them, beat them, and brought the princess back to the capitol. Apparently she's gonna be put in a safehouse somewhere." Then he turned to eyeball Lucy and Yukino. "Even better though, she gave us this as a reward for saving her. Said it was a demon key, but she couldn't use it. So maybe it'll get us closer to finding Tartarus…if one of you two can figure out how to use it."

He handed over the orange and black key and they all took a look at it.

Right away, Lucy could tell it wasn't a celestial key. It looked very similar, but the feel of it was totally different. Celestial keys gave off a kind of warmth and light that she'd be able to feel anywhere…but this one felt like the exact opposite – like a black hole that was sucking in the light somehow, though not necessarily in an evil way. It was an entirely different sort of magic than she was used to, but she didn't sense any malevolence from it.

However, based on the amount of power the artifact was giving off, she could tell it would take about as much magic to use as any of her mythic keys…which meant _**a lot**_. She was certainly intrigued and wanted to give it a shot, but since Sting and Rogue had been the ones to find it she figured it was only fair to give it to Yukino.

"Would you like to try first?" she asked, gesturing at the key now placed on Makarov's desk.

Yukino gulped and gingerly reached her hand out to take up the key. As soon as her fingers hit it, she winced a little.

From her experience touching various mythic keys, Lucy knew that this one probably felt much different from a normal key. Normal gold and silver celestial keys generally all felt slightly warm and hummed in your hand, but mythic celestial keys each had their own nature. Natsu's burned fire hot, though it no longer hurt her. Amy's, which was white with red detailing and had a stylized paw as the head, strangely felt like it weighed absolutely nothing – probably something to do with the wolves' ability to fly. Bartolomeo's, a see-through emerald green key in the shape of a turtle shell/shield, always felt as if it was pressing against her hand, like an expanding barrier that exuded a constant outward force.

She had no idea what a normal demonic key would feel like, much less what a mythic leveled one would feel like. Judging by Yukino's slightly pained expression, it likely wasn't entirely pleasant.

"We should probably do this outside. Mythic keys let off a lot of power when you open their gates." Lucy suggested, and everyone seemed to agree.

While Laxus and Jellal went off about their own business, Lucy, Yukino, Sting, and Rogue all headed outside, meeting up with Natsu, Happy, and Lector on the way out. They immediately headed for the large grassy area that Lucy and Yukino had recently been calling their training grounds and situated themselves in an empty spot that would give them plenty of space to work.

With a deep breath, Yukino held out the key and shouted, "Open Gate of…the Demon!"

They didn't actually know whose gate this belonged to, so that would just have to do. Immediately, clear orange glowy stuff oozed from the key – almost looking like a fiery aura, or possibly a very solid glowing gas, or even really clear lava. It was hard to tell, but whatever it was must not have been fun to touch, because Yukino yelped and immediately dropped the key.

The glowing reddish-orange goo/gas/stuff kept bubbling out of it for a moment, reaching around like it was trying to find something to latch onto and then slowly subsided back into the key.

"Wha-what was that!?" Yukino whisper-shrieked, stumbling back a little.

"Probably the magic of whoever this key belongs to." Lucy answered with the only thing she could think of. "Did it hurt?"

"Yeah! It felt like it was…acid or something! It burned and stung and…like it was sucking magic out while shoving magic in!"

"Well…do you want to try again, or should I give it a go?" Lucy asked, not really enthused by Yukino's review, but determined nonetheless that if Yukino wasn't going to do it, she would. They couldn't pass up this opportunity.

"I…I'll try again." Yukino stuttered, shuddering and looking like she wanted nothing more than to run screaming from the thing. With cringing fingers she picked up the key once again, and then – after a shaky but deep breath – she tried to open the gate again.

The same thing happened. Orange stuff bubbled out of the key and curled around Yukino's hand. This time though, she hung on, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes as she forced more and more magic power into the key. She began to glow, and the orange aura – or whatever it was – slowly crawled up her arm as the key also began to glow brighter and brighter.

However, soon she seemed to reach a plateau, and after straining at it for several more minutes, she collapsed and dropped the key while cradling her arm. It didn't look injured necessarily, but it _was_ bright red. Rogue and Sting immediately flanked her and offered sympathy in the form of gentle pats – Rogue – and wrapping an arm around her – Sting.

"You okay?" Lector asked worriedly, coming up to put his paw on her knee.

"It just hurts a lot." she said while grimacing and rubbing her arm. "And no matter how much magic I pour into it, it's like it hits a wall. As if my magic isn't the right kind or something."

"That's probably because you're using celestial magic to summon a demon." Rogue suggested.

She grimaced. "True."

"Why don't you try to match your magic to the demon's? Like the meditation training I showed you." Lucy suggested.

"I suppose…it's worth a shot." the white-haired celestial mage mumbled unenthusiastically.

Cringing a little, Yukino picked up the troublesome key again and grimaced. Taking a deep breath, she tried again, and then again and again, each time reaching some sort of stale mate that she was unable to surmount. With every attempt she also became increasingly perturbed, until it nearly looked like she might cry or have a panic attack. By the end of it, she'd obviously run through most of her magic reserves and had reached a breaking point… which apparently gave her violent tendencies and caused her to throw the magical item away from her twice as far as the first time.

"I just can't do it! The magic is too dark…I can't match it."

Rogue's wince was barely noticeable, but Lucy still took note of it, since she knew what might have caused him to have the reaction.

From the various conversations she'd had with Yukino, Lucy knew that the other celestial wizard had been unable to fully accept Rogue's magic… which meant that she couldn't use his star dress and he couldn't refill her magic reserves the way Natsu did for Lucy. One time, she'd even confessed that Rogue's magic actually terrified her… that it felt dark and dangerous and like it might take her over somehow. Apparently there was more to it than that, but Yukino had refused to get into the specifics and had only hinted at there being another reason for her to be so wary of Rogue's magic.

Based off her level of perturbation, it seemed likely that trying to use this key was also triggering those anxieties… which made sense, considering that they were messing around with demon magic.

At the very least, it was obvious that she'd reached her limit, so Lucy offered, "You want me to give it a shot for a while?"

The white-haired mage nodded, so Lucy walked over to where the key had landed and picked it up out of the grass. Instantly, she felt the sensation that had been making Yukino grimace so much, and she felt her own face twist up into a similar expression. Looking over, she met the other celestial mage's eyes and grinned commiseratingly.

"Yeah…that really isn't fun is it?"

Yukino just shook her head 'no.'

It was as she'd said. The key burned and stung, with a bite sort of like acid. It reminded her of when she had first taken up Natsu's key and he'd been biting at the bit to get out, making his key red hot. So, she could only assume that whoever was locked up behind this gate must really want out.

Looking down at the key in her palm, which was quickly turning red, she gave it a stern glare and infused a little of her magic into it. "Now look here…I don't know who you are, but if you want me to summon you, tone down the magic you're leaking. It's making it very unpleasant to hold your key. I plan to let you out either way, but it might take longer if I have to take breaks to put ice on my hands!"

She heard Yukino whispering, "Does it even work like that?" but she ignored the doubtful murmurs from Sting and Rogue. Communication through keys was not uncommon, she'd done it before – though not with a spirit she hadn't made a contract with. Still, it was worth a shot.

Something of what she said must have made a difference, because after a brief flare of power, the magic in the key died down to a much more tolerable level, and Lucy sighed with relief.

"Alright, good to know you're willing to work with me. Let's do this. Open! Gate of the Demon!"

Instantly, she felt her magic being drained at an alarming rate, but she'd been expecting that, so it didn't perturb her. It was about the same sort of drain she had experienced from her other three mythic keys, and it was tolerable with Natsu helping her out. What was a little less tolerable was the bubbling orange stuff that oozed out of the key to coat her hand and wrist before working its way up her arm. It stung, but not unbearably so, and she just gritted her teeth and endured the unpleasant sensation as it crawled all the way up to her shoulder.

Her magic was pouring out of her, lighting her up like a Christmas tree and practically whipping up a hurricane that nearly toppled her over. She instantly hit the wall that Yukino had and realized how big a problem this was going to be. It felt like her magic was clashing against the demon's, and the two forces were essentially repelling each other.

The only thing she could do was to try and alter her own magic to the best of her ability… a feat easier said than done. She had to focus hard on this new magic, and it took her a long while to discern that hers was not only brighter but was also vibrating at a much higher frequency. And yes, she also picked up on a feeling utterly different from what she was used to, the demonic energy that Yukino apperently feared so much. It did have a very dangerous sort of feeling to it…like it might suck you in and never let you go.

She just hoped that she only had to lower her magic…deepen it somehow to a different resonance to open this new type of gate, because she wasn't sure she could match that other part.

Of course, altering her magic from light to dark was nothing to sneeze at, but thankfully it seemed that this particular being was elementally aligned to both wind and fire, which she had experience with already. Perhaps that was what Yukino had lacked, a middle ground of some sort. If only she had already accepted Rogue's magic, then she might have been able to use it to connect to this spirit.

Without even asking, Amy popped up, feeling her need, and channeled some of her magic into Lucy alongside Natsu's. Suddenly Lucy could feel the gate responding to her. It took a lot more pressure and convincing, but eventually – after several hours of hard work – the gate finally opened with a blast of shadows, smoke, and more of that burning orange stuff. And abruptly, they were face to face with a demon.

She blinked, and then blinked again…. and then wondered if there had been some sort of mistake. At first glance, this guy didn't seem dangerous or demonic in the least. In fact, he reminded her of Natsu and the first time she'd seen the infamous dragon.

The only suggestion that he wasn't human was the red-orange furry tail poking out behind him and the matching furry ears that poked out of his red-orange messy mop of hair. He also seemed to possess permanent thick black eyeliner around his brilliant blue eyes and had lines on his cheeks almost like tattooed whiskers. A brief bottom-to-top scan showed that he wore orange sneakers, black jeans, and an orange jacket with black sleeves. Aside from the slightly Halloween-themed color-scheme, there was nothing demonic-looking about him. In fact, he looked downright friendly as he ambled over and shot them all a brilliant smile that showed off some fangs.

"Hey! Man am I glad you summoned me out of that hell hole. Asphodel has really gone downhill ever since that stupid doofus took over everything. It's been such a huge pain in the butt."

Once again, she was left blinking at him in shock. "Um…hi." she finally managed weakly. "My name is Lucy, and this is Natsu, a celestial dragon. Over there are my friends, Yukino – another celestial mage like me – and those two are Sting and Rogue. Sting is a dragon slayer and Rogue is another celestial dragon. And those two are Happy and Lector."

"Wow…lots of you." he said with an acknowledging bob of his head that came across as friendly and easy-going. Then he turned to eyeball Natsu. "And I guess you're Lucy's too? Like me?"

"Yep." Natsu flashed the newcomer an easy grin, which soothed Lucy significantly. She wasn't sensing any sort of tension from her dragon, and he was usually pretty good at picking up on threats.

"So, what's your name?" she asked the new guy and he flushed a little.

"Oh right, sorry! My bad. I'm Kurama."

"Nice to meet you Kurama…" she started to say, but was almost interrupted by Sting.

"So, uh, what exactly are you?"

Thankfully Kurama didn't seem offended by the question. If anything, he started to laugh. "Oh yeah, you'd probably want to know that. I'm the nine-tail fox."

"THE nine-tail? Seriously? You're a freakin' mythic like me then!" Natsu exclaimed, his eyes widening. Rogue seemed to have a similar surprised response, though he remained silent.

"Well…yeah, I'm one of the demon kings. It's just a title though!" he hurried to say, as if he'd run into trouble with that before. "It doesn't mean I'm actually a king or anything. It's like…a queen bee! Or…shit. Whatever, you get the picture. It's just the same as the celestials calling themselves mythics."

"Ah. I see. So you're one of the demon kings then?" Rogue asked.

"Yep."

"And how the hell did you avoid being snapped up by Acnologia?" Natsu asked, making the newcomer's head turn back around to look at him.

"Well…technically all the kings and queens were sorta given a choice in the matter, but…well, even that's changing these days. He's been putting on more and more pressure for us to all hand over our keys…and everyone's pretty pissed at him to be honest. If he didn't already have control of 80 percent of our world's people and their keys, there would've been a revolt by now. But as it is…he's got a slave army."

"And…how did you manage to escape?" Natsu repeated, emphasizing his words a little.

"Oh, right. Well…dumb luck to be honest." Kurama laughed, rubbing his neck and looking a little awkward. "I sorta lost my key here in Earthland last time I visited, and since I didn't have my key, Acnologia couldn't control me or steal it or pressure me into giving it to him. I didn't HAVE it, so he couldn't do anything. Not that he really seemed to want to…I'm generally thought of as the local screw up, so he wasn't overly interested in collecting me."

"Wow…ouch."

"Yeah well…that kinda came in handy didn't it?" he laughed.

"Okay guys! This is not an interrogation! I just summoned the poor guy, let him at least acclimate a little." Lucy barked, starting to get a little fed up with everyone diving on top of Kurama.

"It's no problem. Actually, it's kind of nice. I don't get a lot of people talking to me where I'm from. Most people don't like a troublemaker like me." Kurama said with another grin and shrugged.

"Well, don't go playing any pranks on me, and we'll be fine." Lucy said with narrowed eyes. "Speaking of, how exactly does this work? I'm familiar with celestial spirits, not demons. Do you also do contracts?"

"Careful Luce…demon contracts can be dangerous." Natsu inserted quickly.

Kurama nodded at him. "True. With a celestial spirit, your contract is more based on faith from what I understand. You just talk about when they're willing to show up, what they're willing to do for you, and then you promise not to overstep those boundaries. Obviously there are celestial mages who abuse their spirits…and it tends to go unpunished. With a demon though, our contracts are BINDING." he emphasized 'binding' with raised eyebrows and a raised voice. "If you break a contract with one of us, you pay a price, and some demons aren't even up front about that. You're lucky you got me."

"So… what sort of price?"

"It depends. The demon decides that. Basically, it goes pretty much the same as a celestial contract. You tell me what you want from me, and I either agree to it or not. Then, in return, I tell you what my conditions are, and if I'm nice, I tell you what the consequence is for breaking my terms. Often, demons want something in return for their services. Once we are agreed, we sign it in blood."

Lucy let out a low whistle. "Yep…that sounds a bit more serious."

"So." Kurama shot her a sharp-toothed grin that showed an edge. "What is it you want from me?"

Lucy sighed and thought about it. The big reason they had summoned him was because they hoped he might have information on Tartarus they could exploit. However…that simply wasn't how Lucy operated. She held her spirits sacred, as family. Even though this man was a different sort of spirit, she'd still summoned him, and so she still considered him as someone she was planning to make a contract with…. but after what he just said, she didn't even know if that sort of contract was even possible. Still, she had to try.

Lifting her eyes, she met his square on. "To be completely honest with you, there _is_ a main motive for summoning you. As you know, Tartarus is threatening not only celestial mages, but the celestial realm itself. We wish to stop them and hoped you might have information that you'd be willing to share."

Kurama's eyes narrowed in a calculating manner. "So…you want me to help you take down Tartarus…"

"Yes, that was the impetus. However, as for me, I might have a specific motive for summoning a spirit at a particular time, but I don't consider my spirits as means to an end. My contracts are all very simple. Of course they let me know if there are times they don't want me to summon them, and I respect that. And, I do summon them to assist me, whether it be in battle or for other reasons. However, I fight alongside my spirits and consider them family. They're not tools to me, and it's a lifelong commitment on my part. I intend to be with all my spirits for the rest of my life, as family, partners, friends, comrades…etc."

As she spoke, Kurama's previously calculating and shrewd eyes gradually began to widen with shock and disbelief. Those eyes flashed down to the heavy-laden keyring at her belt and seemed to only widen further. "So, what exactly are you saying?"

"I'm giving you that option, and I'll leave it entirely up to you. If you don't want a contract like what I just described, then I won't force you of course. We can simply have a short working relationship, if you're willing to assist us in taking down Tartarus. Or, if you don't want to take on Tartarus, I understand. We can arrange something else, or I can close your gate, whichever you prefer."

For a long moment he stared at her and she could see the gears in his head working hard on what she had offered. "Let me just get this straight. The contract that you're offering is…that I become part of your family?"

She nodded. "Yes. And if you don't want to assist me, then I'll simply let you sit on my keyring and never summon you. I have a spirit who didn't want to be summoned at all at first. He simply showed up whenever he felt like it."

"Huh. Interesting. I've never been offered a contract like that before. I'll have to think about it."

"Take your time."

At that point, Sting, Rogue, Lector, and Yukino all decided to go and preoccupy themselves with something else for the time being, leaving it to Lucy.

For a long while they sat in silence as Kurama considered everything, then finally he stirred. "Alright. I've decided. I'd like to take you up on your offer."

Lucy beamed at him. "Wonderful! So, what are your terms? Are there any days that you don't want to be summoned? And are there any situations that you don't want to assist me with?"

"If I said never and all, what would you say, just out of curiosity?" The glitter in his eyes was playful now rather than calculating, and it seemed he had almost switched personalities on her.

"Like I said before, I would be fine with that."

He chuckled. "I'm just teasing you. Let's see…terms, terms, terms…I can't think of any specific times that I wouldn't want to be summoned at the moment. If any come up in the future, can I let you know then?"

"Sure."

"Cool. Then otherwise…I'm happy to assist you with whatever. Maybe nothing gross or personal though, so don't ask me to dispose of your dirty tampons or anything like that."

Natsu busted out laughing at the same time that Lucy gagged and started choking in shock and surprise. "Wh-what the…who the hell would do something like that?!"

"Oh you'd be surprised what sorts of things a person would ask a demon to do. But yeah…aside from that, I'm fine with whatever. I'm also happy to help bring down Tartarus. As I said before, Acnologia is an ass and needs to get what's coming to him. Now, as for my terms, and what I get out of this contract…" Suddenly he grew serious again and leaned forwards to fix her with an intense stare.

"…yes?"

"I want you to honor what you just told me. You said you felt as if your spirits are your friends, family, comrades, and partners, right?"

"Yes…"

"I want that. I want you to consider me family, friend, etc. I've never had that, and I want to see what it's like. I also want to be given free reign of this world, so don't lock my gate. It's much nicer here at the moment than Asphodel."

"Alright. I accept your terms, but only if you promise not to get up to too much trouble. You said you're a troublemaker right? I'm assuming pranks maybe, or something like that?"

He grinned. "Yeah, pranks and … stuff like that."

"Well, don't do anything that could cause harm to anyone okay? None of us are immortal, so if you blow up a building here you'd be killing people. I would still treat you like a friend or family, but if a friend or family of mine did something like that…they'd get a tongue lashing at least."

"Yeah…I used to get kicked in the head for sneaking into her room at night when she first summoned me." Natsu commented.

"No kidding? Well, a little friendly violence is fine with me. But I might kick back, just so you know. We don't have that stupid rule that prevents celestial spirits from hurting their masters, even if it's in self-defense."

"Duly noted."

At that point Natsu inserted again and asked, "And what's your punishment? If you feel Lucy isn't fulfilling her part of the bargain, what will you do to her?"

He grew serious again for a moment. "I would probably be very angry and may get violent. Buildings might get destroyed, and people might get hurt. I generally tell people that I would destroy whatever item is most dear to them, but in this case I might be a bit more upset."

That seemed fair to Lucy in all honesty. So she agreed.

After signing the contract he produced, they spent some time just chatting and eventually Lucy had to say, "You know Kurama…you're not exactly what I imagined from a demon."

"You mean I'm not evil and trying to suck out your soul or something?" he laughed, bright blue eyes twinkling merrily at her.

"Yeah. For instance." she chuckled back.

He leaned back and got comfortable. "Well, like you humans and celestial spirits, us demons can be both good and evil. We tend to be a whole lot more influenceable though, so we're swayed a heck of a lot by our key wielder. Demons are typically considered 'dark' so we're often summoned by dark mages. I'm sure you could see how that would be a bad circle to get into."

"Yeah, the more demons summoned by dark mages would produce more dark demons which would increase the notion that demons are dark, etc. etc."

"Exactly. But you have a very pure heart, so I'm able to be good. It's nice…" he grinned at them.

"Well good. I'm happy that you're pleased about having me as your mage."

As she continued to get to know Kurama, she began to feel that it was incredibly lucky they had gotten him. Something told her that he would help a great deal in the coming conflict…and beyond that, she already could tell that he would fit in really well with her current circle of friends and family.

…

Unfortunately, he didn't have any idea where Tartarus's hideout in Earthland might be. He told them all about what was happening in Asphodel, but most of it was information they already knew through Rogue's father. Everyone was disappointed of course, but Lucy never regretted summoning or making a contract with him.

He quickly became part of the team, joining them as often as Amy did – nearly every day – and he also joined Rogue, Sting, Natsu, and Laxus in the hunt for Tartarus. Periodically he went back to the demon realm and conducted secret operations to try and gather more information, though of course Lucy told him not to do anything reckless or endanger himself. Unfortunately, much of the information they were seeking was well protected, but at least he was able to keep them abreast of the situation.

So they had some warning at least. It was only a few days after Kurama told them that it seemed Tartarus was gearing up to make another big move when it happened.

Yukino was outside, training in the grassy area like always, and Lucy had just been with her but was currently inside taking a bathroom break. She was gone all of maybe ten minutes, but when she returned it was to a completely different scene from the one she just left. The training field had been mostly full, but now it was completely barren…aside from a smattering of paper dolls fluttering across the ground. The ground itself looked torn up, and blood spattered the grass and dirt here and there…suggesting some sort of brief and apparently destructive struggle.

Despite the seemingly peaceful scene, Lucy felt every hair on her body stand at attention and goosebumps erupted across her skin. Something very bad had just happened… she could practically taste it in the air.

That notion was very quickly confirmed when Kurama, Amy, and Natsu all summoned to her simultaneously, and Rogue and Sting came barreling out of the guildhall at top speed. "Yukino! What happened? Her magic energy just suddenly cut off!"

"I…I don't know. We were all training, and I went inside for just a moment, but when I came back…everyone was gone."

"Not gone." Everyone's attention turned to Kurama as he spoke, and they watched as he lifted up one of the paper dolls. "These are all your guildmates, they've been cursed by one of the demons in Tartarus."

"What?!" Everyone screamed, and a mad scramble to quickly collect all the dolls immediately commenced. A head count was taken after they'd all been gathered, and thankfully it seemed that everyone was accounted for – so to speak. Aside from Yukino.

"Is there any way to turn them back?" Erza asked, having come upon the scene as they all ran around grabbing guildmates-turned-paper-dolls.

"I think so…just give me about an hour, I think I know someone who can help." Kurama said and then poofed back to Asphodel.

Meanwhile, Rogue had been hunting around in some random bushes, and then suddenly ran back to them with a familiar key ring in his hand. Everyone stared at Yukino's keys, which she'd apparently managed to protect by tossing into the foliage, and a single thought ran through all of their minds. Yukino had been taken.

"Can you follow their scents?"

All the dragons, dragon slayers, and wolves present shook their heads. "I tried, this is where her scent led me. But then it just disappears up into the sky…I think they flew away.

"Can't you feel her location through your bond?"

He shook his head. "It feels like she's dropped off the map…maybe she's been turned into one of those paper dolls too?"

"Well, if that's the case they'll probably take the spell off her whenever they do… whatever they plan to do with her. Hopefully, then you can feel her and lead us to her."

Rogue nodded solemnly.

And then everyone kicked into high gear. They ran inside to tell everyone what happened and Master Makarov immediately took control of the situation and arranged a strategy meeting on the spot.

"Assuming her magic signature comes back online, we'll all follow Rogue to find her, and hopefully we'll be led right to Tartarus's hideout. So this isn't only a rescue mission, although that _**is**_ priority number one. But our second mission is to take down Tartarus once and for all!" There were shouts of agreement throughout the guild.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek:**

 _In fact, things seemed to be going well for them…. which was precisely why the sudden and devastating attack took them by surprise._

 _Ice shot up the hallway, coating the walls, ceiling, and floor until every little nook and crevasse was frozen solid. It moved so fast that there was no dodging it. Lucy was only allowed a brief moment of recognition, and then the sensation of being frozen solid took over her body._


	51. Chapter 51

**Author's Note:**

Alrighty! It's Sunday! And you know that means...an update! Yay!

As always, huge snuggly thanks to all my fantastic amazing reviewers! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Mihara, SunnieDayys, Anna5949, agirl0ntheinternet, illleashya, Firefly9917, valerioux, TheJSmooth, Donthedarkdragon26, quidditchChick6, Leomae2.0, aliciacevbra, mikeczajk12, sakshishetty3003, Lady La-sara, Lunar13, FluffyWuffy, stranger1999, and Lucinda. Equally big hugs and thanks to my newest reviewers: roxasduelwielder and Lexi1994.

Anywho...I know you're all eager to get to the good stuff, so let's get right to it shall we? ;D Be sure to stay till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter.

* * *

"I believe we should make a three-pronged strategy…"

Master Makarov was interrupted by a golden flash and the appearance of a familiar ghost-like figure. "I agree."

Everyone erupted into shocked exclamations at seeing the first master, and then the comments quickly switched to, "Alright! Now there's no way we can lose!" – "Yeah, with the Fairy Tactician on our side, we'll be invincible!" – "I heard she was responsible for ending the Second Trade War…" – and the like.

With her assistance, a sound battle plan emerged. They'd be splitting up into three groups, each with their own objective. The first two groups would be composed of two infiltration teams, kept small to reduce any attention they might garner. Rogue would lead the rescue team to find Yukino, while the neutralization team would go after the infamous demon gate and destroy it to prevent another Acnologia Incident. Hopefully that would put a stop to everything. Meanwhile, the third group would be massive, essentially everyone else from the guild, and they would commence a full-on frontal attack to hopefully distract the enemy.

Luckily, while they were in the midst of planning, Rogue suddenly went rigid and announced that he could feel Yukino again, which meant they were a-go for Operation Defeat Tartarus.

As soon as the game plan was solid, everyone geared up with their most powerful weapons, armor, and any backup gear they may need. Plus, Erza zipped into town to procure a large pride of ridable cats…the fastest transportation they could rent. Sting and Lector complained though, saying that they and Rogue could fly much faster, and the three of them should just fly ahead of everyone else. Master Makarov nixed that idea real quick though, saying that if they flew ahead, there was a chance they could be targeted by the enemy and shot down. Not to mention that it might expose their presence before they were ready for it… or that Sting, Lector, and Rogue might get overly excited and leave the rest of them behind.

After a brief, but fierce argument, Sting and Lector conceded defeat and went back to getting their shit together for the upcoming battle.

Thankfully, during the hour that it took everyone to get ready, Kurama reappeared with a potion that could hopefully reverse the curse on their paper guildmates. Most of the guild paused their preparations and gathered around as he trickled a single drop onto one of the papers.

Levy popped into being with a loud crack, looking exceptionally confused and disoriented, but luckily unharmed. "Wh-what the heck happened?"

She – and everyone else who was quickly de-papered – was updated, and most decided to also participate in the upcoming fight. That slowed them down just a hair because they had to wait for the newcomers to get ready, but it was worth the delay for the extra numbers.

Of course, Sting and Lector were still chomping at the bit with impatience, and as soon as they were done with their own preparations they ran around urging everyone else to hurry up – which got them snapped at more than once. Rogue was obviously also urgent, but he managed to restrain himself…. though everyone gave him a wide berth thanks to his blazing red eyes.

As soon as everyone was ready and mounted, Rogue, Lector, and Sting's cat launched out of the guildhall like a bat out of hell, forcing them all to hustle to keep up with them. Lucy didn't blame them though, she also felt desperate to get to Yukino as soon as possible. For all they knew, at this exact moment the enemy could be torturing her to death.

As they all hurried after Rogue, Lucy scooted her cat up to the front so she could ask him, "Can you tell what's happening to her? Is she okay?"

For a long moment Rogue remained silent, then said in a low voice, "She's in a lot of pain and her magic is slowly decreasing, as if it's being pulled from her. I don't know how long she'll last."

Sting's knuckles went even whiter where he clamped onto Rogue's shirt for balance, but he stayed quiet for once. Meanwhile, Lector just looked like his tough exterior was about to be broken by tears.

…

Even with their frantic pace, it took several hours to reach Tartarus's base, and when they finally did reach it, they didn't even know at first. They were in the middle of a large stretch of completely uninhabited land, so nobody expected Rogue to screech to a halt…. which caused a massive traffic jam as all the cats piled into each other.

"What the hell man?" Gray spat from somewhere in the middle of the pile as he removed some of Juvia's hair from his mouth.

"We just passed it." Rogue muttered back, but barely even seemed to be paying attention to the ice mage. He was too busy looking all around, and then his eyes turned up. "There! It's above us!"

"What? Where?!"

Everyone looked up, but it took them a long time before they were able to perceive the barely noticeable square of moving sky.

"No wonder we couldn't find the damn thing…it's fucking floating way up in the sky." Sting growled.

Laxus grunted in agreement. "Yeah, not to mention it's obviously got some serious camouflage magic on the bottom. I can barely see it."

"It's a good thing it's moving. If you look close enough, you can see the magic warping at the edges just a little as it adjusts to the changing background." Mira pointed out.

"Lucky? That's another reason we couldn't find it! How the hell could we have pinned it down if it's not stationary?!"

"Calm yourself, we don't have time to argue right now." Rogue scolded Sting, which caused a few brows to raise in surprise.

"Besides, you've gotta appreciate the irony. As Big Sis pointed out, that movement is allowing us to see it. So one of their biggest defenses is also one of their biggest weaknesses."

"Intriguing observation, Lisanna." Erza complimented, and the shape-shifting mage grinned back at her as they untangled themselves from their saddles – which had locked together in the cat-wreck.

"Alright…so, now what? How do we get up there?"

"Easy!"

Natsu answered Gajeel's question by popping out his wings, which knocked Laxus and Freed off their cat – which was still trying to get its reins untangled from Lucy and Natsu's cat's tail. The lightning dragon slayer hadn't been able to stop in time and rear-ended them rather hard in the pile-up.

"You flame-assed idiot! Watch where you whip those things out!" Laxus barked from his place on the ground. The only reason he hadn't retaliated yet was obviously because Freed had somehow managed to land on top of him …despite having sat behind him in the saddle.

"Gee-hee…" Gajeel snickered at the downed blond and greenette for a moment, then turned his attention back to Natsu. "Nice shot, but are ya stupid? Panther Lily could take me, but what about them?"

For once, the iron dragon slayer seemed to be thinking about someone other than himself… though it wasn't really surprising that his thumb had jerked in Levy's direction when he gestured.

Meanwhile, Natsu was starting to get a little smoky after being called dumb twice, but Lucy grabbed a handful of his scarf and cut off any and all snarky comments he might have made with a sharp yank.

"Who here can fly?" she asked, trying to solve their current problem before her mate could create a whole new one.

Amy then popped up next to her and offered, "Anyone who can't, we can carry." Several of her pack poofed into existence to elucidate.

There were various announcements of flight capability, but then Cana cut in with a far superior idea. "We want to go in under the radar right? They'll see us coming a mile away if we all fly up there like that. Instead, I can take you all up with me in a card deck. I'll just need someone to fly me."

"I'm your man." Lector said, walking right up to her and popping his wings out. "I'll get you up there in a flash."

Cana had been training right alongside the rest of them, and she now had some super cool new tricks tucked up her sleeves…like the ability to 'capture' someone in a card. Though, in this case, it would also let her transport an entire army into battle undetected. Lucy had known about her new ability but hadn't ever considered the possible applications of it outside of immobilizing an opponent, so she was duly impressed.

So were the rest of them – aside from a few key people who loudly proclaimed their preference to going in under their own power. Both Sting and Natsu were shut up soundly by Rogue and Lucy, and within just a few minutes Cana had snapped them all up.

As soon as the last person was sucked into a card, Lector grabbed Cana and took off, knowing that time was of the essence. The card mage was under an enormous strain keeping all the spells active simultaneously without losing anyone. The red Exceed went into hyperdrive right off the bat, shooting through the sky like a shimmery comet, and within just a few seconds they were cresting the edge of what turned out to be a huge floating platform… on top of which sat a massive castle.

The instant they landed, she released the spells and everyone poured out into one giant Fairy Tail heap. Simultaneously, Cana collapsed, utterly spent.

The only downside to this plan was that it used up all of Cana's magic supply in one fell swoop, essentially making her a sitting duck.

"Good job." Laxus complimented as he shook off Levy, Mira, and Freed, who had all landed on top of him. Then, he quickly turned and located Frosch. "Hey, how bout you take her back down?"

"Fro agrees." the little green Exceed said amicably, and whisked a very limp and sweaty Cana back down to the ground and safety. Fro obviously wasn't a fighter anyways, so it was a win-win situation.

Quite frankly, that had been a stroke of brilliance on Laxus's part, because mere seconds later, swarms of demons poured out of the mammoth evil-looking castle currently staring them down.

They all scrambled to their feet and untangled themselves, and then immediately split into their three designated groups. While the majority of the guild rushed forwards and engaged the oncoming demons in combat, Erza, Jellal, Mira, Laxus, Gray, and Juvia started edging around one side of the castle to look for an unobserved entry point. At the same time, Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Kurama, Amy, Lector, Rogue, and Sting circled around to the other side for the same purpose and thankfully soon found a convenient window to penetrate.

Thankfully, it seemed to work, and they were able to enter the castle without any resistance.

Then it was just a matter of sneaking through the halls undetected as they followed Rogue on their rescue mission. At one point they ran into a group of demons apparently heading outside, but Lucy quickly summoned Sagittarius and shot them all down before they could so much as squeak. A few other instances like that occurred, but they always somehow managed to subdue the demons before attracting too much attention. Even Natsu was being sneaky and used long tongues of fire that zipped around like snakes, punching only his intended targets without blowing up the whole hallway.

When Lucy asked why he was always 'accidentally' destroying stuff when he had so much unexpected control over his flames, he just shrugged and said, "Well yeah…but it's not nearly as fun."

With a growl, she decided to let it slide for now, but tucked that little tidbit of knowledge away for a later date when she could really give him a tongue lashing. Now certainly wasn't the time, a fact which was repeatedly driven into her as they kept running into adversaries and taking them out. Still, they didn't run into nearly as much opposition as Lucy expected, thanks to Rogue.

By far, his was the most useful ability for an infiltration mission. Using his shadow form, he snuck along the walls and ceiling to check around corners and took any demons out before they knew what hit them. The only ones Lucy and the rest had to deal with were the few who came from behind – usually out of a doorway or from an adjacent hallway they'd passed.

In fact, things seemed to be going well for them…. which was precisely why the sudden and devastating attack took them by surprise.

Ice shot up the hallway, coating the walls, ceiling, and floor until every little nook and crevasse was frozen solid. It moved so fast that there was no dodging it. Lucy was only allowed a brief moment of recognition, and then the sensation of being frozen solid took over her body. She couldn't move, couldn't even breathe, and for a long moment she panicked as the burning cold overtook her entire frame. It was both numbness and agony, like the worst brain freeze in the world magnified by a thousand and spread throughout her whole body. Plus, asphyxiating wasn't particularly fun either.

Thankfully, she blacked out soon after she was frozen.

Unfortunately, Lucy wasn't the only one to fall victim to the demon known as Zero. Their entire team had succumbed. Normally, the celestial spirits could have just poofed back to the celestial realm, but even they were captured since the ice was apparently cursed.

Soon, a dark-haired man strode up the hallway in a casual manner, his hands tucked into his pockets. He stopped in front of the destruction he had wrought and pursed his lips. Quickly following behind was a lower-ranked demon, one of short stature and a slightly rotund figure with a single eye and spindly limbs. He huffed and puffed as he finally came to a halt behind the ice demon.

"King Zero! You did it! You captured the celestial mage! And look, you even captured six of her spirits!"

"No…only two actually. That one belongs to the blond male. That one is a demon. And those two are…something else entirely."

"Oh…but still! It is a wonderful thing! Three celestial spirits, and two celestial mages! What a haul!"

He just hummed and continued to inspect the iced enemies.

After a long pause, the single-eyed demon hesitantly continued. "Shall I transport them all to the extraction chambers?"

"No. Only these two. The rest will be sealed back in their realms."

"B-but Sir! Surely we can suck the magic out of the celestial spirits too! It would be a waste not to-"

The higher ranked demon turned to fix the other with a look that nearly froze his very soul. "It's too dangerous, they pose too great a threat. The celestial magic from these two and their keys is more than enough to complete the gate. There's no reason to endanger the operation by keeping these powerful spirits around. Look! The fire dragon is already melting my ice, it won't be long before they break free."

Turning back to his handywork, he swiftly made what looked like magic circles appear in front of all the spirits and demon – layering three in front of the fire dragon, since he was partially immune to the ice demon's magic.

Of course, they weren't 'magic circles'…. they were curses.

Instantly, the ice around the spirits cracked and then fell away to expose the empty insides, displaying that the once frozen occupants had disappeared, sent back to their worlds and sealed with a curse that froze their gates shut.

"Alright." he grunted while dusting off his hands, and then circled around behind the two humanoids left. Unfreezing only their hands, he snapped magic canceling handcuffs around their wrists, and then turned them completely loose. They both fell to the ground comatose, like two sacks of potatoes.

"They'll wake up soon enough." he said to the lower leveled demon.

"Indeed…and what about the little ones?" the squat demon asked, pointing at the little blue and red cats currently passed out.

Zero looked at them dismissively. "Leave them."

Then he bent and grabbed the keys off Lucy's belt and Yukino's keys from around Sting's neck.

Tossing the magic laden metal to the smaller demon, he said almost contemptuously, "Go on Arboss, take them to the extraction chamber."

Arboss grinned. "On it!" His face scrunched up, as if he was constipated, and then he suddenly began to expand, his short squat body becoming tall and muscular. Once he was about the size of Taurus, he quit, grinned again – showing off several rows of sharp pointy teeth – and bent over to sling both unconscious mages over his shoulders.

He took off at a leisurely jog towards the extraction chamber.

…

Meanwhile, two dragons and one wolf were very, very upset. They had been unceremoniously thrown into the celestial realm with a sensation that was very close to motion sickness. As soon as Natsu had completely upchucked his lunch, he threw himself at his gate, planning to go back out there and kick that icy bastard's ass.

But instead of crashing through his gate, he crashed _into_ it and came to a dead standstill with his face plastered against the thing.

"What the fuck?!" he cursed, punching at the magical golden gate that he'd summoned to his courtyard. It didn't budge, not even a little.

A familiar enraged roar from another part of the celestial realm suggested that Rogue was having the same problem and had lost his marbles. That was precisely what they needed…a feral dragon on their hands. _Great_.

Angry howls also stung his ears and he winced at the racket everyone was making. Other spirits were starting to take notice and make a fuss, and he could already tell this was going to become a big problem.

Taking a deep breath and shoving his pride down, he bellowed, "BARTOLOMEO! GET OUT THERE AND HELP HER!"

Of course naturally, that was the universe's cue to have Lucy's magic get cut off. She didn't drop off the map, Natsu could still feel her through their mate bond, but it was as if something had sealed her magic away completely, making it unreachable. It was like looking at her through a glass door that he couldn't break.

"I CAN'T!" Bart yelled back from across the realm, already saying what Natsu knew.

"I KNOW DUMBASS!" he responded angrily, and pounded even harder on his gate.

Right now, he was the only one who could summon to her with their mate bond, and he was damned determined to make his idiot gate work. When pounding didn't do it, he pressed his hands to it, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with it. When a deep cold slowly started to bite into his palms and the stench of a curse filled his nose, he knew he was in deep shit.

That jackass had frozen his gate shut with cursed ice, and now he had to melt the stuff – which could take a while. Keeping up a constant stream of curses, he immediately set to work and transformed into his full dragon form – which took up all the space in his courtyard. Widening his stance, he took aim and started roaring at his golden gate, putting every ounce of magic he possessed into his breath and burning it with every fiber of his soul.

Even with that, he could tell it was going to take a while, but hopefully by using this much fire it would cut the time down dramatically.

The heat coming from him increased dramatically when he felt her wake up, and he widened their bond as much as he could to try and at least be there with her. He couldn't send her any magic with his gate locked up tight like this, but he could at least lend her his spirit, and could only hope she felt him through their connection.

" _Hang in there Luce…I'm coming for you."_

It wasn't long before other spirits started showing up…Leo…Aquarius…Bartolomeo…Amy…every single one of Lucy's spirits came to visit him, and soon they all started lending him magic, which was the only thing they could do to help. With her magic offline, none of them could summon to her.

His fire leveled up again as he started to feel pain from her…all sorts of emotional and physical pain that made him want to rip something to absolute pieces. He swore to himself that when he got out of here he would _**destroy**_ whoever was hurting her…and in the most painful way he could. Hell, he would take apart that whole castle piece by piece.

All her other spirits felt it too, even though it was muted since her magic was sealed. However, it soon became apparent what exactly was going down when Virgo suddenly shuddered and yelled, sounding like she was in a lot of pain.

Everyone – aside from Natsu, who continued focusing on the gate – turned to her with questions of, "What's wrong?"

"My key…it was just…destroyed somehow." she gasped, and then winced. "No, not destroyed exactly, but something just happened to it…and…my link with Lucy…it's been severed."

Suddenly things became crystal clear.

"They're making a celestial gate too…and they'll be coming here directly." Aquarius intoned solemnly.

The fastest person there – Amy – immediately ran off to tell the king so countermeasures could be made. They'd be ready for the bastards when they came, that was for damn sure.

Meanwhile, Natsu just put every ounce of attention and power he could into getting his gate open, and willed Lucy to stay strong.

…

A little while earlier, Lucy woke to the sound of Sting's yells, shouts, cusses, and growls.

Her shoulders ached, and the tension and pain in her wrists told her she was dangling from a pair of cuffs. With a groan, she opened her eyes and blinked, peering around at her surroundings and instantly kicking her brain into high gear.

As her ears had already told her, Sting was next to her, chained up in the same way, and he was in the process of throwing an absolute fit. It didn't take her long to figure out why.

Horror hit her hard and low, nearly taking her breath as she watched the strange squat creature drop Rogue's key into a small cauldron heavily encrusted with all sorts of magic symbols, circles, and enchantments. He used tongs to do so, because the cauldron was hanging inside a furnace, which burned so hot that when he opened the door to the thing, it felt like the first few layers of her skin had burned and flaked off in an instant.

The demon wasn't exactly quiet about it either. Throughout the entire process he gloated and jeered loudly at Sting's distress.

"Awwww….so sorry. Did that celestial spirit mean something to you? Was he your _widdle fwend_ … Ahahaha! Well, too bad! You're never gonna see him again, not after I melt down his key to make our gate! Without that, you won't ever be able to summon him again!" he started laughing maniacally as Sting continued to yell and scream. "Even better! That key's going to help us get into the celestial realm! You two brought us the means to destroy all your friends in the stellar world!"

Of course, half of the things he was saying weren't technically correct. Sting could still summon Rogue just fine with his mate mark… it was Yukino who had really been hurt by that. But of course Sting loved Yukino, so seeing her keys destroyed still hurt him.

By now, Sting was absolutely furious, but he also had tears streaming down his face, and Lucy couldn't bear to see the agonizing guilt and sorrow in his eyes. She didn't have time for it either, because Yukino's keyring only had one key left on it. She had to get free somehow, otherwise she knew her keys were next in the fire, and she would rather die than let that happen.

Looking up, she eyeballed the cuffs holding her wrists. They looked thick and sturdy and utterly unbreakable. Still, she refused to be intimidated and immediately began plotting her escape. Forcing herself to stay calm and logical, she instantly started with the best option available to her and attempted to summon Taurus's star dress to give her the strength to break the chains binding her. However, her magic refused to come… which meant that the cuffs must have magic dampening powers.

Her gut lurched and she felt a cold sweat break out over her body. Despite her best efforts to stay calm enough to think, panic started taking over her senses, making her feel numb and cold – and for a terrifying moment the world warped as if she was about to pass out. Her heart was hammering in her ears, making it difficult to concentrate on anything other than the panic rushing through her, and her rapidly quickening breath made the situation even more difficult to handle.

Lucy desperately grappled with herself, trying not to drown in the sudden wave of paralyzing dread and fear. The world was caving in on her, making everything dark and frigid and hopeless…until suddenly a little warm spark ignited deep inside.

Without seeing him or feeling his magic, she knew it was Natsu, instantly and without question. He was obviously stuck, otherwise he would be here, but wherever he was, he was sending her a piece of _himself_ somehow…widening that bond that had been forged between them when she took his mate mark. As her shoulder begin to burn with comforting heat, she managed to shake off the debilitating panic, and refocused on the task at hand. Even without her magic, she had to get free…no matter the cost.

Once again, she eyeballed the cuffs, judging the size of them and the space around her wrists. The only option left that she could see was to squeeze her hands through the cuffs. It was doable, though it would undoubtedly leave her hands broken… but that was a small price to pay for her freedom. The biggest problem was the force it would require, and she began working the logistics out in her head as she started to work her hands in the metal restraints. She yanked and pulled and twisted, testing the strength of her bones and skin against the unrelenting shackles to calculate not only the force required to break herself, but also which bones would have to be broken to fit her hands through.

"Ah, I see our second mage has woken up just in time to say goodbye to her spirits." the demon said, and she risked a glance to see him already reaching for her keys.

"Don't you dare!"

He snorted derisively. "That's the best you could come up with?" he grabbed her key ring and broke it.

He reached over with a long hook and snagged the swinging arm that the cauldron was attached to before pulling it out and pouring what used to be Libra's key into what looked like a funnel that stuck out of the wall. The white-hot glowing liquid poured down the tunnel and out of sight.

He then swung the cauldron back into the fire and snagged one of Lucy's keys with his tongs, before tauntingly dangling it over the flames.

"NO! DON'T! PLEASE!" she screamed, but it was already too late. He had dropped Virgo's key into the pot, and she could already feel her contract and the bond of magic she shared with Virgo dissolving.

A wail escaped her, and tears flowed from her eyes, which she barely even noticed. After a desolate moment, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to try and ignore the shattering pain, knowing that she had to focus on escaping. Looking back up at her bindings, she yanked harder, paying no heed to the way the metal bit deep into her or the blood that started oozing down her arms. She barely felt the pain, her adrenaline was much too high.

The delicate bones in her hands creaked and protested as she yanked hard, again and again. She was only focusing on one hand to start with, and carefully angled herself so that one particular bone hit the metal in the same place over and over. By testing the restraints, she knew that was the first that had to go. Finally it snapped with an audible pop and the pain finally overcame her adrenaline for a moment, nearly blanking her mind. That hand slid down further through the manacle but hung again before her knuckles.

Her attention was jarred from that task though, when she felt Aries's bond suddenly melt away, and her eyes snapped back to the furnace to see him withdrawing his tongs. Another stab of agony shot her in the heart, squeezing it and choking her, until she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. She had to get free!

She yanked harder, ignoring the tears that poured down her face. A shard of agony shot up her arm as another bone gave way and that knuckle got displaced. Her hand slid a little further, but it still wasn't enough. With a gasp, she nearly passed out from the pain. For a brief terrifying moment her world went a little funky around the edges, but she managed to shake it off… right in time to feel Scorpio's bond go down the drain.

A choked-off cry ripped from her hoarse throat, and with an almighty full-body pull her hand went through the shackle. Most of it anyways. Several more bones had broken, allowing her knuckles to get pushed out of place, and she had left behind a good amount of skin and flesh. One glance at it nearly made her throw up and a wave of dizziness overtook her again.

The demon who was severing her ties to her friends and family one after another was apparently confident that she couldn't escape, because he didn't even bother to look at her, although he kept up a constant stream of taunts, which she mostly ignored. Sting wasn't looking either; his chin was tucked against his chest and he hung from the restraints in a limp fashion and trembled from shock.

She immediately started on the next shackle, using her free hand to pull on and manipulate her trapped wrist. However, her focus almost shattered again when she felt Horologium's bond break, and her chest heaved with both sobs and exertion. Somehow she kept going, repeating, "I must get free," as a mantra in her mind to try and block out the anguish and horror of the situation.

Another cry escaped her when she felt Aquarius's key go in the pot, and she went limp for half a second. After gasping in a series of painful breaths, she braced herself and yanked again, finally getting the first bone to break in her second hand. She slid down to her knuckles in the restraint, just like the first, and a new surge of strength flooded through her, brought on by practically tasting victory.

Using the new rush of adrenaline, she violently twisted in her bonds, managing to turn all the way around to face the wall. Both legs reared up so she could plant her feet on the wall, and the weight on her hand nearly numbed her brain with agony. Gritting her teeth hard enough to taste blood, she used not only her body weight but the strength of her legs to push against the manacle. When she felt Capricorn's bond break apart, her foot slipped, nearly sending her slamming into the wall, but the jerk actually forced another bone to pop out of place, leaving only a few more adjustments to make. A pained cry escaped her throat, but she tried to fight through it, the stabbing in her heart far worse than her hands.

When Bartolomeo's magic dissipated, she gave one last desperate kick and pull, and the bones finally gave way with an audible cracking, popping, and grinding sound. She fell back hard, the stone ground hitting her back like a kick and driving the air from her lungs.

Sting's head snapped up at the sound and he stared down at her with shocked eyes, as did the demon who finally decided to pay attention to her.

"How did you…?!" the demon sputtered from behind, but Sting spied her hands – or what remained of them – first. His jaw dropped and he looked speechless.

"What did you do?" he finally whispered, sounding both horrified and in awe.

"What needed to be done." she grunted back and pushed herself to her feet with a deep cringe.

No sooner had she gotten to her feet though, then pain radiated through her center as the demon punched her in the gut.

"How dare you break free?! Slippery worm! You are a prisoner!"

With a huff, she threw herself back and in a violent and unbalance move lashed out with her foot. The attack was apparently so unexpected that she managed to catch him solidly in the side of the face with her Lucy Kick and they both fell to the ground. She was up first though and was across the room in seconds, where she gingerly scooped up her precious remaining keys: Taurus, Sagittarius, Pikachu, Leo, Grandpa Crux, Gemini, Cancer, Amy, Natsu, and Kurama. And unfortunately, the last three gates were sealed.

Seven had been melted…but she couldn't let herself dwell on that fact, otherwise the grief would cripple her. All she could hope for…pray for…was that she could somehow get them back. It might be impossible, but that was the only way she could continue on right now, and she had to focus.

While she had gone for her keys, the demon had gone for some sort of lacrima intercom implanted into the wall. "I have a prisoner breach in the extraction chamber and I need backup pronto! Anyone close enough to respond, get your butts down here now!"

Lucy gritted her teeth. They had to get out of here before backup arrived.

"Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"

"Moooo!" he came in lowing a war cry, and from the ferocity, she could only imagine that her celestial spirits had all probably felt their links being severed as clearly as she could.

"T-Taurus…" she gasped, nearly breaking down at the sight of him. She wanted to apologize, wanted to say she did everything she could to protect the others, but she just couldn't. They had no time. All she could do was tearfully meet his eyes, which were uncharacteristically serious.

"Use my star dress Miss Luuuucy, and let's take him down together."

She nodded and wiped her eyes.

Reaching for her magic, she melded it with his and felt her clothes changing. The leather gloves that appeared on her hands made her wince, but at the same time she was grateful to them. Maybe they would help to keep everything sort of… _together_. She also wouldn't have to see the grotesque sight, aside from her fingers which – side from being at some odd angles, weren't ripped up.

"Keep him busy and I'll get Sting free." she said and ran over to her comrade when the bull spirit nodded and drew his ax.

When she reached Sting, she planted her foot solidly into the ground and then aimed a Lucy kick at his chains. With Taurus's strength flowing through her, her ankle easily broke the chains, and the wall cracked where they'd been tethered. He fell to his knees in front of her. She followed, and tried to break his cuffs, but she couldn't touch them without her magic flickering alarmingly and the dress fluttering around her.

"Sorry, you're just gonna have to do without your magic until we can get the keys. Hang in there." she muttered and then stood, pulling him up too.

He seemed despondent, obviously burdened by a crippling sense of guilt over losing Yukino's keys. She understood – if she were in his place, she'd probably never be able to forgive herself – but this wasn't the time or place to be drowning in sorrow and doubt. They needed clear heads and sharp minds to escape and finish their mission.

"Pull yourself together!" she snapped. "There's always hope! We'll get them back!"

"But Lucy…the keys were…"

"I know!...I know…but you have to hope, just until we get out of here if nothing else. You have to fight, and if the only way to do that is to convince yourself it was a lie, or a dream, or that we'll get them back somehow, then do it!"

He sucked in a deep breath and they met eyes for a long moment.

Turning, she joined the fight with Taurus, lashing out with a kick that sent the demon into a nearby wall. He had been stupid to turn his back on her. Quickly she spun on her heel and made for the door.

"Come on, let's get the lead out! We don't have much time!"

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _For a while they met very little resistance. The few demons they stumbled into were relatively low-level and were quickly taken care of with Taurus's star dress… but it was inevitable that they would eventually run into a much stronger opponent._

 _It was just their bad luck that one wrong turn ended with them confronting the same ice demon who had defeated them before._


	52. Chapter 52

**Author's Note:**

Hey all! It's Wednesday! And time for a new chapter! Sorry about leaving you all hanging like that, I hope this chapter makes up for it. ;D

As always, HUMONGOUS thanks to everyone who reviewed. You are all amazing! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: illleashya, valerioux, quidditchChick6, stranger1999, sakshishetty3003, Perfect Memories, Lexi1994, Donthedarkdragon26, mikeczajk12, agirl0ntheinternet, Mihara, Leomae2.0, Lunar13, SunnieDayys, Firefly9917, and Anna5949.

Also, I just wanted to say that unfortunately life is catching up with me, I know, I know, shocker. But, that is to say that there have been some MAJOR stress factors lately in my life, and at a certain point stress just makes my brain shut down and I can't write. Soooooo, that means I've gotten a teeny, tiny, itsy, weensy, little bit behind in writing. O.O This is especially not good for me, because I seem to have this terrible habit of getting writer's block from time to time, especially when I get close to finishing something. That's why I try to keep way ahead of schedule...*sigh.*

So anyways, sometimes I may be a little late updating. Hopefully nothing too major, maybe just an extra day here, an extra day there, or at the worst, I might end up missing a Wednesday update and just go with Sunday for that week. But I promise to do my utmost to keep with the schedule as MUCH as possible.

Along those lines, I'm also going out of town next week to visit my grandparents for Christmas, so we'll see how that affects things.

Anywho...I hope you all enjoy this chapter. :D And be sure to check out the sneak peek at the end. ;D

* * *

Lucy, Sting, and Taurus charged out the door at top speed and barreled down the long hallway on the other side.

Unfortunately, without Rogue to follow, they were running blind at the moment and had no idea how to get to Yukino. They could always just run around and hope to stumble across her by accident, but that was a truly terrible plan. Way too many things could go wrong, and they would end up wasting a ton of time. So, Lucy quickly started racking her brain for a contingency plan.

Thankfully, a promising idea occurred to her before they even reached the end of the first hall, and she quickly told the others, "We need to find somewhere safe where I can summon Crux. I think he might be able to help us locate Yukino."

"Who's Crux?" Sting asked as they skidded around a corner and into a new hallway.

"He's one of my spirits. He can use archive magic, and hopefully he'll be able to map out this place with it."

"Gooood idea Miss Luuucy." Taurus lowed.

Sting nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sounds like a plan."

However, when they rounded the next corner, it was only to run headlong into a pack of demons coming their way.

"Shit! Open! Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!" with a flash of golden light, the centaur popped into being, but he didn't offer his normal cheerful greeting. Instead he had arrows already cocked.

It didn't take a genius to see who his targets were, and without anyone saying anything he had already shot a volley of deadly projectiles, taking out the low-leveled demons with ease. Only one survived the attack… a demonic hulk of a man that looked to be made of rock. He shook off every volley of arrows Sagittarius shot at him. It very quickly became apparent that he was going to be a pain in the ass and soon her archer spirit stopped shooting.

"Shall we, Miss Lucy?" Sagittarius asked calmly, offering her an open palm.

She nodded solemnly and gritted her teeth as she reached for him. He must have sensed her pain though, because instead of grabbing her palm, he reached past and gripped her forearm. He swung her up onto his back with ease, and she gripped tight with her knees.

"Ready Taurus?" she asked, and he lowed an affirmative.

With a jolt, Sagittarius was off at a dead run. He was fast, and they had already reached the enemy in a matter of seconds. As they passed the enemy, she hitched her feet under her and pivoted. Jumping off, she wrapped both legs around the demon's neck and threw them both to the ground using her super-strength. With a yell, he toppled over and performed an impressive faceplant, and she landed sitting on his head.

"Now Sagittarius!" she yelled.

From behind, four golden arrows shot – pinning each arm and leg to the ground – and she leapt off him. He shouted with pain and thrashed, but there was no escaping those particular arrows.

Right on cue, Taurus stalked forwards with his ax raised, looking every bit the part of an executioner. Eyes gleaming with rage, he showed no pity towards the demon, who was swiftly sent back to the demonic realm missing its head. Rock or no, apparently decapitation was sufficient to defeat a demon.

After that, Lucy quickly thanked Sagittarius and then sent him back to conserve power.

They still needed to put some distance between them and the 'extraction chamber' so they set off again at a dead run. Thankfully they didn't encounter any more demons, and after a bit they finally found an empty chamber where they could take shelter for a short time.

"This is probably good enough. Open! Gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!"

With a hoot and puff of feathers, the elderly owl spirit popped into being.

Not wasting time on pleasantries, Lucy hurried to ask if he could locate the prison cells in this stronghold, and Crux immediately closed his eyes and started snoring. As golden magic started swirling around him, Sting and Taurus stayed by the door to keep a lookout, and Lucy stuck with her spirit, silently urging him to work as fast as possible. If demons caught them right now, they would be cornered in this room. Sure, Taurus could bust down a wall, but if it was load-bearing that might cause a cave-in.

Those few minutes were nerve-wracking to say the least.

Then, finally, Crux woke with a loud hoot that made the two tightly wound mages jump at least a foot into the air, and even Taurus flinched pretty hard.

"Yes, I found what you were looking for. Here, I'll upload a map to you minds."

Touching both Sting and Lucy's foreheads with a taloned finger, golden magic swirled around them all for a moment, and then suddenly they had complete knowledge of the castle's layout firmly lodged into their minds.

"Wonderful! Thank you so much Grandpa Crux!"

With a hoot, he poofed back to the celestial realm, and once again they took off at a dead run, now following the map in their heads. It led them down a series of winding hallways, and somehow they managed to avoid anymore unexpected encounters along the way. To conserve power, Lucy sent Taurus back, but kept his star dress on for protection.

Soon enough, they came upon a series of barred cells, one of which held the limp form of a passed out celestial mage.

"Yukino!" Lucy gasped, and immediately kicked down the prison door.

The immense sound roused her somewhat, and she weakly pushed herself up. "L-Lucy? Is that you?"

Sting rushed forwards into the cell to check his girlfriend over. "Yeah, it's her, and me too. We're here to rescue you."

She made a soft noise of pure relief, and then she passed out again. Lucy didn't need to be a pharmaceutical mage to see that she had magic loss sickness. They must have drained her almost completely, but only kept her alive to probably repeat the process over and over again.

"Sting, can you carry her?"

"Of course! Just 'cause I can't use magic doesn't mean I don't still have my physical strength!"

Thankfully finding Yukino seemed to have galvanized a little more life into Sting, and he whisked the curvy white-haired mage up into his arms easily.

"Alright, now to get out of here…"

That map in their minds once again came in handy. Crux had really outdone himself. Instead of just giving them a set of directions to the cells, he'd given them a complete map of the building, which allowed them to also choose an escape route. As the rescue team, their first priority was to get Yukino to safety.

For a while they met very little resistance. The few demons they stumbled into were relatively low-level and were quickly taken care of with Taurus's star dress… but it was inevitable that they would eventually run into a much stronger opponent.

It was just their bad luck that one wrong turn ended with them confronting the same ice demon who had defeated them before. This time though, he didn't have the advantage of surprise on his side. As soon as they spied his dark hair and furred coat, Sting and Lucy instantly put on the breaks and attempted an abrupt reverse. Unfortunately, he had already seen them.

His hand extended and a wave of ice exploded outwards, freezing everything it touched as it rushed towards them.

"Shit, shit, shit…" Lucy muttered as she grabbed for her keys.

She managed to summon Taurus at the last possible second, and the bull spirit immediately countered the oncoming ice by smashing his ax into the ground, which sent a shockwave rushing to meet the ice. Pieces of the stone floor and ice went flying, throwing them all back. A dust cloud hung in the air for a moment, obscuring their vision, and Lucy quickly gestured at Sting to go back the way they came. He grabbed Yukino even tighter and nodded, rushing back down the hall as Lucy and Taurus turned to stall the icy bastard while their comrades got away.

With an arrogant slash of his hand, the dust whirled away, exposing their opponent. He cocked a brow to see their party reduced.

"Well, well, well…it looks as if your friends have escaped my clutches. For now at least. And as for you, I'm surprised you managed to break out of the extraction chamber…. with a few less keys though I see."

Lucy gritted her teeth at the solemn reminder. "Yes…and it's your fault!"

"I merely captured you. Arboss was the one who melted them." he countered calmly, then smiled. "And I will do so again, now that you have so kindly stumbled into me. It really cut down on my workload."

With that, he sent another blast of ice at them, which Taurus successfully stopped. However, this time their opponent followed the first attack with a second wave. Lucy was quick to stomp on the ground with her extra strength and thankfully managed to create another shockwave that drove back the second icy attack. Hers wasn't nearly as strong as Taurus's of course, but it still did the trick…. or it would have if Zero hadn't sent yet another wave of ice roaring down on them. He seemed determined to batter them into submission without giving them a chance to breathe.

They went back and forth like this for a little while, Taurus and Lucy taking turns sending shockwaves down the hall. It was obvious that they were at a temporary stalemate, but without Natsu to boost her power she was pretty sure she would run out of spiz faster than the ice demon. Besides that, the floor would likely give way at some point, which would knock them off balance and probably give Zero the chance he needed to freeze them.

So, the next time it was Taurus's turn to smash the ground, she quickly summoned Leo into the fray. As usual, the lion spirit was quick on his feet and used a Regulus blast to knock back the wave of ice that Lucy didn't have time to counter. In the heat – or cold in this case – of battle, they didn't have a chance to speak to one another, but that didn't matter. They worked together like a well-oiled machine.

Taurus and Leo flanked her, beating back the ice, but they were strictly on the defensive still. She was the only one free to attack, but Taurus's star dress wasn't particularly well-suited for long-range assault. So, she swapped her star dresses and donned Leo's instead.

The familiar tingle passed through her as a gold and black gown slid onto her body. The shiny gold bustier was sleeveless, corset-style with a heart neckline, and ended in a point at her waist. The skirt was two-part – a front panel and a wrap-around overskirt. The front ended at mid-thigh and gathered up at the sides, which made it look like a ballgown aside from being too short. In contrast, the second part of the skirt wrapped around her backside and fell straight to the floor in thick folds. To top off the whole look, her hair was in an elegant bun, under which an elaborate golden headpiece curled along the bottom of her skull.

In all honesty, it wouldn't have looked like an outfit suited to battle…if it hadn't been for the material used to make the gown. The front draping panel of the skirt looked like black sparkly cloth from a distance, but up-close you could see that it was actually a fine chainmail. Each side of the corset had black armor layered in horizontal strips which strangely made the bodice easier to move in. There were also three panels of black armor over the cape-like skirt – thinner ones on each side and a wider one in the back. The outfit was topped off with metal armor boots that went above her knees, armored gloves that stopped at her elbows, and shoulder guards that stayed on seemingly with magic. Of course the armor was incredibly beautiful, elegant, and finely detailed…made of gold with black inlays.

Over all, it was one of her favorite star dresses… because it made her feel like some kind of war queen. Plus, it wasn't nearly as heavy or constricting as it really should be, thanks to the fact that it was magical apparel. So she could easily fight in it.

Right now though, she donned it for one reason alone…. the magic it gave her. With this outfit on, she could harness Regulus's power, and that meant she could attack the frosty demon while Leo and Taurus held off his ice.

As soon as the dress settled on her, she launched into the ultimate attack of this form. She wasn't playing around with this son of a bitch; it was time to put him down for good. Thrusting both hands in front of her, she began the incantation required to summon an ancient power.

" _I, summoner of the stars and priestess of the Lion, beseech thee. Dawn light of exorcism, grant me the divine might of thy fangs, that I might smite a hundred evil spirits! Come! Regulus Aurum!"_

Between her spread palms, intense light began to grow and a rumble sounded, shaking the air around them. As the last word passed her lips, the light expanded and took on a new form, until finally a massive lion made of pure radiance stood before her. Its jaws gaped and a roar sounded, the noise echoing and massive and eerie…as if coming from a completely different world altogether, and then the creature made of light charged.

It crashed through the walls of ice that Zero erected hastily in front of him, sending shards of clear frozen water through the air in an explosion of sound and velocity. Simultaneously though, right as it looked like they would win, they were attacked by a trap Zero had set for them while they were busy fending off his waves of ice. With a sharp slice of his hand through the air, enormous icicles they hadn't seen forming above them fell.

Leo immediately whirled and slammed into Lucy, throwing them both to the icy floor, where they landed hard and skidded out of the way. They halted by slamming into the castle wall, but the brunt of the impact smashed into the leonine spirit's side. He had positioned himself firmly on top of her and wrapped his body around hers to shield her from falling ice as well as the wall they crashed into. Even so, the hit knocked some of her breath out.

"You okay?" she wheezed at Leo, and he grunted an affirmative.

He shoved himself up into a crouch, though he stayed protectively over Lucy, and she managed to twist onto her belly and pushed herself up from the floor too.

The sight that met her eyes made her gasp, "Shit! Taurus!" and reach for her keys.

The bull spirit hadn't been as lucky as them. A spire of ice pierced him, and the cursed element had frozen him solid instead of sending him back to the celestial realm.

The demon was faster than her, and before her fingers had closed around the golden key, a magic circle appeared over the ice. Taurus suddenly shattered and Lucy felt his gate shut with a bang, locking with a curse that she knew she didn't have hope of opening. She certainly wouldn't be able to do it without completely draining all her magic, so she couldn't risk calling on Taurus again.

"Damnit!" she cursed and cringed back against Leo. His steady warmth soothed her some, but she was still shaken.

Her Regulus Aurum spell had broken, either from the shock of the attack, the impact of hitting the floor, or slamming into the wall. The only comfort was that Zero also looked somewhat shaken…or at least a little less smug than before.

Summoner and Spirit stood together, their matching movements fluid and feline. The lion's star dress blessed Lucy with the gift of cat-like grace and agility, which instantly came in handy as they both leapt into the air to avoid a wave of ice that coated the floor. While still in midair, Lucy pulled Sagittarius's key.

"Open! Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!"

She and Leo landed as Sagittarius popped into being behind them. With a series of gestures, she motioned her plan to her comrades and they immediately put it into action. Sagittarius launched volleys of arrows at Zero, which forced him to erect ice shields and created an excellent distraction. He still sent waves of ice at them, but Lucy and Leo smashed the attacks to bits with Regulus light as they slowly advanced on the sides. Once in position, she slashed her hand up and Sagittarius redirected his arrows towards the ceiling directly above Zero.

She had timed it perfectly to coincide with him erecting a new ice shield, which tied up his attention right as the ceiling caved in on top of him. Meanwhile, Lucy switched her star dress to Cancer's and flew up the hall with lightning speed, launching herself through the falling rubble.

As soon as she got within range, she switched back to Leo's dress to attack, because she couldn't wield Cancer's swords with her broken hands. The feline agility boost also came in handy, since Zero was blasting the rocks away from himself with an explosion of ice when she reached him. While nimbly dodging, she knocked away the chunks of flying debris with Regulus light and also slashed the radiance at him, catching him off guard. She managed to slice him across the shoulder, which sent him reeling backwards in surprise and pain.

He recovered quickly though and brought frosty hands up to defend himself as she continued to press forwards with light-based attacks. He was obviously a skilled fighter, so it wasn't surprising that he managed to block or evade her, while simultaneously sending back vicious attacks of his own. That was okay though, because she was just a decoy at the moment. If she got a few shots in, so much the better, but it wasn't necessary. Her biggest priority at the moment was carefully maneuvering Zero around to give Leo the perfect opening.

They were both patient and cunning about it, until finally what they were waiting for happened. Zero made a blunder and punched at Lucy too hard, sending his whole shoulder forwards and leaving a big opening for Leo. He instantly saw it and responded within a millisecond by coated his fist with Regulus light and punching the demon with full force, sending him staggering forwards.

His attention wavered for a second as he stumbled, and his head reflexively turned to look over his shoulder. Lucy used that as an opening to dash in and land her own blow on his cheek, then dodged as he instantly responded to the injury with a blast of ice. A flash of light on his other side said that Leo had dispersed the ice with a counterattack, blowing away the demon's element with a blast of his own, and Lucy followed suit.

The twin explosions of Regulus light momentarily knocked aside the ice and left him temporarily unprotected, which Sagittarius quickly took advantage of. Several arrows flew through the ice-less air, meeting little resistance as they buried into Zero's leg, shoulder, and hip. They had been carefully aimed to hit places that would cause the most pain and thus limit his movement.

He shouted, his composure finally breaking completely, and his face fixed into an ugly scowl. The pain only enraged him though, and things took an unpleasant turn as he switched to a more defensive – and yet somehow more aggressive – battle method and summoned a vicious ice storm to form a protective cyclone around his body. It also pushed Leo and Lucy back, as they were forced to retreat from the sharp particles of ice that whipped through the air at high velocities.

He'd obviously wised up and now intended to keep them at a distance and protect all his sides at once, which was going to make this fight a lot more difficult. Then, to make matters worse, he started expanding the typhoon, forcing them further and further back.

To Lucy's horror, Leo wasn't fast enough and got caught in the melee of ice and air, which resulted in him being battered to a pulp. Even worse, he was frozen solid within seconds, but this time she was ready for it and managed to send him back before his gate could be cursed. However, he'd been beaten so badly by ice shards before getting frozen that she still didn't want to summon him again if she could help it.

As for Lucy though, she managed to escape by switching back to Cancer's dress for speed and quickly retreated to regroup with Sagittarius.

The next logical choice was to summon Gemini, which she did swiftly. For a second she staggered and winced as the magic drain reached a very unpleasant level. With a deep breath, she reached into her Second Origin and knew she would have to fight very smart from now on. As such, she was forced to send Sagittarius back, since he wouldn't be much help against the ice storm. His arrows would just be knocked aside.

Cancer's star dress wouldn't be much help either, so she switched back to Leo's and had Gemini turn into her – also equipped with Leo's star dress. With double the fire-power and long-range attacks that were less likely to be deterred by ice and wind, they had a much better chance of breaking through the ice storm and reaching Zero.

"Gemini! We have to do a joint Regulus Aurum!" she called, knowing that spell was the only one likely of getting through the enemy's defenses.

If she wasn't distracted this time, and they combined the spell to be doubly powerful, they had a chance. Gemini nodded seriously, obviously agreeing, and they both started the chant. Radiance grew between them, blinding in seconds, and then an enormous lion took form. It was twice as big and gave off twice as much light and power – naturally, since it was summoned by two people instead of one.

Both Lucys had to squint in the face of that blinding light and winced at the sound of the enormous roar that shook the entire castle. Then it charged, ramming into the wall of swirling ice and knocking it aside like a pesky bit of smoke. It hit Zero at full force and the ice demon flew back all the way down the long hallway before slamming into a wall at the end.

With a flash of golden light, the lion dispersed, and both Lucys exhaled a breath of relief. Holding that spell always took an insane amount of concentration and power, and it had unfortunately drained a good deal of the magic she had left. But they didn't have any time to waste relaxing, because he hadn't dispersed back to the demon realm…which meant he still wasn't hurt badly enough. So, Lucy switched to Cancer's dress and her doppelganger followed suit. Using the speed boost, they flew down the hall even faster than their opponent had been thrown. Priority number one was making sure he poofed and hitting him hard while he was down was a solid strategy for doing that.

As soon as they reach him, the real Lucy switched to Leo's dress again and attacked with light while Gemini simply kept Cancer's dress and attacked with swords… both taking vicious advantage of their opponent being wide open. Normally Lucy wouldn't have been so heartless, even towards an enemy, but Zero was a very powerful demon and she couldn't risk him staying in the castle. From personal experience, she knew that demon kings and queens took a lot of damage before they were forced back into Asphodel, so she had to be coldly calculating and inflict as much damage as she possibly could.

Gemini's swords cut him repeatedly, but never got as deep into his vitals as they really should thanks to the tough armor over his torso… but his legs and arms were less protected.

As soon as she realized this, Lucy said, "Cut behind his knees, the insides of his arms, behind his ankles…go for the ligaments. I'll keep aiming for his chest, neck, and head with Regulus."

Of course, being cut up and blasted in the face didn't really make for a peaceful doze, and it wasn't long before he was rousing out of his stupefied state. Unfortunately, he did it swifter and more abruptly than Lucy anticipated, and his retaliation caught them unawares. An explosion of ice knocked them back a surprising distance, and she only just barely managed to somewhat counter it with a blast of light.

Lucy flew at an angle and smashed into the wall, stunning her for a moment, but she scrambled to make sense of the situation despite her befuddled brains. The cold pain in one leg told her that she'd been partially frozen. Blinking blurry eyes, she saw something even worse though. Gemini had been frozen completely solid – like Lucy undoubtedly would have been if she hadn't managed to get off a blast of Leo's power at the last second.

Before she could close Gemini's gate, Zero did it for her, and she ground her teeth with frustration. Turning burning eyes back on him, she contemplated her options. They weren't great to be honest.

Of the spirits that she could still summon, Leo was her best bet, but he was still pretty badly hurt and she didn't want to have to summon him if she could help it. Cancer would be even worse, his attacks were all based on physical contact with his pinchers…he'd be frozen solid in seconds. So that just left…

"Open! Gate of the Rabbit!" she called, and Pikachu popped into being with a zap and an angry squeak.

Then she summoned Sagittarius, even though she was digging deep into her Second Origin to do so.

Seeing her peg-legged predicament, he immediately swooped her into his arms bridal style. "Allow me Miss Lucy."

"Thanks Sagittarius…"

Almost immediately he was forced to jump aside to avoid a wave of ice that blasted them, and Pikachu zipped along next to them, easily keeping pace with the centaur. The rabbit spirit was actually _**much**_ faster than Sagittarius…. so this was nothing. In fact, Zero's attacks probably looked slow to him.

With that thought in mind, Lucy hesitantly asked the little spirit, "Pika, do you think you could get behind him and put him down with your strongest lightning? We'll keep his attention on us, and you're so fast and small I bet he won't even see you."

She hated sending the little guy in by himself. He was pretty strong for a silver key spirit, but he only had a limited number of powerful shots in him before he ran out of spiz, and he was physically very weak. Despite that though, he seemed unafraid as he squeaked, "Pika!" and saluted her before zipping into the fray. He was nothing more than a yellow glowing blur as he moved.

While he got into position, Lucy got Zero's attention to the best of her ability.

"You aren't looking so good there, Buddy…sure you wanna keep this up?"

It was true at least. Their opponent was bleeding freely from multiple lacerations, not to mention the arrow wounds from Sagittarius's earlier attacks and the nasty burns from Leo's power. Regulus Aurum had seriously hurt him, probably breaking several bones and crunching his chest armor in a way that was probably constricting his lungs painfully. Gemini had obviously also managed to cripple him, he couldn't really walk anymore. Instead he had frozen his legs and had fashioned some ice crutches to prop himself up. But he could still manipulate that damn ice of his, so he was still ridiculously dangerous, even if he was mostly immobilized.

He was also majorly pissed.

"If you think I'm going to give up after all of this damage, you're laughably mistaken. I'll make sure you're repaid a hundred times over for these injuries. _You'll pay with your blood and pain_." The last part was snarled so viciously it made her cringe.

He was a far cry from the cold disinterested person he'd been before…bloodlust had replaced frigid logic in his now nearly psychotic gaze. It was enough to make her tremble, but she suppressed the fear and forced a sneer on her face.

"Oh please, like you could defeat me in your state. Take a look at yourself! You can't even walk anymore! I might as well be fighting a lamp post."

A malicious smile twisted his lips. "Pathetic."

With a violent swing of his arm, he erected a massive wall of ice that froze the entire hallway behind him. Another sharp motion had the ice cracking, and to her horror Lucy saw a familiar yellow body fall limply amongst the chunks of debris before he flashed back to the spirit realm in a pop of golden lightning.

Zero had known what they were up to and had timed his massive attack perfectly to catch Pikachu. Even the little lightning spirit couldn't escape something of that magnitude when it was sprung on him from point blank range.

"No! Damnit!" Lucy gasped. Her heart clenched, hating that yet another of her spirits had been hurt by this bastard.

It had the opposite effect on Zero, and he started laughing, though it certainly wasn't a sound of joy. "Foolish human…you really thought you were a match for me? Well…you'll have plenty of time to realize your mistake once I have you in chains."

And with that, he seemed to get some kind of second wind…or maybe he simply tasted victory and became eager to capture his prey. Whatever the case, he roared and sent a massive wave of ice at them. It was substantially larger than any he had sent before…. This one filled the hall from floor to ceiling and rushed them like a glacier on steroids. Lucy used Regulus on it, to try and slow it down or at least cut a small path into it for them, but it quickly became apparent that Leo's attacks wouldn't do much this time around. No mater how much ice she cracked and blew away, more just replaced it.

All they could do was run, which Sagittarius had already whirled to do. But it was like running from an avalanche. They were too close…much too close, and the forward-most edge of frost was quickly nipping at their heels.

There wasn't a shred of doubt in Lucy's mind that they were about to be caught, and a rush of cold terror flooded her senses. It was somewhat numbed by the shock that was sweeping her off her feet as surely as the avalanche descending on them. She'd been so sure they could take him out. How could she have miscalculated so badly? Either he'd been hiding his true power this entire time, or else he'd mustered everything he had left in an all-out attack.

Working on pure instinct, she popped open her keyring and shoved them all in her mouth. To say it was a tight fit was an understatement, but she forced them in. It was the only thing she could think of to try and keep them safe, and discomfort was secondary to that.

Discomfort quickly turned to pain as Sagittarius got caught and fell, sending them into a jarring tumble across the ground. Loud snaps indicated he'd broken bones, probably in his legs, but he barely even grunted despite the agony stamped across his tight features. That should have been enough to send him back to the celestial realm, but he stayed.

Her eyes flew to his, telling him silently to go, but he merely met her gaze with a solemn one of his own and bent his body around hers, protecting her from the ice that was now crashing over their heads. Darkness fell as an overwhelming crushing weight slammed on top of them. Pain shot through her from everywhere, and for a wild moment she wondered if Zero had changed his mind and had decided to simply kill her instead of capturing her.

As she felt her mind start to slip towards oblivion, she contemplated swallowing the keys…knowing good and well there was a high probability she could swallow wrong and stab herself or get one lodged in her throat which would likely result in death. Before she'd even started working the first back towards her throat though, a massive force crashed through her senses, knocking her silly. The enormous weight was lifted off her and she was tossed a fair distance as well. Sagittarius was finally blasted back to the celestial realm, and she was left to crash amongst the rubble on her own.

She landed in a heap amid enormous broken chunks of ice …. and frankly felt pretty broken herself. Every part of her hurt, _badly_ , though her hands and the inside of her mouth managed to ice the cake. At least one of her teeth had broken on the keys in her mouth, and she felt multiple nasty cuts oozing an iron taste across her tongue, but she was just thankful she'd managed to hang onto them and not spit them out or swallow accidentally. She couldn't entirely suppress the tears of pain that froze on her cheeks and made her eyelashes stick together.

Even worse perhaps, Leo's dress had melted off her, thanks to pain, shock, and magic drain, leaving her without protection.

One of the chunks of ice had pinned her shoulder to the ground, and it was too heavy for her to even hope to move in her current condition. She still tried though, even with her hand dripping blood into her face as she pushed at the ice hanging over her head. The other was pinned to the ground under ice as well.

Suddenly the weight was removed, tossed aside like it weighed less than a piece of paper, and she was staring up into the face of a familiar fox demon.

"Ku-wa-wa?" she sputtered around keys and blood, forgetting about the state of her mouth temporarily in her shock. The pain reminded her though and she winced and choked as one tried to slide down her throat.

Kurama instantly bent down and slid an arm under her to prop her up, before gently putting his hand under her chin for her to spit the keys into. Just in case she didn't get the message, he said, "Spit 'em out…come on."

She followed the suggestion, and gingerly let them fall from her lips…along with plenty of blood and broken teeth.

They both grimaced at the sight.

"I think you might have to visit the dentist after this." he noted, trying for a lighthearted tone and failing spectacularly.

When she didn't respond and stayed frozen with her mouth open, his tone switched to worried. "Hey, you okay? Is there one stuck in there?"

She grunted an affirmative, trying to keep her mouth and throat as still as possible as she reached up with her hand to lightly tap along the outside of her cheek, quickly finding metal. It had pierced her cheek, though thankfully she determined that the head of the key hadn't gone all the way through. That would have acted like a barb and would have made it much harder and more painful to pull free.

Kurama quickly noticed her discovery and sucked in a shocked breath. "Shit, that's nasty. Here, I'll get it, hold these."

He dumped the bloody keys in her hands and gently tilted her head just enough that he could get a good look inside her mouth. She winced and closed her eyes as the change in angle made the key shift, tugging on injured flesh. With her eyes closed, she clearly felt how he put one hand on the outside, bracing the skin to prevent tearing and then a second set of fingers invaded her mouth. He didn't prolong it, with a quick pull from the inside and a push with one finger from the outside, it was popped free with minimal damage to the surrounding tissue.

The pain forced a sharp yip from her throat, and Kurama grunted a soft, "Sorry bout that," as he deposited the key into her hands with the rest.

Finally closing her mouth, she gingerly said, "Thanks." It came out slightly slurred thanks to all the injuries, but at least she could talk, painful though it might be. She'd just have to speak as few words as possible.

"The curse?" she gingerly asked.

Thankfully he understood the implied questions. "It's still locking my gate up tight, but there's a big-ass gate that all these guys are coming through. I just snuck through with 'em. It was easy for a guy with my talents."

She nodded and grunted in an, ' _oh, that makes sense and I'm happy you're free,'_ sort of way, and then an obvious thought occurred to her.

"Zero?" she questioned.

"Oh, yeah, better finish him off. Hold on a sec."

He stood, then helped her to her feet before marching across the rubble-strewn battle ground. Zero lay in a bloody heap a ways away, but it looked like he was struggling to sit up. Kurama stomped over towards him, cracking his knuckles in a menacing way.

…

After what he'd just witnessed, Lucy had earned the fox demon's eternal and undying loyalty.

Once his gate had been cursed shut, he had instantly started making his way to the big gate, even though his instincts told him to run. He risked being caught, and if they already had his key then he was done for. But he couldn't stand the thought of Lucy being at their mercy…even though he'd only known her for a little while.

Sure, he had his doubts… didn't know if a human girl could follow through with the crazy statements she'd made about thinking of him as a friend and even family, but so far she hadn't done anything to disprove them either.

Unlike celestial spirits, demons didn't share a sensation bond with their masters, so he hadn't felt her pain. However, their contract did let him sense when she was in danger and when she had been injured… though he never would have dreamed that some of her injuries would be self-inflicted. But after seeing her ripped-up hands, it was easy to see she'd broken herself to get free. He liked Lucy, and didn't want to see her hurt, but that wasn't what made it feel like someone had punched the air right out of him.

At first, he'd assumed she ripped free of the shackles because of an insanely strong will to survive – which he certainly respected, but it wouldn't have made him super emotional. No, what really hit him hard was when he saw the damage to her mouth and put two and two together. If she had gone that far to protect her keys in the fight against Zero, he suddenly realized that she'd probably torn up her hands to get to her keys… not just to protect herself.

This was irrefutable proof that what she had told him was true – she really did think of her spirits as her family and protected them with her life…. and one of those bloody keys had been his. He hadn't even realized just how much he doubted her until all those doubts were blown away, leaving him staggering on uneven unfamiliar ground.

Kurama had never had friends or family. He was an orphan who everyone thought of as a mischief maker, a screw up, and basically a troublesome brat. Even if he was technically a demon king, he'd never been treated with respect unless he scared it out of someone. So, to abruptly realize that someone actually cared about him, enough to _injure herself_ to protect him, was like a blow to the head. It made him nearly dizzy.

On the heels of those emotions were others…shock, amazement, awe, loyalty, and finally the sense of friendship and belonging he'd always been looking for. And as he turned to face Zero, rage unlike any he had ever felt before began to build inside him.

Stalking towards the other demon king – who was only able to push himself up into a sitting position – Kurama admired the job Lucy had already done on him. He was hanging on by a thread, beaten, bloody, and bruised, and Kurama was only too happy to finish him off…. though he would have liked a little longer to inflict some pain on him for what he'd done.

"Well now…isn't this a surprise? I was sure that I sealed you away…Traitor." Zero grunted at him as he approached.

"You sealed my gate…but that's not the only way into this castle, now is it?"

The other demon's expression soured. "So you somehow snuck through the royal gate…how crude. Even for you."

"Personally, I'd call it clever." he said as he finally came to stand over his opponent, and then he leaned down a bit to loom over the beaten body. "Now it's time for you to shut up and go home with your tail between your legs."

Zero started to scoff, but Kurama didn't feel like listening to him jabber anymore. He covered himself from head to toe in his fox cloak – a glowing orange aura that was both defensive and offensive, protecting him while burning whatever it happened to touch. The floor under his feet smoked as the aura came into contact with it, and when Zero tried to ward him off with a weak wave of ice, it wouldn't stick to him. He could just shake it off using his fox cloak. Of course if Zero had been at full power, he would have had a much harder time of it, but as it was, this was child's play.

He didn't waste any time in spawning a second tail and coated it in an extra thick layer of aura, before stabbing it through Zero's chest. Simultaneously, he formed a small beast bomb in his mouth and spat the ball at his opponent's head. Even the ice king couldn't survive being stabbed through the heart and having his head blown up, and with an explosion of frigid black ashes he was knocked back to Asphodel. With those injuries, he wouldn't be coming back anytime soon either.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Before he had taken so much as a single step though, a blast of hellish heat exploded through the hall, making him wince and stagger back a few paces. A few seconds later, Natsu tumbled through his gate, in the middle of transforming back to his human form, and Kurama barked a laugh as he took in the sight of the fire dragon in such an uncoordinated state._

 _He somehow managed to hit the floor running, and by the time he'd made it to Lucy's side he was back to his normal pink-haired self and had stopped trying to bake them alive._


	53. Chapter 53

**Authors's Note:**

Hey all! It's Christmas Eve! Yay! And yes...I'm a day late. . Sorry!

As always, a humongous thanks to everyone who reviewed! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: SunnieDayys, illleashya, stranger1999, Donthedarkdragon26, valerioux, Leomae2.0, Softkittypaw, Lucinda, Perfect Memories, agirl0ntheinternet, Lexi1994, Firefly9917, TheJSmooth, and sakshishetty3003. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Raven claw, DemonicSpider, and CathJorda.

Also, as I mentioned last time, I'm going out of town today, so I probably won't be able to make the Wednesday posting. However, I'll try to make it up by posting early this weekend...like maybe Friday or Saturday instead of Sunday. :3 And happy holidays everyone!

Now, on with the show! And stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

* * *

After Zero disappeared, Kurama dismissively looked at his frozen tail and knocked it into the wall to shatter it. Then he turned back to Lucy.

Before he had taken so much as a single step though, a blast of hellish heat exploded through the hall, making him wince and stagger back a few paces. Several seconds later, Natsu tumbled through his gate, in the middle of transforming back to his human form, and Kurama barked a laugh as he took in the sight of the fire dragon in such an uncoordinated state.

He somehow managed to hit the floor running, and by the time he'd made it to Lucy's side he was back to his normal pink-haired self and had stopped trying to bake them alive. Kurama ambled over as Natsu gathered her into his arms and proceeded to fuss over, pester, poke, prod, kiss, and hug his mate in a ridiculous display that might have once irritated Kurama. Now though, he just felt amusement and fondness towards his summoner and her overeager dragon… but he still rolled his eyes and snorted.

Then, to add to the ridiculous scene, Amaterasu popped into being and pounced on Lucy too, sniffing and licking her from head to toe. Under the demanding attentions, she quickly ended up back on the floor, though Natsu obviously took over the job of lowering her gently into his lap when her legs gave out.

After a moment more of this, Kurama pointed out, "We should probably get going…oh wait, never mind, keep doing that." He quickly backpedaled as he realized that Natsu was apparently healing Lucy's hands with fire. "I'll keep watch while you heal her. Yo, fuzzball, stop slobbering over her and help me out."

Amy turned to give him a nasty look and he had to keep himself from flinching. She stood and shook out her coat, then stalked over to go nose to nose with him.

Coldly she growled, "I'm the Alpha here, _kit_. Don't forget that." Then she sniffed regally and spun to point her nose and ears down one side of the hall.

With a sarcastic grumble of, " _yes ma'am_ ," he turned to do the same in the opposite direction.

They'd had a few altercations in the past, and somehow she and her pack had always managed to come out on top…despite the fact that he had way more raw power than her. It certainly made for an interesting relationship now that they were with the same summoner, he thought to himself somewhat sourly. They'd definitely had a rocky start, but at Lucy's request they had tried to get along to the best of their ability. They still snapped and griped at each other, but he was slowly starting to actually like the prissy bitch. He'd now classify them as friendly rivals.

…

As for Lucy, she was utterly limp with relief. Being cradled in Natsu's lap while he bathed her sore hands in fire was heavenly, and she let her head rest on his chest and listened to his rapid heartbeat, feeling like she could easily go to sleep if she let herself. She was finally warm, after what felt like forever. Any ice still sticking around had melted within seconds of Natsu's appearance and the overall ambient temperature had risen significantly.

The soothing heat of his fire helped to ease the pain in her hands too, taking the sharpness of torn skin away at least, though she knew that he couldn't do much for the bones. If they were set properly, he could help them heal, but with them all out of place he didn't dare. Even so, it was still a relief.

She remained limp, even after he finished with her hands and started probing her for other injuries. That seemed to worry him though, and he gently shook her. "Luce? Hey, you okay? You haven't passed out on me have ya?"

"M'fine. Jus' happy." she mumbled, smiling up at him.

His eyes relaxed some, but then he frowned. "Why're you talking like that anyways? You sound weird."

"She protected our keys by shoving them in her mouth. The insides are all cut up." Kurama interjected from nearby, and Natsu glanced up at him with wide eyes.

Then he turned those eyes back on her, looking horrified. "Seriously? Shit, come on, let me see."

When his fingers prodded at her lips, she opened and let him see the inside of her mouth, and his eyes tightened with shock and even more horror. "Holy…fuck."

She wasn't exactly surprised when his lips landed on hers and he started pouring fire into her mouth to heal her, but it still made her jerk and mumble a half-assed protest. She wasn't exactly comfortable kissing like this in front of other people, even if this wasn't a normal situation and he wasn't really _kissing_ her…not exactly. Still, trying to tell her body that was a little difficult, and she flushed lightly with embarrassment.

The flames soon settled her mind though as their heat soothed her pain, and she slowly started to relax, sighing into his mouth. However, it was only a few minutes later when she tensed up again as a new situation distracted her. Voices and pounding footsteps sounded down the hall, soon getting quite loud.

"Just up ahead, we're getting close."

That was Sting's voice.

"Yeah, I can smell blood and demons. It's real close."

And that was Laxus…. Sting must have run into the second infiltration team while he was escaping with Yukino.

"How much blood?!" Gray spat, sounding highly perturbed.

"A lot, but most of it is demon." Rogue answered. Apparently the seal on his gate had melted with the destruction of Zero. Good to know.

And then they were rounding the corner.

Lucy tried to pull away, flushing bright red once again and wanting to greet their comrades without a dragon attached to her lips, but Natsu refused to budge.

This didn't go unnoticed of course, and soon Gray was shouting, "What the hell hothead?! This really isn't the time!"

Mira twittered, Laxus said something along the same lines as Gray, Erza sputtered something insensible that sounded like, " _honestly_ ," and Juvia just said, "How romantic."

But over everyone else was a loud screech of, "LUUSHY!"

Natsu finally pulled free as Happy bulldozed into them, and Lucy quickly wrapped her arms around him as he bawled into her chest, drenching her shirt in seconds.

Meanwhile, a very flustered Gray continued to scold Natsu. "What the hell man?! She just got out of a fight! She's hurt! And we're still in enemy territory! What were you thinking?!"

"I'm healing her, dumbass!" Natsu shot back.

"In what world does making out equal healing?!"

"In the world of dragons and their mates! Now would you fuck off and let me finish?!"

"What in the…"

Thankfully Rogue stepped in to explain that a dragon's element had many positive effects on their mate, and healing was a fairly common one. Of course then Laxus asked what sort of injury she might have in her mouth, and this time it was Kurama who came forward with an explanation.

Meanwhile, Natsu had recaptured her mouth and was busy finishing up what he started, much to Lucy's embarrassment. The whole situation was amazingly awkward, but thankfully it was over relatively quickly.

Once they had disengaged, Yukino hesitantly came forwards, looking agonized. "I'm so sorry…this is all my fault. If I wasn't so weak, I wouldn't have been captured, and you wouldn't have been so badly hurt. And…our keys wouldn't have been…"

She broke down into tears, and Rogue rushed forwards to comfort her. Sting lingered back, his face a mask of deep pain and guilt as he was confronted by what had happened.

"It's not your fault. We were all taken by surprise." Erza said soothingly, but also with a firmness that brooked little argument. Then she said, "Now, we have to decide what to do from here and what our best plan of attack is. Team One has been successful in finding Yukino, but we still have to get her and Lucy to safety. Plus, we still need to accomplish our mission and destroy the gates."

"Agreed. We should split up again to accomplish both." Jellal nodded in accordance with his girlfriend's statement.

"Now wait just a minute!" Lucy protested.

Simultaneously Yukino said, "I can still fight!"

All eyes turned to the two celestial mages, looking them over with doubt and disbelief.

"Um, hate to break it to ya, but you two are beat up, out of magic, and out of keys in Yukino's case. You should both get the hell outta here." Laxus intoned with all the subtlety of a wrecking ball, but there was compassion in his eyes.

Yukino winced, being hit the hardest by that statement, but she quickly stood to her full height and stared the lightning dragon slayer down. "I'm not particularly injured and I can still fight…even without my keys. As for magic…" she glanced at Rogue and made meaningful eye contact.

His eyes went wide and he murmured, "Are you sure? You haven't been able to before…"

"That's just because I was afraid…but I'm not anymore. Not after what I've been through." she said softly and held out her hand.

After a moment, he nodded and placed his palm in hers. A rush of magic filled the space, and Lucy recognized the feel of power being transferred from one person to another, even if she'd never experienced it from this side of the situation before. Yukino tensed for half a second, but then completely relaxed and Rogue's eyes filled with awe and something else, something more intense, as she apparently completely accepted him for the first time.

Everyone silently waited out the exchange and averted their eyes, sensing that it was a very private and intimate moment between the celestial wizard and the dragon.

Once the transfer had been complete, Yukino dropped Rogue's hand and met their eyes again, something new and fierce in her gaze. "I _will_ fight."

"Oookay. Well, that still leaves the issue of Lucy being hurt and out of magic." Laxus grumbled.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine." she countered, accepting a healthy dose of Natsu's fire into her veins. Her hands might still hurt where the bones were broken, but otherwise she was fully capable of kicking ass.

"Very well, but at least let me tend to your hands. The bones are obviously broken." Jellal intoned, bringing out a roll of bandages from one of his many pockets.

She nodded and he wrapped up her hands and fingers to help support the bones and keep them from getting even more out of place, though he left her enough mobility to wield her keys. As they did that, Gray froze and shattered Sting's anti-magic cuffs, finally freeing him from them.

Once they were all ready to go, it was simply a matter of following the map still in Sting and Lucy's heads towards a massive centralized room that had to be the chamber where the gates were being constructed.

As they ran, Lucy edged her way closer to Yukino, worried about the other celestial mage.

"Um…Yukino? How exactly _are_ you going to fight without any keys?"

"I never said I didn't have any keys left."

"What? But…"

"I still have one. But I've never used it because I couldn't control the being it summons." Yukino divulged, and then pulled up her sleeve.

Lucy watched with a great deal of shock as what looked like a black tattoo skittered down Yukino's arm. Really though, at first she'd thought it was some sort of bug…like a centipede or something.

"Ugh. You've got yourself a possession demon huh?" Kurama said from the other side, startling both girls.

"It attacked me several years ago on a mission and just…stuck around. I've never been able to control it before, but with Rogue's power, I really think I can."

"Makes sense, those little buggers are nasty. Without some demon in ya, there's no way you'd be able to control it. It would just try to take you over instead."

"Yeah I know. That almost happened the one and only time I tried to summon it."

Feeling like she was a little in the dark, Lucy asked, "So what exactly is a possession demon anyway? It doesn't sound like you made a contract with it or anything."

"You're right, I didn't. It just latched on without my permission."

"Possession demons don't typically do contracts. They're parasites…and their keys are like leaches. They attach to people that taste particularly good to them and then suck out their magic. But if you tried to use the key, it would summon the full demon, which would then latch onto the person completely and take them over…or eat them, it's kind of a toss up. Sometimes they can be symbiotic though, if you have a way to force them to behave themselves. Rogue's magic is pretty potent, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's just the thing to make this demon work for you, Yukino, but it'll still be a risk."

"I know, but that's a risk I'm willing to take right now." she replied seriously, her determined tone squelching the protest Lucy was about to make.

After that slightly disturbing conversation, they focused on simply traveling through the castle at top speed without running into any more demons…or as few as possible. It was inevitable that they would run into some, but thankfully with such a strong team they were able to plow through them fairly easily. That was probably because they didn't encounter any overly strong ones…at least not right away.

However, after about ten minutes of relatively unhindered progress, they rounded a corner and ran smack dab into a very large, muscled, longhaired demon that obviously had more firepower…literally. A few seconds after turning the corner, twin fiery lasers shot at them with enough force to break apart the wall behind them.

Everyone immediately scattered, doing everything in their power to dodge the attack. It was only after the dust and rubble had settled that they noted the beams hadn't come from him exactly…but rather from two dolls that floated above each shoulder.

"Excellent work my darlings." he crooned to the two dolls while flexing his arms and pecs as if posing for a photograph.

Everyone glanced at each other with similar expressions of bewilderment and disbelief.

One thing was certain though…. no matter how strange he was, he was also incredibly strong. That attack had been no laughing matter and had left more than one of them a little shaken.

Mira responded first, launching herself at him with her demonic wings. However, she only got so far before his dolls responded, and she was forced to dodge before she got a hit in. Erza dashed in on the opposite side to try for an attack as well, but the other doll spun to beat her back too. And all the while, the man beneath the dolls just stood there and encouraged them while striking poses. He was an odd one, that was for sure.

"You will never get past my Catherine and Francois. They are much too good for the likes of you!" he boasted, seeming almost like a proud parent or something.

"There's no way two little dolls are going to be enough to beat us." Natsu snorted back, sounding more amused than anything else.

"I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you. Doll is a pretty powerful demon lord." Kurama warned, though he didn't seem overly intimidated.

"Seriously? This joker's a lord?" Sting asked with a quirked brow.

"Yep, though he lets his 'daughters' do most of his fighting for him. But watch out, if you push him hard enough he'll get involved too, and then we'll have a problem."

"Really? What does he do? Shoot fire from his mouth too?" Laxus inquired as they continued to watch the battle between Erza, Mira, and their opponent. The two ladies seemed well-equipped to handle him themselves, so the rest of them were spectating for the time being until a sound battle strategy was decided upon.

"Nope, that's just the dolls. Actually, he has super-strength. Those muscles aren't just for show. And he's a good fighter…likes boxing and wrestling moves above others. He's not super-fast, but if he catches you, you're toast. Literally toast if Catherine and Francois get involved too. Plus he can break things apart, like the ground or walls, and throw insanely huge things at ya which isn't always fun. Oh yeah, and the dolls are immortal, you can't hurt them at all. So the only way to take him down is to knock him out, then the dolls will pass out with him."

"Sounds pretty tough." Gray grumbled, eyeballing the guy and snorting quietly when he started to pulse his pecs back and forth to a beat only their opponent was aware of. "Looks nuts though, it's hard to take him seriously."

"Can't argue with you there." Kurama laughed.

After a moment to absorb what had been said, Gray contemplatively asked, "Do you think I could freeze the dolls? Or would that not work on them either?"

"No, they can be frozen. I've seen Zero do it once before when Doll really pissed him off."

"Well then, I think I'm our best bet with this guy. Hey Erza!"

She had just landed from a particularly strenuous dodge and was now standing relatively close to them. At the call, she glanced over.

"Yes?"

"I'll take this guy, you all go on ahead. I'll catch up." Gray grunted, and everyone present turned to give him a somewhat disbelieving look.

"It doesn't seem like a good idea to take him on by yourself." Yukino pointed out.

"He won't be. I'm happy to help my Darling Gray take down this obstacle." Juvia predictably spoke up.

What wasn't so expected was for Sting to also volunteer, and Yukino and Rogue both looked at him with shock written on their faces. He avoided their gazes and it was clear to see that he was still ridden by guilt over losing Yukino's keys. Judging by his constantly shifting posture and the way his hands clenched spastically, he was also going a little stir-crazy and desperately needed to exert some pent-up negative energy. That probably explained why he was leaping at the first opportunity to go up against a big bad, even if he probably wasn't needed to take this one down.

"O-okay." Yukino finally said somewhat tremulously, looking a little hurt.

"Don't worry, I'll keep him safe!" Lector boasted from Sting's side, and she shot him a thankful grin.

After a long pause, Erza finally nodded. "Fine. Mira! Fall back!"

The she-demon did so, though she didn't seem pleased about being bossed around by Erza. Her Satan-Soul forms were always quite a bit bitchier than her normal sweet self.

"I don't take orders from you!"

"True. Nevertheless, Gray, Juvia, and Sting have said they'll take our places."

A somewhat intense stare off was interrupted by Sting – who was either stupid or had a death wish. "Um…hello? Let's get this party started already!"

He cringed back a little when two sets of terrifying eyes whirled on him, but thankfully he didn't end up dead. It looked like it was a close thing for a second there though.

"Fine. Come on." Mira finally conceded.

With that out of the way, the four volunteers engaged their opponent in battle, and once he was thoroughly preoccupied the rest of them managed to sneak around the ongoing fight and continue on.

Once again, they were able to make excellent headway towards their destination for about ten minutes or so, but then they started to hit complications.

They skidded into the middle of a ridiculous arrangement of halls that made no sense even with a map. There were at least fifteen different paths branching off of theirs and it took Lucy a few minutes to decide which was the right one. However, even after she'd made her choice, she wasn't confident about it, and after a few minutes of travel she realized it was the wrong path. So, they had to double back and try another, which thankfully turned out to be correct this time.

That wasn't the end of it though, because soon they ran into what seemed like a dead end. Oh, the hall continued, but it curved off in the wrong direction and the fork in the road that was supposed to be there was conspicuously absent.

"What the hell? There should be another hall right here!" Lucy burst out, starting to get exceptionally irritable with the whole thing. "Am I going crazy?"

"No, I smell another path too." Natsu said as he sniffed around the area she'd indicated.

They all went over to the smooth wall and started swiping their hands over it, looking for any sort of mechanism that might open it up. After a moment, Rogue turned into shadow and started crawling across the wall, disappearing into every little crack. Soon he disappeared and a thunk, click, and grinding sound made everyone take a few precautionary steps back, but thankfully it wasn't an indication of a trap being triggered. Instead, the whole wall shuddered and then rose, exposing Rogue standing behind it.

"Well, it looks like we're going the right way if they're going to this much trouble." Laxus grunted.

"Indeed." Erza agreed with a nod.

As they all started descending the stairs now in front of them – which led straight to the ground floor where the chamber was located according to the map – Natsu asked, "How much further?"

"We're getting close."

"Great, cause I'm all fired up!" he said, ironically right as they ran into a pack of demons. With a feral grin, he punched one flaming hand into his other palm and then bulldozed forwards, acting like a fiery bowling ball and knocking all the demons down.

They all hung back a second to avoid being cooked alive, and when he got through the demons – which poofed back to Asphodel extra crispy – he turned and barked, "What're you all waiting for?! Come on!"

With a series of rolled eyes, huffs, and grumbles they followed him.

…

Eventually, after plowing through more demons, running through halls, taking more than one wrong turn, and making their own doorways, they finally all skidded through a massive gateway that led into an equally massive courtyard.

It was open air, there was no roof to the courtyard or ornamentation of any kind. It was completely and utterly empty, just a huge hexagonal room with only one massive entrance. If it weren't for the two ginormous magical gateways that sat slightly cattycorner to each other, one on either side of the courtyard, it would have looked incredibly void-like and strange.

One of these gateways was obviously a portal to the demon's world – judging by the hordes of them clomping through in droves. It probably wasn't usually this packed, but they'd likely been enlisted to help with the invasion – which explained why the Fairy Tail mages had encountered more and more of them the closer they got to this place.

That gateway was actually quite lovely, made of silver, gold, and lots of darker richer metals, all coiled like vines around a massive sparkly black granite archway. The doors to the gate were also elaborate and highly decorative, with the metallic vines forming what looked like bars.

The other gateway was similarly beautiful. Ornate gold and silver spirals decorated an archway that culminated at a point instead of being totally rounded. The archway itself was made out of a rich blue stone that looked like lapis laced with sparkly mica, and the doors were made of a white pearlescent material – which would have lent to an excellent pearly gates joke if it hadn't been utterly inappropriate under the circumstances.

However, the disturbing thing about that lovely piece of magical architecture was how complete it seemed to be. There were some spots in the doors where it looked like someone had taken a cosmic eraser to them, but for the most part the thing was tangible and real. Lucy knew exactly what magic was being piped into it too…she could feel echoes of her own keys as a little toad-like demon used a tube to direct liquid gold into the empty spaces. As soon as the magic touched the structure, it disappeared in flashes of gold and silver as more of the gate appeared in the spot it touched.

"We have to stop them from completing the gate!" she burst, getting the attention of her comrades.

"Indeed. And we have to break the gate that's letting in all these demons…no offense." Erza muttered, and then glanced at Kurama for the last part.

He shrugged. "None taken. You want me to take care of these small fry for you?"

They glanced at the hordes of demons now heading right for them, and Erza's eyebrows raised with some consternation. Waving her hand towards them she said, "By all means."

He grinned, and then to everyone's shock he started changing. In a painful looking process, his skin seemed to burn away, exposing what looked like black charred flesh. Then bones began to appear over his body, almost like he was growing a second skeleton. The new skeletal structure was distinctly not human, a notion which was swiftly made even stronger when muscles began to layer themselves on top of the bones. After a detailed lesson in vulpine anatomy, skin and orange fur finally appeared, leaving a fox with nine tails, excessively long ears, and an unnatural pony-sized stature. He was about the same size as Amy in fact, and turned to give the white wolf a grin and a wink.

Then, he started to grow – rapidly – and soon they all had to take a few rapid steps back to avoid getting smooshed. That turned out to be a doubly good idea, because the next moment he had bunched up his hindquarters – which shoved his tails in their faces and nearly knocked them all over as he sprung forwards. He landed in the exact center of the courtyard and promptly began to play whack-a-mole with the other demons – using each of his nine tails as a glowing club. Most of the lower leveled demons went poof at one hit, while a few required a second or third strike.

Both front paws also danced as he smacked demons into the ground like a puppy playing with a bunch of ants, and it almost looked like he was having fun as he squashed all his brethren. The rest of team two hung back and watched the bedlam with mixed expressions of shock, amusement, confusion, bemusement, and slight disturbation.

Laxus snorted and reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "Well…you've got an interesting one there, Lucy."

She caught his bemused side eye and snorted in amusement.

The courtyard was mostly cleared in a few minutes and they quickly started heading towards the demon gate to try and take it out of commission. However, halfway there they encountered a strong demon who Kurama hadn't been able to take out. She was some sort of rabbit demon, with tall white ears, long white hair, and a puffy rabbit tail in the back. Other than that she looked human and wore a shiny blueish-purple set of armor, though she also strangely went barefoot.

Erza and Mira immediately took her on, which turned out to be good since she was remarkably strong. Her superpowered kicks were tough for even those two to contend with. The rest of their party left them to it and continued on towards the demon gate. If they could take that out, all the demons here would be forcibly sent back, and that would be the end of it. They could destroy the other gate at their leisure after that.

Natsu fried all the weaker demons they met as they got closer to the gate, and Laxus zapped the ones Natsu didn't. It quickly turned into a competition, with them shouting scores at each other from the front lines.

"I've got 25!"

"That's 39!"

When a giant mammoth-looking thing with enormous spiky tusks came through, they all stared at it for a few seconds, and then Natsu launched himself onto it, grabbing its trunk on the way over its head – which wrenched its neck around and probably broke it. If that wasn't enough, he then drove a fiery fist into its back while still going. When he landed on the other side of its tail, the demon was basically bent in half and had flipped over backwards…. and its shaggy fur was on fire. It immediately poofed back to Asphodel.

Natsu then brushed his hands off and turned to give Laxus a smug smirk. The lightning dragon slayer scowled at him and remarked, "It still only counts as one point."

Lucy rolled her eyes at their ridiculous shenanigans, while Happy snickered in the air next to her.

Thankfully it didn't take long for them to get to the demon gate, and once there they didn't waste any time in hitting it with their strongest attacks. Lucy used Taurus's star dress for brute strength, hoping to just kick it apart. She didn't summon Taurus though of course, because he was still probably recovering from being skewered by a giant icicle. Laxus beat it with fists covered in lethal lightning, while Jellal hit it with a bunch of different kinds of spells, obviously trying to see if it was weak to any particular magic type. Natsu blasted it with both fire and physical attacks. Amy and several of her pack stood sentinel and attacked any demons trying to sneak up behind them. Rogue meanwhile turned himself into shadow and slithered all over the thing – easily avoiding their attacks on the gate – and searched it for any weak spots that he could use to tear it apart at the seams. Happy flew up above them and called down reports of the rest of the courtyard, letting them know how Erza, Mira, and Kurama were doing and if any demons were coming their way.

Meanwhile, Yukino had summoned her possession demon and was currently struggling to wrestle it under her control…a rather ugly looking process as black stuff oozed out from her hand and wrapped tendrils up around her arm that tried to crawl towards her face. She seemed to be in a great deal of pain, and at the first scream, Rogue stopped working on the gate and went to her side to help in whatever way he could. With a glance at Amy, the white wolf nodded and summoned a guard of wolves to watch out for the downed celestial mage until she could get control of whatever thing was currently trying to take her over.

Even though her heart ached for her friend and she wished she could help, there was nothing Lucy could do for her. She was better off focusing on the gate…not that it was doing much good. Nothing they threw at it seemed to make a dent…or if it did, the dents were really, _**really**_ tiny. Even more irritating, demons kept pouring out of the thing and getting in the way – though a lot of them were instantly fried from the constant barrage of attacks. Any that dared to sneak by were promptly ripped apart by wolves or were squashed by an orange tail.

The Fairy Tail mages were so focused on the demon gate – or their own problems – that they didn't even notice that the little demon who was building the celestial gate had managed to sneak by Kurama and was still over there working on its job – even if it had to hide from time to time. At least, they didn't notice it until Lucy started to feel a telltale tingle and glanced over her shoulder to see the celestial gate even more complete than before.

"Shit! I have to go stop that little demon from finishing the celestial gate!" she yelled to her comrades as she ran off across the courtyard.

They split up into two groups, Natsu, Amy, and Happy all followed Lucy across the courtyard – though Amy left several wolves behind to help the others. Jellal and Laxus continued to bash the demon gate, and of course Rogue and Yukino were a bit preoccupied with other things at the moment.

As Lucy made a beeline for the golden gate, using Cancer's star dress now for speed, she started running into trouble.

Demons were very gradually beginning to pile up again. As they wised up to how the attacks landed on their gate, some started to slip through, and even more began to pour in from the rest of the castle. Kurama was kept busy trying to smash every one of them flat, but the ones in the courtyard now were quicker and tougher than all the grunts from before and gave him a run for his money. So Lucy had to dodge more than one demon on her way towards the celestial gate, and very nearly got knocked on her ass a couple of times.

Of course Natsu used his flames to knock aside any demons that dared to approach her, and Happy kept chattering down at them from above, letting them know whenever it looked like one was coming their way.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like they were going to make it… the demon constructing the gate was tubing magic into the very last empty patch and it was very quickly starting to close up.

Seeing this, Lucy panicked and shouted, "Amy! You're our last chance!"

"On it!" she barked, and - using her supernatural speed - she zoomed ahead of them, leaping into the air to avoid demons as they tried to stop her. Even with Cancer's star dress, Lucy couldn't hope to compete with Amy…especially not with demons tripping her up. The celestial wolf moved like a shooting star…a streak of white zipping across the sky so fast that a single blink would make her invisible.

She dove from the air with the speed of a bird of prey and pounced on the demon doing the piping, latching her jaws onto his throat and shaking him like a ragdoll. He immediately poofed back to Asphodel.

However, he had just pumped in a rushed amount of magic when he saw her coming for him, and as Lucy, Natsu, and Happy finally arrived, they all watched with horror as that empty hole grew smaller, and smaller, and smaller…and then finally closed.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Lucy immediately turned and attacked the gate with everything she had, shifting once again into Taurus's star dress and kicking it so hard that any normal structure should have been blown apart. She was distracted though when a demon plowed into her from one side and she got knocked head over toes into the gate._

 _With an oof, she found herself on the other side of the gate, but that didn't matter to her, she still attacked the structure._

 ** _..._**

 **(Plus, an extra peek for a special holiday present. ;D)**

 _Magic snapped the air and crackled as the gateway shut, and a vortex formed, sucking any and every being that wasn't supposed to be in this world out harshly like a whirlpool._

 _Lucy didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to any of the spirits she had lost contracts to before she was whisked away._


	54. Chapter 54

**Author's Note:**

Hello! Alright, so, I had hoped that I would post yesterday or the day before to make up for missing Wednesday, but, well...that didn't happen as you can see. Ack! . But hey, at least I got it up today. ;D Right?... Right? *hears crickets in the distance*

Okay, well, HUMONGOUS thanks to everyone who reviewed! Big kisses and hugs to my repeat reviewers: TheJSmooth, Lucinda, illeashya, agirl0ntheinternet, sakshishetty3003, stranger1999, Leomae2.0, Raven claw, valerioux, Firefly9917, quidditchChick6, and The Age of Awesomeness.

Now, let's get on with the show shall we! Stay tuned till the end for a sneak peek at next chapter. ;D

* * *

At the sudden vivid flash of bright gold, Lucy knew they had failed. A surge of familiar energy pulsed over her, bringing with it a wave of wind and light as the celestial gates opened, creating a massive portal into the celestial realm.

A colossal voice resounded from within the demon gate – one that was undoubtedly that of a dragon. Lucy had only ever heard three like it before…something so deeply resonating and enormously powerful… and that was Acnologia, Natsu, and Rogue when they were in their true dragon forms.

"My brethren and loyal subjects…the gates have been opened for us to the celestial realm at last. I want every last one of you to go to the gate chamber and make an all-out assault on the heavens…drag them down! Take their magic and power! Break them and leave them defenseless! We will conquer their realm and grow stronger than any other race in this universe! And with that power we will take Earthland next. Then we will go on to the next world, and the next, until we have conquered all realms!"

This speech and order was met with a mixture of cheers from the demons that seemed to support Acnologia and silence from those who didn't. Surprisingly, there was more of the later than Lucy had anticipated, and an unexpected pang of sympathy went through her as she remembered that most of the demons they were fighting against actually had no choice in the matter. They were slaves to Acnologia because he held their keys and was powerful enough to force them to obey without any kind of signed contract.

Gradually, the light emitting from the portal lessened, and then the glow suddenly dispersed in a brilliant flash that had Lucy staggering back. When she regained her sight and balance, she looked back up and stalled out at the sight that greeted her.

Apparently the celestial spirits had been able to discern the location of this gate before it was completed, because on the other side of the now fully open doors stood every celestial spirit Lucy knew…and quite a few she didn't.

She burst into tears as she met the eyes of all her previous spirits whose keys had been broken.

Really, she should have expected it, but somehow the idea of coming face to face with everyone she'd lost had never crossed her mind. As such, she was utterly unprepared for the rush of fresh grief and guilt that swamped and incapacitated her.

"I'm so sorry! I tried to stop them from melting your keys…it's all my fault…if I'd been able to stop them, this gate wouldn't have been built…and our contracts wouldn't have been broken…I'm…I'm so, so sorry…"

The verbal vomit and sobs were cut off harshly with a resounding slap. "Pull yourself together!"

That was Aquarius of course.

The war raged around them, but it seemed strangely dimmed somehow, as if they were in their own private bubble. Lucy's head stayed bowed and to the side where it had snapped upon being slapped. Her blubbering stopped, but the tears didn't.

"…I'm so sorry…" she whispered after a long period of silence.

Strong fingers pinched her chin and forced her head around, making her look Aquarius dead in the eye, and she was shocked by what she saw there. Inside the mermaid's gaze was no disdain, no anger for losing her key, nothing but fierce understanding and acceptance. It was sharp, clearly telling her that this was a battlefield and no place to break down, but it was also warm and compassionate and held a world of emotions that Lucy never imagined Aquarius might express. Of course none of that was said.

"You did everything you could. Now drop it! It's not time for goodbyes. It's time to fight!"

"Right."

With a stern nod, Aquarius dropped her fingers from Lucy's chin and simultaneously dropped the shell of water that she had erected around them to protect the distraught mage.

Lucy immediately turned and attacked the gate with everything she had, shifting once again into Taurus's star dress and kicking it so hard that any normal structure should have been blown apart. She was distracted though when a demon plowed into her from one side and she got knocked head over toes into the gate.

With an oof, she found herself on the other side of the gate, but that didn't matter to her, she still attacked the structure. When the same demon tried to come at her again, she backhanded him so hard with her forearm that he poofed back to his own world with just that one blow. He'd probably be back, but not until he had gotten through the jam-packed traffic that was backed up at the other gate. Not to mention he'd have to get through Jellal, Laxus, wolves, and Kurama…plus all the other Fairy Tail mages that were sure to be flooding in. Now that the demons had orders to come to the courtyard, they'd undoubtedly abandon the battle in front of the castle, and all the mages fighting them could simply follow them here.

On this side of the gate, Lucy found herself fighting shoulder to shoulder with all her spirits at once, which was an indescribable experience.

A glowing golden fist landed in the same spot her foot had just kicked, and she glanced to the side to see Leo. He was still cut up a bit from the ice tornado he'd been forced to endure earlier, but he had already healed a good deal, much to Lucy's relief.

After sharing a brief smile, she refocused on the gate and commenced pounding the same spot over and over with kicks, and on the upswing Leo hit it with a regulus punch. Her feet began to protest a little, even with Taurus's strength and durability, but she kept at it with dogged persistence.

To complicate matters though, they had to constantly fend off demons while they worked on the gate. Multitasking could prove tedious even under good circumstances, and in a situation like _**this**_ it was only a matter of time before a demon managed to sneak through their defenses. The inevitable was announced by Leo grunting, and the pained sound immediately put Lucy on high alert. She was already turning towards him when he staggered sideways into her.

Instantly, she wrapped an arm around his middle to help steady him, and the sensation of warmth and wetness met her wrist as it pressed into his side. A stab of worry hit her hard, but she pushed it aside to focus on the immediate threat. Looking past him, she saw the demon who had managed to hurt her friend. He was some sort of furry demon with super long claws, which were now dripping red, and he flashed an evil grin at them with jagged fangs.

Lucy had just yanked her whip free and was aiming to pop him a new one right in the face – even with her hurt hand – when a massive wall of pink fluff plowed into the asshole…and every other demon to either side of him as it kept rolling forwards.

Lucy's eyes jerked to the side and she spotted Aries, who was looking pretty fierce for once and very determined. Looking back towards the gate, her eyes widened when she saw the pink wool ball fit snugly between the open doors, creating a really tough obstacle for the enemy to get through. The demons already in the celestial realm were still a concern, but the wool ball seriously slowed down new ones from showing up. They had to combat sleepy comfort and push through the thick wool to get through…and it resealed behind them.

Turning back to Leo, Lucy muttered, "You should go find a healer or rest until those wounds have closed. You're losing too much blood."

The lion spirit gritted his teeth and looked like he might protest, but eventually he nodded and fell to the back of the line where he could catch a breather for a moment. Celestial spirits might not be able to die in Earthland, but if they were attacked in the celestial realm and weren't given enough time to heal, they probably could get killed.

Lucy turned back to the post they had been battering, and when she noted a few tiny cracks she felt a spark of hope ignite in her gut and restarted with a vigor. When a spray of ocean water hit her cheek, she glanced to the left to see Aquarius fiercely attacking the other post of the gate with waves that acted like battering rams. Most other spirits had withdrawn to attacking the doors or the right post with Lucy – to avoid being swept away.

Virgo soon joined Lucy as well and started digging to the side of the post. When she disappeared into the ground and the entire structure began to vibrate, Lucy knew she was battering it from underneath – which was a great idea.

"Keep it up Virgo! I can feel the whole thing shaking!" she called, and the vibrations only seemed to increase in intensity as the spirit obviously heard her.

A moment later, warm fur caressed her side, and she looked to her left to see Amy standing beside her. Apparently she'd managed to follow Lucy through the gate, though they'd been temporarily separated.

She glanced up at Lucy and snorted, before turning to the post and rising up on hind paws to claw at it like a cat with a scratching post. More wolves poured in from seemingly nowhere until Lucy was surrounded by them as they dug, bit, and scratched at the gate. Some peeled off to take care of the demons that continued to push through the wool, and even more stepped into the sky to attack the top of the archway. Some even landed on it and started digging down into the structure.

A few thin cracks began to radiate from various places…but they also seemed to heal if left alone too long. However, when a small chip suddenly dropped off from an edge of the arch and fell in front of Lucy, she watched as it dissolved to nothing, and when she glanced up, a tiny indent was left behind. So chunks that were taken out didn't regenerate – a fact which she loudly and excitedly shared with everyone in her general vicinity.

A blast of flame from somewhere on the battlefield behind the wool made Lucy aware that Natsu was out in the courtyard, which explained why she hadn't seen him since being kicked through the gate. A knot of worry that she hadn't even been aware of eased somewhat.

The slight distraction was enough that Lucy didn't even see the demon lord that managed to get through the wool. However, she certainly heard the series of pained yips that sounded shortly afterwards, and when she worriedly glanced over to see what was going on, she immediately noticed that several of the wolves had gone down. One thrashed in seeming agony at every tap – of which there were many since the poor pup was being run over by demons and accidentally tripped on by other spirits. Another ran around bumping into things like it was suddenly blind, and the third was limping and hopping around as if it couldn't stand to put its paws down. Like the one on the ground, it cringed away from any contact with another, as if the slightest brush was enough to cause intense pain.

Lucy determined the source of these unpleasant happenings when she saw a new avian-looking demon female cast a magic circle at another wolf, which made it go utterly limp… either from loss of muscle control or because it was knocked out. Looking at the evidence, it looked like this demon's curses could affect the body in any way she wished, possibly causing loss of senses, oversensitivity, and/or loss of other body functions. From what Lucy could tell, the demoness had to physically touch the victim though, so that meant…

She discarded Taurus's star dress and donned Leo's. She barely needed a second to aim before blasting a beam of light from her hand, hitting the demon in her heart. The bird-woman staggered back, gasping and wincing before turning to glare at Lucy. Then, an arrow planted in her thigh, and both Lucy and the demoness looked over to see a still pretty ragged-looking Sagittarius standing at the very back of the battle. He'd parked himself on a little hill and was currently aiming his bow right at the demon.

While she was distracted by the centaur's arrow, Lucy launched another beam of light, and this time aimed for the woman's throat. Her head whipped around and she managed to dodge the projectile made of light, but not the arrow that hit her other thigh – since it was one of five all sent to various positions that she could have put her leg. The other four fell harmlessly to the ground.

As the demoness winced and yanked that arrow out, Lucy took aim and shot several zaps at her in quick succession. She managed to dodge those, and the next volley from Sagittarius, but finally got hit again with Lucy's following attack. She started towards Lucy, taking down a few wolves as she went, until Lucy begged for the wolves to stand back out of the way. Sagittarius continued to shoot at her, as did Lucy, but she kept coming despite her increasing resemblance to a burnt pincushion.

Eventually Lucy had to start backing up, still shooting as she went. When she tripped and fell, she panicked momentarily, especially as the demon dashed forwards the last few steps and reached out to grab her. Lucy flinched back, shifting to her Cancer gear to use the extra speed for escape purposes, but she fumbled the process of getting up.

A bare inch from touching Lucy, the demoness fell back and screamed, holding her hand in pain and grimacing at her in shock.

Lucy quaked with the same sentiment as her body was suddenly coated with fire – which had burned the bird-lady. Acting on instinct, Lucy clothed herself with her fire dragon star dress and then kicked herself for not thinking of that a moment ago. When she looked towards the gate, she saw that the wool ball had disappeared, and apparently its dispersal had allowed Natsu to see what was going on and he'd hustled to help. He was now making a beeline for the still-smoking demoness that had accosted her.

"Don't touch her! She can curse you if you touch her!" Lucy yelled.

He just grinned and then filled his cheeks with air before spitting fire at the lady, who finally poofed back to the demon realm with a yell.

As soon as the threat was gone, Lucy looked over to where Aries had been and saw her being carried off by Gemini. Hopefully she had just passed out from exhaustion and hadn't been hurt.

She was distracted though by a pair of heated arms wrapping tightly around her in a very quick, but very intense, hug.

They didn't have much time of course, because the battle was still ongoing and only seemed to be getting more intense. So, they quickly separated, and after a brilliant smile Natsu immediately went for the nearest demon while Lucy scanned the fight for an overview of how it was going – and where she could be best used.

Cancer was in his battle gear wielding his huge claws with devastating effect. Aquarius was still battering away at her section of the archway… and swept away any demon stupid enough to get near her. Taurus had now taken over slamming his ax into the right side of the gate where Lucy had previously been. Amy and her wolves were now all on top of the arch, digging and chipping away at it with their claws. And then Bartolomeo came forwards and took Aries's place creating a barrier in front of the gate and blocking it off. That left him vulnerable though, and suddenly all the demons that had just come through the gate – and there were a lot – all went for him. Libra, Pisces, and a beautiful woman that Lucy had never seen before all rushed to protect him. The white-haired spirit who Lucy was unfamiliar with wielded light like Sting's, and Lucy eventually realized that she must be Rogue's mother.

Strangely, the Celestial King wasn't doing much fighting. Lucy would have thought that he would be at the front lines taking down demons and the gate with little to no trouble. However, she soon found out – by asking a nearby spirit – that he was stymied by his excessively large stature and powerful magic and risked taking out all his loyal subjects along with the demons if he wasn't careful.

From time to time though, he did shoot devastating beams of celestial light from the tip of his sword, and whatever unlucky demon happened to be on the other end of it instantly poofed, no matter their level.

He was also steadily making his way towards the gate, and as soon as Lucy noted that little fact, she realized that bashing on the magical structure was pretty pointless. The best use of her time would be to clear out the demons and prevent them from doing too much damage, because as soon as the Celestial King got to the gate, it would all be over.

She wasn't the only one to notice it either, because the closer he got to the gate, the more spirits left it alone. In fact, most vacated that particular area entirely and focused on eliminating the demons who had gotten through. It was only a matter of time now.

Within a handful of minutes, the Celestial King had managed to wade through the battle and made it to the gate. At that point, Bart dropped his shield and he – along with everyone else – fell back to give the enormous celestial spirit enough room to work. Nobody wanted to get caught up in his magical attacks.

Brilliant light cloaked him, emitting especially strong from his enormous sword, and he stood a little ways back from the glowing archway, taking a stance. The light and magic power grew stronger and stronger, to the point where any demons coming through the gate were almost instantly fried and sent back. All the celestial spirits were also pushed back as magical energy started buffeting them like a hurricane was blowing in their faces, and everyone retreated even further – or were thrown, if they didn't move of their own accord. There was a mad scramble as everyone took cover, and Lucy soon found herself cloaked in a red leathery wing that shielded her from the worst of it.

With a crash that sounded like lightning had struck right on top of them, or the world itself had cracked, the Celestial King shot forwards, running his sword through the gate and landing on the other side – faster than the eye could follow in a blinding flash that looked like a comet.

There was a long pause, and then finally, with a thunderous grinding rock-against-metal sound, a huge crack started at the bottom and began to travel up the archway, branching out into a fine network of fissures as it went. With an echoing bang, the entire thing broke apart into pieces. Magic snapped the air and crackled as the gateway shut, and a vortex formed, sucking any and every being that wasn't supposed to be in this world out harshly like a whirlpool.

Lucy didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to any of the spirits she had lost contracts to before she was whisked away.

She and all the demons who had come through the gate were deposited without ceremony into the courtyard and were dropped on the ground hard enough that several of the lowest powered demons poofed upon impact. As for Lucy, she was thrown a good distance, and landed with an oof as her back hit the hard pavement.

The quickness of it all left her breathless, and for a long moment she was stunned. Somewhat numbly, she propped herself up and saw all the demons staggering to their feet and fights starting to resume. It seemed that the magical disturbance of the gate closing had temporarily distracted everyone who was currently fighting in the courtyard, because when she'd first landed it was echoingly quiet.

When she glanced back, it was to see that the celestial gate had completely disappeared, leaving no rubble or any trace at all of its existence.

Her staring was broken when a commotion barreled down on her, and she just barely managed to heave herself to her feet and stumble out of the way as Jet, Droy, and several demons blew past in a flurry of claws, limbs, and plants. Staggering back a few steps, her eyes returned unbidden to the spot she had just been thrown from, and the gaping emptiness where the gate once stood. It echoed like the emptiness she could now feel in her own heart and the light clinking at her waist. The sound was all wrong, as was the weight, and the loss of her keys and spirits hit her hard once again.

Tears poured down her face and blurred her vision, even as she squared up against more than one demon who were targeting her now as a weak link. She roughly wiped her eyes and donned her dragon star dress, knowing she didn't have time to wallow in her own sorrow, but the tears simply wouldn't abate. Losing them all over again had made it much more difficult to push to the back of her mind and try to ignore.

Still, she had to fight, so she managed to pull herself together enough to lash fire in her opponents' faces, driving them away from her. Sadness channeled into anger, which strengthened the violent movements as she fended off demons coming at her from all sides.

A cheerful and extremely relieved voice from above helped to lighten her mood significantly.

"Lucy! You're back!" Happy shouted, hovering in the air high enough that her flames didn't roast him.

"Happy!" she called back, feeling her heart lift at the sight of her feline companion.

He quickly divebombed her and she snuffed out her flames so he could latch on and whisk her safely into the air, where she could get a good look at the tide of battle.

"How's it going on this side of the gate?" she quickly asked after returning the nuzzle his blue nose had given her cheek.

"Okay I guess. Gray, Sting, Juvia, and Lector finally caught up with us. And a lot of other people have shown up too."

"Yeah, I can see that…" she murmured, eyeballing the fight splayed out beneath her.

Two hammers were currently battering the demon gate, one was wielded by Erza, and the one made of ice was obviously Gray's doing. They each took a post and smashed at them like a pair of highly determined miners or demolition workers doing their job. The ice hammer blew apart at every impact, which meant Gray had to construct a new one for each blow, but he thankfully still seemed to possess plenty of vim, vigor, and vitality.

As for the battle against the demons…Kurama continued to smack them left and right with his tails, which added to the chaos as bodies flew through the air. But those were merely canon fodder, which kept pouring in from the gate and the rest of the castle. The real fights were between the mages of Fairy Tail and the stronger demons.

Unfortunately, quite a few queens, kings, and lords had managed to find their way to the courtyard and were making things highly unpleasant for the Fairy Tail mages. One that seemed to specialize in sand was facing off with Master Makarov and Laxus just outside the courtyard and they'd already taken out what seemed like a whole chunk of the castle on that side. It was pretty much a hill of rubble that they now fought on. Laxus and Gramps were holding their own, but the demon was putting up a shockingly good fight against them.

Meanwhile, a whole other section of the castle had been flooded with black poisonous water, and Juvia, Gajeel, and Levy were currently dealing with the demon that had created the new waterscape. How they were doing it without drowning, Lucy didn't know since they seemed to be fighting mostly underwater.

She couldn't see Wendy anywhere, so assumed that the sky dragon slayer had probably set up a medical station outside somewhere. She might have even gone to check on the outer courtyard, if her attention hadn't been diverted by an explosion down below. Someone went flying, and Lucy immediately gestured for Happy to swoop closer and investigate.

What they saw instantly made them intervene before a particularly strong demon could kill Max. As they landed in between the two combatants, Max nearly collapsed with relief, and Lucy took the time to size up her new opponent. He was male, with sharp teeth, pointy ears, a yellow and black tail, black tattooed arms, and a nasty attitude.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the mage who defeated Zero…" he chuckled, his attention utterly diverted to her. "I can't wait to blow up your ass and gloat. He'll be so pissed."

"Thanks for letting me know what your power is, that's awfully helpful." she snarked right back, and carefully edged away from the downed Fairy Tail mage so he could escape.

As soon as they had put enough distance between them and their downed comrade, she took a battle stance and geared up for the conflict about to take place. If this demon exploded things, something told her she should probably keep her distance, so she readied her fire whip. Snapping it in his face, he winced back just a hair and grabbed for it but his hand passed right through the stream of fire. It might act like a physical whip, but only at her will. Nobody else could handle the fire.

"What the fuck is this?" he spat, looking consternated.

His reaction suggested to Lucy that he needed to touch something to explode it, and she became even more resolved to keep her distance. That became a little difficult though, because he was pretty damn fast. He quickly got up in her business, zipping past her fire whip and getting too close for her to properly wield the stream of fire. So, she let the whip fizzle into nothing, and - as his fist lashed out towards her solar plexus - she put up both hands and blasted fire right into his face. It also had the added benefit of propelling her backwards like a rocket, and she shifted her weight to the balls of her feet so she could skid without falling over. It was a good thing that she was wearing a star dress, because any normal shoes probably would have lost their soles from that little stunt.

The demon fell back with a yell, his eyes scrunched closed thanks to the blast of flames, and then he shook his head like a wet dog. To Lucy's dismay, he didn't seem overly affected by her attack…. If anything, when his eyes opened they were glittering even more fiercely.

"Well now, you _**are**_ a feisty one, aren't ya? This is gonna be fun."

That shark-toothed grin he sent her didn't make her feel any better about the situation, but she still readied herself for battle nonetheless. This time though, he went with a different approach and managed to take her by surprise. He took one step forwards, planted that foot with a stomp that cracked the ground, and then a huge magic circle formed under it.

There was a brief second, just long enough for Lucy to think, ' _oh shit,'_ and then the ground exploded, breaking apart in a wave that came at her like a tsunami. Before she could either dodge or figure out how to counter it with flames, something long and dark wrapped around her and yanked her out of the earthquake's path. She landed on her butt at her savior's feet.

Looking up, she was shocked to see Yukino.

"Are you alright Lucy?"

"Yeah, thanks to you!" she gasped as she quickly got back to her feet.

She didn't notice that the dark thing was still wrapped around her, at least not until it unwrapped and skittered off her. At the creepy sensation, she glanced down to see what looked like an enormous centipede-like thing releasing her and immediately yelped, flinching violently at the disturbing sight.

"Sorry about that, I know it's kind of unpleasant to look at." her companion apologized with a chagrined tone of voice.

Glancing over, Lucy had a hard time keeping her jaw from dropping when she saw that the long black… _thing_ , was coming out of Yukino's back. And it wasn't the only one, there were three other long segmented, legged, centipede-like protrusions snaking around in the air like they had a mind of their own.

"Um…I guess you got the possession demon under control, huh?"

"Yes."

At that point, their little chat was interrupted by the demon Lucy had been fighting.

"You know…I really don't like being ignored."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did we hurt your tender feelings?" Yukino shot back, startling Lucy with the sarcastic biting comment. Apparently, using demon magic was affecting her personality – much like it did with Mira.

All of those black things snapped to attention and arched like four scorpion tails, poised to strike at the enemy.

"Huh…I see you picked up Rize somewhere. I'm surprised she hasn't eaten you whole by now." their opponent mused as he eyeballed the black things.

"We came to an understanding." Yukino replied.

"Huh, well whatever. Enough chit-chat, I'm getting bored."

And with that dismissive comment, he came at them with glowing palms. Yukino vaulted out of the way, her tails – for lack of a better word – spearing into the ground and launching her into the air. Meanwhile, Lucy blasted him off her with more dragon fire, and when he got a little too close for comfort she was yanked out of the way yet again, this time by Happy. He set her back down but stayed on her shoulders just in case she needed another emergency lift.

All attacks came to a grinding halt however, when a loud booming voice echoed from the gateway.

"How dare you destroy the celestial gate?! Very well! If you want so badly for us to take over Earthland before the celestial realm, I am more than happy to oblige!"

"He's a little behind don't you think?" Lucy started to say to Happy, but she was interrupted by something infinitely more concerning.

A massive power surge emitted from the gate, blowing everyone in the vicinity back as deep pulsing magic spilled out in waves. Every single demon cowered, some more than others, and even Kurama cringed back a bit. The magic grew stronger and stronger, as if something was coming closer, until finally, someone stepped through the gateway and into the courtyard.

It was a man with a long wild mane of hair, dark skin, and stripes streaking his skin like a tiger. His hair, eyes, and stripes were all various shades of blue, from silvery sky blue to deep azure. He wore all black, from his long cape to his boots, pants, and sleeveless shirt. The only hint of color in his outfit were gold wrist cuffs and a gold crescent neck plate that draped over his collarbones and held up his cape.

He also wore a deep scowl, and from the waves of anger Lucy could feel shivering off him, it was obvious he was beyond pissed.

His eyes shifted over the crowd, before solidly landing on Lucy and Yukino. A disturbing smile curled his lips, and Lucy couldn't prevent her feet from backing up as a deep shiver crawled up and down her spine.

"So…you're the celestial mages. And one of you still has some keys. Excellent…take them!"

Instantly, every demon close to them turned and headed right for them.

Erza – who had been thrown in their direction – leaped to the defense, taking out every demon that headed their way. However, soon one of the demon kings came up against her, one with multiple limbs and even some tentacles.

"Keep that one busy Ezel…she's a powerful mage." Acnologia ordered.

The octopus fellow – Ezel apparently – nodded and drove Erza further and further away from Lucy and Yukino. His limbs moved at lightning speed and each seemed able to turn into a sword. Even Erza seemed hard pressed to keep up with him. Luckily, Lucy caught sight of Jellal already heading to lend his girlfriend backup.

Most other Fairy Tail members had abandoned the demon gate, where Acnologia was firmly planted, and were now heading to try and protect Lucy and Yukino. However, it seemed that the demon emperor had brought some more kings and queens along for the ride – probably his generals – and they were now entering the fray and gunking up the works for everyone.

Lucy just had to trust that her comrades were capable of handling their own fights, because she and Yukino were too busy dealing with their opponent to help anyone else.

Another order boomed through the courtyard. "Jackal! Take them!"

The demon they'd been fighting answered with a somewhat exasperated eyeroll. "Yeah, yeah… I'm obviously already on it."

He didn't seem overly enthused with his boss, but he was still obviously interested in capturing Lucy and Yukino for his own reasons. With a loud growl, he suddenly began to expand, at least doubling in size. His body morphed into something like a werewolf standing on its hind paws, with yellow and black fur, lengthy claws, and a dog-like head full of razor-sharp fangs.

"There's no way you can take me on in this form!" he boasted, and then charged.

Both Yukino and Lucy took a step back, but then readied for a fight, even as they muttered curses under their breath. Right as the big canine creature got to them though, there was a blast of heat, quickly followed by an all-encompassing darkness that cut off all light in the room for a second. In that darkness, the only thing that could be seen was a blaze of red fire, which would have made the scene more than a little hellish and frightening if Lucy hadn't recognized it.

As soon as light returned and they could see again, neither mage was surprised to see two dragons in front of them – both in their draconic human forms. Jackal had been completely stunned by the explosion not of his own making, and he was looking a little charred. He was also completely immobilized by a coil of black shadow… which was apparently Rogue's tail, given that it disappeared into the ground.

Before anyone could say or do anything, the black dragon acted. His entire body turned to shadow and he zipped along the ground at Jackal, then coiled up across his body. The demon shuddered and started to snap out of his dazed state, but not before Rogue had entered his mouth. His entire shadow form disappeared into the demon's body, and then their opponent started howling in pain. It didn't last long. Less than a minute after invading, Rogue took physical form – and apparently partially shifted into his dragon size. The huge werewolf-like creature bloated up and then popped, dispersing back to Asphodel in a shower of black ashes.

Rogue was left behind, and quickly shrank back down to human-size. Everyone stared at him in shock and horror, never having considered that particular technique – aside from Natsu, who just crinkled his nose a little in mild disgust. It was obvious that he was familiar with the move, but wasn't a particular fan of it.

"I apologize, that's not a method I use very often." Rogue said quietly, looking somewhat perturbed himself.

"I, uh, could see why. It must not be very pleasant." Lucy managed to choke, somewhat getting over her shock.

"No." Rogue agreed with her assessment and then turned to look at Yukino.

Striding forwards, he held out something – silently offering it to her. When she lifted her hand curiously, he dropped several gleaming keys into it. She stared down at them in shock, her eyes widening more and more in disbelief, and then tears began to stream down her face.

"What…how…where…I don't…" she stammered.

The demon currently attached to her started to writhe in a menacing way, as if it was excited by her torment and confusion. Lucy was just about to warn Yukino that it seemed to be getting out of control, especially when the centipedal tail things started coiling close to the white-haired mage in a very aggressive sort of way. However, they shivered to a stop and backed off when Rogue sent them a sharp glare.

"I told you I had an errand to run. I'm sorry it took so long to gather them all, I should have been back sooner." Rogue intoned, still keeping his eyes on her tails while he answered her. And then after an empathetic pause, he gently cautioned, "Rize is excited by your confusion and the weakness she senses from you right now. If you want to continue using her, you'll need to try and grasp control of your emotions I'm afraid."

Yukino sniffled, and then wiped her face quickly. "Right, of course."

Lucy's attention was pulled from her friend when Natsu bounced up to her and grabbed her hands. When he released her, she was also holding all the keys she lost, and suddenly experienced first-hand the shock and amazement that Yukino had a moment ago. It was literally like being in a dream, nothing seemed real for a long moment and she practically went numb. Then a wave of emotion crashed into her, nearly bringing her to her knees with the intensity of it, and she crumpled into her hands and pressed her forehead to the keys. The warm metal bit into her skin, but she didn't care, nor did she care about the tears running down her face yet again.

She might have gone into a catatonic state simply from being overwhelmed with relief, happiness, guilt that she'd lost them in the first place, and built-up stress. However, Natsu put a stop to it by slapping his palm down on the top of her head rather roughly, nearly causing some of the keys to break skin as her forehead was pressed into them. She pulled her palms and the keys away from her face quickly and looked up into his beaming face. He patted her head a few more times, like he was petting her almost.

"Pull yourself together Luce! We've gotta fight now!"

His words were said cheerfully, but with a hint of sternness that helped to snap her out of it.

Just like Yukino, she nodded and wiped the snot off her face. "Right."

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _"But even maiming him won't return all the keys he's stolen. Destroying the gate will return all the keys that were used to make it, but he's got control of a lot more keys than that. If we don't kill him, we need to at least remove those keys from his possession. If he doesn't have those keys, then he will be dethroned by the demons themselves."_

 _"True…I might have an idea of how to do that. But we'll need Kurama. So, first things first, we need to help him finish off Tempester."_

 _"Right, and then?"_

 _"I'll tell Kurama my plan. Then we need to keep Acnologia busy while he takes care of the keys. Once they've been swiped, we can take Acnologia out, and hopefully inflict enough damage to make him think twice about messing with us again."_


	55. Chapter 55

**Author's Note:**

Alright! So, it's Friday! Well, technically Saturday since it's past 12 AM, but close enough. I'm so sorry for being two days late! Ack! But I hope this chapter makes up for it. ;D I promise to do my utmost to post the next and final chapter next Wednesday.

As always, HUMONGOUS thanks to all you wonderful lovely reviewers out there! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: The Age of Awesomeness, sakshishetty3003, TheJSmooth, illleashya, stranger1999, agirl0ntheinternet, Donthedarkdragon26, valerioux, Lexi1994, Firefly9917, and CathJorda. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewer: EmptySpot.

Now, let's get right into it! On with the show! And stay till the end for a sneak peek of the last chapter. :D

* * *

As soon as both celestial mages were emotionally stable, the two dragons turned and faced Acnologia, meeting his acidic stare from across the room. At that moment, Sting got blasted in from his fight nearby and crashed into Yukino, who then crashed into Lucy. Lector quickly followed and parked next to Happy in the air over them.

Rogue naturally got distracted by the ruckus with his two mates, but Natsu stayed focused on the enemy and bellowed, "Acnologia! I hope you're ready to get your ass handed to you! This time you're dead!"

The wave of overwhelming anger that erupted from the fire dragon made all of them cringe back a bit, and they flinched as he launched himself at the other dragon, leaving a burning trail in his wake.

"Dang it! What happened?!"

"Yukino?! Are you hurt?!"

Lector and Sting's frantic voices brought everyone's attention back to the tangled pair – who currently happened to be laying on top of Lucy.

"I'm fine…" the celestial mage moaned softly, cringing back against Lucy. To be fair, Sting had hit her pretty hard.

"And as for what happened, I'm pretty sure the demon Sting was fighting threw him over here." Rogue somewhat dryly answered Lector's question.

"Well, duh." the red Exceed snorted, and was about to say something else when Happy interrupted him.

"Never mind that! How about you, Lucy?! Are you okay?"

Lucy grimaced as her bones creaked under everyone's weight. "I'm fine, but… uh, guys? Could you please get off me?"

"Oh, right, sorry." Sting mumbled, a far cry from his usual boisterous personality, and the two entwined mages scrambled off her.

At Sting's dejected mannerisms, Yukino shot Lucy a look that cried out for help. She obviously saw that something was wrong but couldn't figure out how to fix it. With a sigh, Lucy decided she'd better step in and do something to work out this kink, because it looked like they were probably going to be the _**it**_ team in the upcoming boss fight. For that, they'd all need their full faculties and any distraction could prove deadly…. so Sting needed a gentle kick in the pants.

"Alright you two…" Lucy nodded at Yukino and Sting to identify who she was addressing. "After this is all over, you'll probably wanna sit down and talk things out. But, uh, Sting? You should know that we both got our keys back… so if I'm right about what's bothering you, hopefully that'll help some."

At the last comment, Sting's head whipped around and he stared wide-eyed at the loop of keys that Lucy jingled at him, and then shifted his gaze to Yukino who did the same. Relief that nearly looked crippling in its intensity shot through his gaze, but he didn't let it break him the way it had done to the two celestial mages. However, it did seem to snap him out of whatever funk he'd sunk into, and suddenly he was much more energized.

"No way! Really?! That's awesome! I'm so, so glad that you got them back Yukino…and you too, of course, Lucy. How did you…? Wait, never mind, we don't have time for that. I'm just happy you got them back."

After the initial burst of enthusiasm, he got more subdued again for a moment and there was a brief and slightly awkward pause. Then he cleared his throat and murmured, "Hey, and uh, thanks Lucy. For letting me know."

She gently nodded as a silent, ' _you're welcome_ ,' and he quickly pepped up again and changed the subject. "Alright then! Let's kick some demon ass!"

"Excellent idea." Rogue said somewhat wryly.

The last couple of minutes, he'd been running interference for them so they could talk – zipping in shadow form from here to there and back again, dealing with any threats that got to close.

"Thank you Rogue." Yukino said meekly.

He nodded and then glanced her over. "Are you ready for another magic transfer? I would highly recommend it… Rize seems to be getting agitated again."

He wasn't wrong, the demon tentacle things were wiggling around in obvious exasperation and definitely looked aggressive.

"Well, to be honest I think it's time to close this particular gate, now that I have my other keys back. But I'll definitely need more of your power to do that…. A lot more."

Lucy and Sting exchanged glances, and without a word, they took Rogue's place in keeping the demons at bay while Yukino and Rogue proceeded to work out her problem child.

While she was fending off various demonic attacks, Lucy also tuned in to Happy and Lector's commentary on their comrades' fights and how the tide of battle seemed to be flowing. Based off of Lector's description, Kurama was apparently engaged in a heated battle with Tempester – the demon that Lucy and Natsu had done battle with back on Tenrou island. Thankfully, the red Exceed reported that he was holding his own against the irritating demon, so Lucy wasn't overly worried about him.

Another bit of good news came when Happy noted that the poisoned water situation had apparently been concluded, though Lucy grew concerned when he said that Gajeel, Levy, and Juvia were all out for the count.

"Do you think you could get a closer look and see if they're all right?" she asked, and he quickly zipped off.

When he returned, he reported that they were all breathing and seemed mostly okay, though Gajeel had been beat up pretty badly. At that, Lucy let out a breath she'd unknowingly been holding and thought to herself that at least they were alive. There was no way she or Sting could go and help them…not while they were busy keeping the demons off Yukino and Rogue.

However, the two Exceeds came up with a rescue plan all on their own, and quickly let Lucy and Sting know that they'd be gone for a moment before zipping off to go collect the fallen Fairy Tail mages. They planned take them out of the castle and down to the ground where Wendy had set up an emergency medical camp for anyone who'd been badly injured.

While they were gone, Lucy continued to eyeball the battles that she could see from her own vantage point…whenever she had a demon-free moment of course.

By now, Erza had nearly finished her fight with the multi-limbed demon, thanks to Jellal's assistance, but she was cut up terribly and bleeding profusely. She might also need to be picked up by the Exceeds and taken to the medical encampment.

Meanwhile – after incinerating a demon that looked like a freakish hybrid between a turtle and a hyena – Lucy noted that Elfman, Mira, and Lisanna were unsurprisingly partnered up to take on a demon that was…well…. it kind of looked like she was throwing books at them. Huh. Weird.

When a huge explosion of lightning came from one side, she glanced over to see that Laxus had seemingly just finished off his sandy opponent…. though it also looked like there had been a few casualties. Unsurprisingly the Thunder Legion had gone to assist him, but from what Lucy could see, it looked like Evergreen had been injured somehow. Bickslow was holding her while Freed had gone into his Dark Ecriture form and was killing anything stupid enough to get close to them. Worryingly, it also looked like Makarov was seriously wounded, and Laxus, Bickslow, and Freed were all pretty well beaten up too.

Still, it looked like that situation was mostly resolved, so hopefully they'd have a moment to recover.

In fact…most of the fights with the demons seemed to be fizzling out now that everyone was being pushed to the edges of the courtyard. The battles that continued going strong were generally beginning to relocate to other parts of the castle entirely. The noises of continued fighting started to resonate from all around them, but nowhere particularly close, as everyone kept away from the dragon catastrophe that took up the majority of the courtyard.

Natsu and Acnologia had engaged, and even though they were both in human form it was an incredibly destructive battle. Lucy, Rogue, Sting, and Yukino even had to relocate to a hall off the courtyard or risk getting dragged into it before they were ready. Of course, there was an unspoken understanding that they _would_ get involved. While the rest of the guild took care of the random lingering demons, it made the most sense for the celestial mages, dragons, and dragon slayers to go up against the final boss. Unfortunately, a few of those dragon slayers were otherwise indisposed – Gajeel had gotten himself poisoned, Wendy was tending to the injured, and Laxus was dealing with his own problems at the moment.

So it was up to them.

With that in mind, they held an exceptionally brief strategy meeting.

"You and Natsu should go full dragon on him. Both of you are dealing with magic drain and he isn't…. In fact, he's probably stronger than ever before. I'll bet anything he's been consuming the magic from those demons he has enslaved, especially after finishing the gate."

"That would make sense." Rogue said, looking harried.

"Bastard." Sting simply muttered, summing up their enemy concisely.

Yukino then murmured, "Um…I hate to say this, but…we should probably aim to defeat him. Not just send him back to Asphodel, but actually kill him, or at least do some major damage that he won't be able to fully heal from. We have to do something that will make him think twice about making that gate again, because otherwise, this'll all happen again."

The thought sobered them all quite a bit.

Then Rogue frowned thoughtfully. "Our biggest priority should be getting those keys out of his control. Destroying the demon gate will return the keys that were used to make it, but he's got control of a lot more than that. If we don't kill him, we need to at least remove those keys from his possession. If he doesn't have those keys, then he will be dethroned by the demons themselves."

Lucy popped her fist into the open palm of her other hand – a habit she'd picked up from Natsu – as the perfect strategy fizzled to life in her mind's eye. "Good plan! And I might have an idea of how to do that. We need someone on the inside… a demon who can sneak in and liberate all those keys, right?"

One look towards a certain overgrown fox, and everyone else's eyes lit up.

"Yeah! That _**is**_ a good idea!" Sting agreed, grinning.

"Thanks! But obviously we'll need Kurama to pull it off. So, first things first, we need to help him finish off Tempester."

"Right, and then?"

"I'll tell Kurama my plan. Then we need to keep Acnologia busy while he takes care of the keys. Once they've been swiped, we can take Acnologia out, and hopefully inflict enough damage to make him think twice about messing with us again."

"And by we…I'm guessing you mean us too?" Sting gestured back and forth between Lucy, him, and Yukino. "I mean, _**I**_ can keep up with three fighting dragons by using white drive and dragon force, but what about you two?"

"I've got Natsu's star dress." Lucy offered.

They all turned to Yukino, who was silent for a moment, and then a look of resolve crossed her face as she turned to Rogue. "And I'll use Rogue's. I may not have as much training as Lucy with it, but it'll still grant me the power to fight with you all."

Cocking her brow, Lucy gave her a serious look. Knowing how star dresses worked, she couldn't see how Yukino could accomplish that herculean task within the next few minutes, but… if she was confident about it then Lucy wouldn't question her.

"Okay…well, Sting, how about you and I go get Kurama on board and help him out with Tempester, while Yukino and Rogue get her dressed for battle."

"Right! I'm all fired up." he agreed with a cheesy crooked smile, obviously quoting Natsu.

Lucy snorted in amusement, and teasingly muttered, "Come up with your own war cry, numbskull. Unless you _want_ to come across as a fanboy."

He completely ignored her comment and set off across the courtyard towards the hall Kurama and Tempester had disappeared down. She followed him, leaving Rogue and Yukino behind. In her mind, she silently wished them good luck and tried to swallow her own doubt that they would accomplish what they'd set out to do. Right now she needed to focus on her own upcoming fight.

When they got there, it was obvious that Kurama had already done a number on Tempester, but of course the stupid bear demon – or whatever he was – was displaying his ability to regenerate from most injuries. He'd taken his larger scruffier form with the long green mane, and Kurama was currently in a smaller version of his massive self so he could fight effectively in the hallway.

They'd already widened the space with the destruction their fight had caused, so it was easy enough to maneuver around within it. Kurama was currently stabbing all nine tails at Tempester, obviously going for the strategy of not giving the other demon enough time to regenerate.

He barely even glanced at them when they skidded to a halt behind him.

"Yo, need some help?" Sting offered.

"Sure, join the party." Kurama said, only a hint of sarcasm sharpening his otherwise pleasant tone.

Of course right at that moment, Tempester seemed to reach his quota for being stabbed, and started up a fire storm to drive them back. Sting flinched back, but Lucy and Kurama were protected by the fox aura and dragon star dress they were wearing.

"We got this, hold on." Lucy called to her comrade and dashed into the flames to land an attack on the demon who had been stupid enough to blind himself.

While Kurama kept attacking from the front, she snuck around the back, using Tempester's fire as cover, and then dashed out and attacked from behind. Coating both feet in flames and scales, she launched herself at him with a flying kick and managed to bean him right in the back of the head. He staggered forwards but didn't fall under the attack, which left Lucy to regain her balance somewhat awkwardly.

He turned and eyeballed her, then switched his element. Fire suddenly turned to water pouring down over them in buckets, which completely put out Lucy's flames.

"Perhaps this would be the better element when dealing with you…. fire dragon's mate." he intoned.

She just grinned and pointed behind him. "You forgot about them though."

Now that the fire had dispersed, Sting was back in the fight. As Tempester glanced away from Lucy, she threw herself to the side, and the dragon slayer shot a blast of pure white destructive light at their opponent. While they were busy with their attack, Lucy worked on her own and switched her star dress to a certain mermaid's. Grabbing control of the copious amounts of water was child's play then, and she redirected the torrential rain to create a pocket of floating fluid behind her.

Once her ammo was fully loaded and ready, she snuck around behind Tempester again and used a water shield to protect herself from Sting's lasers. As soon as the dragon slayer's attack started to taper off, she prepared a follow-up assault, knowing how important it was to continue hitting this particular demon without giving him a chance to heal.

Grabbing the water reservoir she'd created, she dragged it forwards in spirals, until the entire space behind her was filled with water spikes, all arched and poised to strike. Before Sting's light had even fully dispersed, she was launching her attack at the enemy's backside. Each spiral of water lept forwards like a coiled spring and their sharp tips ripped through him.

But before he had been terminally injured and was forced to retreat to Asphodel, he switched elements again and cloaked himself in a tornado, throwing Lucy back down the hall. She quickly caught herself with water but was somewhat shaken by the unexpected flight.

The wind started to expand, pushing her back even further, and she briefly wondered how the hell they were going to deal with this particular element. Then, over the howl of the wind, somehow Kurama bellowed loud enough for her to hear.

"Use your strongest shield Lucy!"

"Right!" she screamed back, and almost before her fingers brushed the jade key, Bartolomeo was popping into being.

As the green shield encased them, she smiled at his back as he refused to look at her. "You were spying on me weren't you?"

He hmphed and sharp fingernails awkwardly scratched at his green hair. His head cocked just a tad, and she caught a glimpse of his bright pink ear, which betrayed his vivid blush.

She just laughed softly and said, "Thanks Bart."

A second later, an enormous explosion rocked the hall, breaking walls, ceiling, and floor. Lucy was exceptionally thankful for Bartolomeo's shield as the entire structure seemed to cave in on itself and rocks tumbled down on top of them, blocking out the light. She just hoped that everyone else was okay.

Of course, to deal with this particular situation, she shifted to Virgo's dress and readied herself for some digging.

Virgo's star dress weirdly made her look like a dominatrix, though she would have expected it to be a maid's costume. But no... it was a skintight black leather outfit with a zip up the front. It might have looked like a cat suit or a jumpsuit or something, but the thick leather belt, knee-high combat boots, black leather gloves, and flat cap made it look more like a military outfit. Naturally, her belt held a pair of metal handcuffs – though they looked more like shackles – and her opposite hip was laden with a whip. However, this particular whip was constructed of a metal chain and ended in a four-sided arrow-shaped barb at the tip that could be used as a grappling hook or to slice open her opponents.

It was a devastating weapon and a useful tool, but unfortunately with her broken hands she couldn't wield it. However, the other option on her belt gave her an idea.

Before the rumbles had even stopped, she dove into the ground, using the earth-based digger magic that this star dress gave her. Being very careful not to dig too deep and fall through the bottom of the floating platform, she tunneled under the situation and popped up behind her comrades. Bart had dispersed as soon as she was safely underground, and she lightly stroked his key and sent a thank you through their bond as she emerged from the ground.

Thankfully, Sting and Kurama had managed to retreat and weren't buried under rubble, but the entire hallway in front of them was a solid wall of broken castle. Sting was just asking Kurama if he thought Tempester was finally down when Lucy popped up behind them, and the dragon slayer cut off on a bark of surprise.

"Shit! Lucy! Damnit…don't do that!"

Kurama burst into laughter at the other's ruffled state.

"Oh shut up…" Sting cursed, glaring at him.

The little spat was interrupted though by all the rubble shifting, and then strangely started to sink. Having fought the guy before, Lucy immediately knew what power he was using now, as did Kurama, and they both grabbed Sting's arms and dragged him backwards, safely away from the quicksand pit that was quickly consuming all the rocks and pieces of walls and ceiling.

"I guess that answers your question. No…he's not down yet." Lucy said sourly as they watched the debris disappear and reveal Tempester.

He was definitely more raggedy, and his healing powers were apparently slowing down because the extensive wounds that scattered his body were regenerating much slower than before.

"Looks like he's getting tired though." Kurama noted, obviously seeing the same thing.

"It's about fucking time." Sting swore, giving them both the evil eye for their manhandling.

"I have an idea on how to finish him off."

Both guys turned to eyeball Lucy. "Awesome." Kurama said. "We'll follow your lead then."

Tempester obviously wasn't interested in waiting around to find out what her plan was though, because he hardened the ground again and then did his 'impact' curse…the one that crumpled up the ground and would send them flying. Without calling for him, Bart once again popped into being and erected a shield in front of them to ward off the immense air pressure that would have tossed them onto their asses. At the same time, Lucy built magic into her foot and then stomped down hard, yelling, "Terra Metria!"

A counter ripple of earth exploded from her foot, shooting towards Tempester. Unlike the tremor she could create with Taurus's star dress – which was caused through sheer brute strength – this attack was based in earth magic and made the ground ripple like a cloth that had been shook. In soft substances like sand or mud, it would create a violent wave of material that would crash down over her opponent and crush them underneath it. However, in solid ground like rock, it would rip apart under the pressure and made an attack from beneath her opponent, sending them flying back and also pelting them with dangerous debris of all sizes.

The two violent earthquakes met in the middle and broke apart, knocking Tempester back.

"Now!" Lucy called and shot forwards, Sting and Kurama hot on her heels.

When Tempester tried to get back up, Sting pelted him with laser shots right in the face. That temporarily stunned him – and probably blinded him – and he went back to one knee while his hands came up to guard his face.

"Keep him down!"

She didn't wait for a reply as she dove into the earth. A few seconds later, she popped out behind their opponent, and both Sting and Kurama pulled their punches so they wouldn't hit her accidentally. Thankfully, they'd been able to keep Tempester off balance and unable to fully regroup, though he had managed to get back to his feet.

That was fine, it still didn't impede Lucy as she dashed forwards and snapped the first handcuff on him. He didn't react well to it though, and immediately whirled around, trying to throw her off. Her injured hands protested the rough treatment as she clung to the other cuff.

Kurama instantly saw the problem, and his tails whipped forwards to wrap around the enemy, immobilizing him just long enough for Lucy to get the other cuff on.

As soon as they snapped into place, Tempester's struggles weakened dramatically. He tried to break free from the cuffs, but that wasn't happening. Virgo's cuffs were made from a magical metal alloy from the celestial realm, and it was utterly unbreakable. It also sapped all magic and strength from its victim, which explained why their opponent soon collapsed to his knees, shaking from the effort it took to stay upright.

Kurama released him, and both he and Sting cautiously approached, eyeballing the once nearly undefeatable demon.

"Um…what did you do to him?" Sting asked, giving her cuffs a somewhat horrified look.

"Virgo's cuffs sap all the strength from someone, leaving them completely helpless. That includes magical abilities too, so he shouldn't be able to heal anymore either."

"This is _Virgo's_ power? The maid spirit? The one that calls you princess and always asks you to punish her?" Kurama asked, mirth and disbelief threading his voice.

"Yeah, well…" Lucy sighed. "It makes sense if you think about it. She wants me to be her ' _master_ ' obviously, so her star dress mimics that desire. It kinda turns me into the ultimate disciplinarian."

"Uh-huh..." Kurama just continued to snicker.

"Alright, how about we finish this poor bastard off then? No use drawing it out." Sting said, quickly recovering from his shock.

Walking up to the immobilized demon, he simply placed his hand on his forehead, lit up his palm and blew his skull apart. Tempester disappeared in a puff of black smoke and Lucy's handcuffs fell to the ground with a clank. She scooped them up and reattached them to her belt, then dusted off her hands.

"Alright…now. Kurama, I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where Acnologia keeps all the keys he stole? Could you find them?"

At her serious question, his eyes slowly lit up with devious fire. "Not exactly…but yeah, I'm sure I could find them."

"And do you think you could find other demons who would be willing to help you liberate those keys?"

He barked a laugh. "Just about every single demon out there, aside from the few still loyal to that jackass. It'd be easy to assemble a rebellion if there was a chance of getting our keys back."

"Good. Can you do that?"

"Oh yeah, it'd be my pleasure." he replied with a vicious grin, and immediately turned to run off towards the gate.

"Wait!" Lucy called after him and he skidded to a halt to shoot her a questioning glance. "One last thing! As soon as you've freed the keys, tell me through your key. We'll keep Acnologia busy out here till you're done, and then we'll take him out once your mission is complete."

He saluted, and then whirled back around and kept running towards the gate.

"That was smart to see if he could recruit other demons too." Sting commented as they turned to head back towards Yukino and Rogue.

"Thanks!" she said with a grin.

Before they even got close to where they'd left Yukino and Rogue though, the two came out to meet them. To her shock, Lucy saw that Yukino had actually managed to accomplish what she'd set out to do… based off her powerful looking star dress that unsurprisingly mimicked Rogue's normal outfit.

She now sported a white half-robe, the billowy sleeve reaching down to her elbow and the hem reaching mid-thigh. The bare side of her torso was coated in shifty black scales that changed patterns as you watched them, like shadows. That shoulder also bore a ridge of thick black scales and spikes that looked like an armored shoulder pad. Both forearms were coated in black scales like gauntlets, and her hands were now thickly armored with ridges and claws. A long black belt wrapped many, many times around her waist like a corset, and her legs were clothed in fitted black pants that tucked into calf-high black boots.

To be honest, Lucy was pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to acquire a star dress so quickly – not to mention under duress – so she was seriously impressed with Yukino for having accomplished such a feat.

"Congratulations!" she cheered, and Yukino smiled at her.

"Alright, now we get to go kick some dragon butt!" Sting chimed in.

Before that though, Lucy was quick to ask the other celestial mage, "Do you feel ready to fight from Rogue's back? I know you've been training on that since the Grand Magic Games."

"Yes, I think we're ready."

Rogue nodded in agreement.

"Well then…let's get this thing started." Lucy said with a fierce grin. "Do you mind if I hitch a ride over to Natsu?"

The shadow dragon she was asking had already started to expand, but a deep rumbling, "Not at all," could be heard.

Now that she had permission, she didn't hesitate to hop on with Sting and Yukino as the massive black reptile turned and headed towards the other two dragons. As soon as a full-sized dragon made an appearance, anyone who was left in the courtyard turned tail and ran for their lives … both demons and Fairy Tail members alike. Nobody wanted to sit around and get an up-close and personal look at a dragon fight. Ironically, Happy and Lector were just returning from their errands and came over to fly around Rogue's enormous head.

"Hey, you guys might wanna stay outta this one." Sting suggested, and both celestial mages nodded in agreement.

"Why don't you fly around and help anyone else that's injured get to Wendy?"

Lector smiled at Lucy's idea and saluted. "Sounds like a plan!"

"Yeah! Be careful!" Happy called as they both flew off in pursuit of any injured Fairy Tail mages.

Once they were at a safe distance, Rogue started forwards again towards the brewing conflict. By this point, Natsu and Acnologia had both seen them coming from a mile away of course, and they were in the process of joining the dragon-sized party.

With a vicious grin and a burst of flames, Natsu transformed while crowing, "I've got a fire in my belly now!"

Acnologia unsurprisingly matched them as well, and that put him and Natsu in pretty tight quarters. The space that had easily accommodated their human forms turned out to be much too small to hold three dragons. As Acnologia expanded, he took the opportunity to smack Natsu across the jaw with this tail – which was still missing the lower part from their last fight. Apparently if something was amputated, it didn't grow back…. which was very good to know.

Natsu skidded back a ways, and as Rogue came up next to him Lucy jumped over to her boyfriend's shoulder instead. His massive head turned so he could fix her with a big golden eye and dragon lips formed into a fangy grin.

"Hey there Luce. Took you long enough."

"Hey yourself. Now eyes forward!"

"Don't worry about that…there's no way I'd forget him." he snarled, the heat from his body rocketing up a few notches.

As his head swung back around, they all fixed their opponent with eyes full of intention. Keeping her voice extremely low, Lucy muttered her plan to Natsu and he subtly nodded. Then he eyeballed Rogue and said, "I call left."

"Then I guess I'm right." the black dragon intoned, sounding neither pleased or displeased about it.

Before Lucy could ask what they meant, the two dragons split up and answered her question for her. Natsu made a beeline for his left side, while Rogue took the right flank. Both snapped at his wings, but before they could get their teeth into him, he took off – which coincidentally smacked them both in the face hard enough to send them reeling and nearly unseated their passengers.

"Going up!" Natsu barked as a warning to Lucy, but it was unneeded. She already figured they'd be chasing the blue dragon into the sky.

Thankfully they were out in the middle of nowhere, so they didn't have to worry about destroying any towns with the airborne battle.

As Natsu launched himself upwards, Lucy hunched in close to his neck and wrapped the chain of her whip solidly around the big spike there to provide a good seatbelt. It had a loop on the handle that could snap onto her belt and she quickly buckled herself in. Something told her this was going to be a wild ride. Thankfully, she'd discovered that none of her star dresses could be burned off by Natsu's flames…probably because they didn't hurt her either. So that gave her access to her entire arsenal, which she suspected she might have to use in this particular fight.

Unfortunately, their opponent had gotten a head start and was now above them, which was not good. One deep inhale later, and suddenly they were dealing with a full-throated dragon's roar. Just like Lucy had predicted, it was much stronger than the attacks she remembered from Tenrou island, although that could simply be because she was in the thick of it this time.

Natsu cussed and dodged, but then they all shot an alarmed look downwards when a large crash sounded. The beam of light had taken out a corner of the floating castle, and Lucy winced with horror, hoping like hell that nobody had been in that part of the building.

"Quick, we have to…!"

"I know…" Natsu growled, already flying away. Rogue joined him in luring the other dragon away from the building, and it seemed that Acnologia was too interested in them to take advantage of the situation.

That was lucky…Lucy had half expected the demonic creature to start blasting the castle and all their friends once he perceived their weakness, but perhaps he was also wary of damaging the structure too much. Considering the demon gate was located there, it made sense.

As soon as they'd put a little distance between them, Natsu and Rogue split up again. Natsu spun to take Acnologia head on, while Rogue fell away from them, disappearing into some low hanging clouds. Intense heat built up under Lucy, and she hunkered down a little, preparing for the recoil of Natsu's roar.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the enormous sound ripped out from right beneath her body, and she clamped her hands over her ears, wincing. The massive blast of magic also caused a violent gust of displaced air that nearly knocked her over, but she'd already shifted her weight and propped herself up on his neck spike so that she could maintain her balance. The chain connected to her belt went almost painfully taut.

As soon as the sound stopped, she removed her hands and went back to holding on, knowing that she'd need a good grip for whatever happened next. Of course she couldn't use her hands to hold on, but she looped her forearms through the chains, which worked just as well.

Their opponent had managed to dodge the flames – mostly – and was now divebombing them from the side. Natsu wrenched around, filling his wing with fire and meeting the blue dragon with a face full of it. Their opponent flinched back a hair, his eyes shut tight for a moment, and then he spat a blast of silvery light that managed to disperse the flames. Before Natsu could get off another fire attack, the other dragon lunged in and tried to lock his jaws on his shoulder.

Natsu wasn't having any of it though and lashed out with his claws, smacking Acnologia's face away from him. The blue dragon retaliated with a taloned foot to Natsu's groin region, which was thankfully well-armored in this form. Though, Natsu's flinch suggested that it was still a sensitive region and Acnologia's blow had hurt.

The sound of claws on scales was one Lucy wasn't sure she'd ever get used to…it was akin to nails on a chalkboard. Unfortunately she couldn't risk using her hands to plug her ears again, she was being jostled around too much for her to let go of Natsu's spike.

While Natsu kept Acnologia's attention firmly rooted on him, it gave Rogue the perfect opening. As Acnologia went in for a vicious bite at Natsu's throat, he was hit from the back as a black streak shot out of the clouds. Rogue instantly melted onto him, using his shadow form to wrap around the other dragon and immobilize him. Natsu took the opportunity to latch his jaws onto Acnologia's bulbous nose, which successfully muzzled the beast. Yukino and Sting landed on the broad blue back of their enemy when Rogue went into shadow form of course, and while Yukino simply held on for dear life, Sting shot forwards towards the dragon's face.

Before he knew what hit him, Sting had given Acnologia laser eye surgery, but not the kind that corrected vision.

Despite everyone's hold on him, Acnologia managed to yank free, throwing Natsu off with a roar that would have taken off his head if he hadn't ducked at the last second. A blast of radiance covered his body and knocked Rogue off him. Yukino managed to grab onto the black dragon as he separated, but Sting wasn't so lucky. Acnologia's violent head toss had unseated the dragon slayer, and he was now plummeting through free space.

With a muttered expletive, Lucy jumped off after him, lengthening the extendable chain of her whip to reach him. Through sheer luck – and thanks to all the aerial training she'd done – she managed to reach him in time and wrapped her arms around him.

"Grab onto me! I can't use my hands remember?" she yelled over the wind whipping around them, and Sting responded by gripping tight.

They came to a jarring halt as Lucy stopped their decent, and she grunted as the belt jerked her hips upwards. Now, they were swinging freely from a very long chain…which was not a good position to be in at the moment. As Natsu disentangled himself and backed off for a moment, they whipped through empty space, knocked around by all the crazy wind currents from enormous wings beating the air and also from Natsu's movements.

Thankfully, her boyfriend had felt her jump off him, and he quickly snagged the chain with his fist and swung them back up onto him. The g-forces from being swung around by a dragon nearly made her sick. Plus, she couldn't grab onto him with her hands when they landed, so - for a heart-stopping moment - they almost slid back off. Thankfully, Sting had the presence of mind to release her with one hand and grab onto a nearby scale with the other, keeping them from falling.

"Thanks…" she gasped, wincing a little at the ache in her hips and lower back.

"Just returning the favor. I'm the one who should be thanking you." he shot back.

"Yeah well…" she cut off as Natsu lurched, dodging another attack.

All words came to a stop as they both scurried to get back to where Lucy had wrapped the chain around Natsu's neck spike, and Lucy quickly reeled in the extra length to keep them on tight.

With one eye lost, Acnologia's aim took a hit and it became easier to evade his roars…however he made up for that with a major increase in aggression. He lunged at them once again, and this time his claws and teeth were so vicious that Natsu couldn't entirely block them. The blue dragon's fangs managed to latch onto Natsu's arm and he planted a taloned hand on Natsu's chest as he yanked, apparently trying to pull the fire dragon's arm off.

Natsu retaliated by swiping at Acnologia's head, aiming for his blind eye. Flames erupted to cover his arm, and Sting recoiled, inching as far away from the dragon fire as possible. Thanks to being in white drive and dragon force, Sting was able to touch Natsu's dragon form without being burnt to a crisp, but that didn't mean he could handle Natsu's flames. Seeing his skin turn alarmingly red, Lucy cursed and switched to Aquarius's star dress, using a coil of water to keep her latched on instead of the whip. Then she put up a water shield to protect Sting from the intense heat. Steam erupted from the water, but she managed to keep it replenished.

With the talons and flames combined, Acnologia was eventually forced to release Natsu. As soon as he did, the fire dragon swung around and slammed his tail into Acnologia's face, knocking him back.

"You okay?" Lucy asked, worried about his arm, shoulder, and chest.

Natsu grunted and rolled his shoulder before shaking out the affected limb. "It's okay."

It didn't exactly look okay… there were some deep fang marks on his arm and tears across his chest where talons had dragged through scaly skin, but at least his arm's mobility didn't seem to be too badly affected.

Almost instantly the other dragon was back on top of them, this time biting and scratching at Natsu's head. He was ripped off the red dragon though by Rogue as he made another surprise attack, this time from underneath.

The shadow dragon bit Acnologia's tail and yanked, pulling him off Natsu and down towards the ground. Their opponent roared in pain – suggesting that his amputated tail was rather sensitive – and he whirled to blast Rogue with that deadly light of his. Natsu was faster though and hit him from above, grabbing onto one of those floppy spike things that protruded from the back of his head. With that grip, he directed the other dragon's mouth away from their comrade and he just harmlessly blasted the ground. Harmless to _them_ at least… the ground was very much harmed.

Soon they were landing in a still smoking crater as – between the two of them – they wrestled Acnologia to the dirt. Natsu threw him down while staying airborne himself, maintaining the dominant position. Rogue dragged him the rest of the way and melted into the ground as Acnologia hit, deepening the crater by another significant margin.

Yukino was apparently granted Rogue's shadow powers, and she also melted into the ground and avoided being crushed. Lucy spied her zip to the outer edge of the crater, where she took solid form again. Sting jumped off and joined her, apparently having had enough of Natsu's fire for one day.

While they stayed out of the way, Natsu and Rogue proceeded to sandwich Acnologia between them.

Natsu kept up a constant barrage of attacks, spitting fireballs and occasionally dipping down to smack him with a fist, foot, or tail. Meanwhile, Rogue hit him from beneath, materializing to rake claws and fangs over his underside as well as raining blows up against his belly. Any attempt to escape was met by either Rogue wrapping him in shadows and dragging him back, or zipping in front of him and partially manifesting to kick him in the face. Natsu did the same from the air, spitting fire to cut off escape routes and flying in front of him to always head him off. They usually acted as a team though, one pulling him back by the tail while the other went in front to dissuade him with a blow to the nose.

For a moment, it seemed like this was it… they'd finally managed to successfully capture him. But then the other dragon suddenly exploded with light from every part of his body, much like he'd done before to knock Rogue off him in the air. That successfully freed him from Rogue's grasp again, and also blinded Natsu for a moment, long enough for him to nearly scramble free.

However, suddenly he staggered, as if knocked off balance or pressured from a great weight above. Lucy had managed to shield her eyes from the blast of light, so she could see afterwards while Natsu was still shaking his head to clear his eyes. Glancing to the side, she saw Yukino had summoned Libra and was also wearing Libra's star dress…a harem type outfit reminiscent of Libra's. Between the two of them, they'd managed to apparently reverse Acnologia's balance and center of gravity, which caused him to drunkenly stagger around.

They were only able to hold the spell for a few seconds, but it was still long enough for Rogue and Natsu to recover – at least enough to block him from escaping.

"Damn you pests!" the blue dragon bellowed, glaring at the two on the lip of the crater with his good eye, and a deep inhale was all the warning they had before he blasted them with a roar that carved a deep trench into the ground.

"Yukino! Sting!" Rogue bellowed, momentarily distracted.

He headed towards them, but Acnologia took advantage of his distraction and slammed a glowing fist into the ground, right on top of his shadow form, getting a roar of pain from the shadow dragon. When his fist lifted, he left a spike of light behind, pinning the other to the ground as securely as a railroad spike.

"Shit." Natsu growled, and dove down to drag the blue dragon off their injured comrade.

He was struggling to free himself, still straining in the direction his mates had been.

"Don't worry! Rogue! They're safe!" Lucy called out to him, and he seemed to go limp for half a second as the dust cleared to reveal a familiar green shell and three occupants safely sitting inside… right in the middle of the new trench.

While Natsu proceeded to distract Acnologia and struggled to keep him grounded, Sting scrambled over to his pinned partner and started blasting the spike of light with his own purifying light. Lucy noticed this while in the middle of trying to help Natsu keep the other dragon on the ground, but most of her attention was focused on the task at hand. She assisted by snapping ropes of water at him and throwing water shields around to slow him down or blunt his attacks. None of her magic had the power to hurt him of course… rather, she was like an annoying fly that buzzed around and distracted him just enough that Natsu could keep him under control.

However, when Natsu landed on top of the other dragon, she jumped off – not wanting to be part of a wrestling match.

That turned out to be a good move, because only a few moments later Acnologia managed to flip them and mounted Natsu – which would have squashed her flat. But just because she wasn't riding Natsu anymore, didn't mean she couldn't help. So, when Acnologia's teeth latched onto her boyfriend's neck, she immediately intervened to the best of her ability. She summoned Horologium, asked him to freeze time for just a moment, and then summoned Cancer.

"Hey Baby!"

"Cancer! Poke him right in the eye! The one that's hurt already. Cut him up as good as you can."

"Right on." he said and dashed right into the frozen scene, doing exactly as Lucy had told him to.

It was so gross that Lucy had to avert her eyes, but as soon as Horologium called, ' _time,_ ' she shouted a thanks to Cancer and then closed his gate. Her eyes immediately refocused on the scene that unfroze, and - just like she'd hoped - Acnologia roared and jerked back for a brief moment in pain…. just long enough for Natsu to turn the tides. His jaws reached up and snapped onto Acnologia's neck, successfully reversing their previous situation – though the blue dragon remained on top.

But not for long.

A blur of black soon joined the fight again as Sting freed Rogue, and this time he took the top spot where Natsu had been a moment before. Seeing this, the fire dragon released Acnologia's throat, and Rogue grabbed onto their opponent's horns before he could get any bright ideas. Then the black dragon flipped over backwards and dragged Acnologia down on top of him by his head.

Meanwhile, Natsu took to the air and got right above the blue dragon…. just like before.

Things continued on like this for a few more moments, at least until Lucy felt a familiar acidic stinging and jumped. For a second she had no idea what had just happened, but when she looked down and saw Kurama's key glowing bright, she knew this was his signal. He'd completed his mission…and now they could complete theirs.

"Natsu!" she yelled, and even with all the fighting, a huge golden eye shifted in her direction. Rogue also glanced over for a second.

She waved the glowing key over her head. "Take him out!"

That was when things changed. Both dragons became…different. Their actions, their movements, even their expressions turned animalistic. It was like when Rogue had become feral back at the Grand Magic Games… she could no longer see any hint of their personalities in these two enormous reptilian forms. They became predators taking down their prey, pure and simple.

From underneath, Rogue switched to holding Acnologia in place, with gripping talons, vicious bites, and even by twining his tail and shadow around him. The dragon emperor bit, scratched back, roared in his face, and repeatedly threw parts of the black dragon off him, but never quite managed to get fully free…probably because he had a larger and more painful distraction. That would be Natsu, who was ruthlessly going after the blue dragon's wings with a viciousness that Lucy had never seen in him before…or had ever thought him capable of.

When Acnologia lit up like before, they were both expecting it this time and while Rogue was still forced to let him go, Natsu managed to close his eyes in time and kept going after him ruthlessly, forcing him to stay down through sheer brutality, and Rogue soon wrapped back around him.

Natsu's claws, fangs, and fire continued to rip into his opponent's right wing, tearing it apart systematically as the blue dragon roared and beat the attacked appendage and its mate furiously, trying to knock him off. He managed from time to time, but the fire dragon always returned, displaying cruelty that truly made him look like a fabled dragon of old… a creature of blood and fire and terror. None of his normal warm cheerful personality could be seen in him, and even Lucy was frightened.

That wing was soon almost unrecognizable as such…and most of it was missing. Only then did Natsu move to the one remaining and attacked it with just as much cruel ferocity as the first. Long thin bone shards, blood, and tissue spattered the ground around the fight now, and soon Lucy could barely even look at it anymore.

Once he could no longer fly, they started going after his vitals, obviously now trying to force him back to Asphodel. Rogue ripped at his throat and belly, while Natsu went after his spine and the soft spots on his flanks between ribcage and thigh.

At that point, Lucy had simply given up watching entirely, and had her head averted with her eyes clenched shut. It might have been a stupid move to be blind next to an insanely intense fight, but she simply couldn't imagine Acnologia getting free to do her any damage. Natsu and Rogue had him at too much of a disadvantage.

The roars, sound of ripping scales, and cracks of bones still made her cringe though, and she eventually had to also cover her ears as well.

Thankfully, it didn't last too much longer. A blast of magic and the release of an overwhelming dark pressure signaled that Acnologia had been defeated. Even so…it took Lucy a long moment to get the courage to look up, and when she did, she immediately had to look away again. Acnologia had left behind parts of him she'd rather not have to see.

However, the situation only went from bad to worse…as suddenly a booming voice reached them – presumably from the floating structure a ways off.

"You may have won this fight! But I will insure that you lose the war to save your world! Prepare to be destroyed!"

A deep rumbling sound erupted from that direction, and then gradually the huge floating structure became visible. The whole thing seemed to be shaking, and then – with some truly horrendous sounds – it began to contort. They were close enough to see all the small figures starting to jump off it, some of them flying, others falling, gliding, parachuting, or slowing their descent in any number of ways. Those had to be all the members of Fairy Tail still on the thing, and Lucy just hoped that they all got out safely, and that nobody had died upon impact with the ground.

Soon, the thing that once looked like a castle had completely changed into a weird … boxy… creature… thing. Honestly Lucy had no idea what she was looking at anymore, just that it had an enormous gaping mouth, weird fin-like spiky things all along the sides and top that made it look a bit like a fish, tentacle-esque appendages dangling underneath, and apparently could still fly. It didn't actually look all that dangerous, just really, _really_ ugly – but it soon proved that theory utterly wrong by opening its nasty mouth and…roaring.

It made no sound actually, it could have been yodeling for all she knew, but the damage done was so extensive that she could only picture the most destructive sound she knew of and that was a dragon's roar. A blast of pure magical power exploded from the thing like it was a bomb, and the earth cracked apart for miles around.

The worst of the damage was right beneath it of course…. where all her guildmates were, and she desperately hoped that they were still okay. Even where she was standing, the ground was affected and she nearly got blown over, but a huge red mountain suddenly landed in front of her to shield her.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Lucy exclaimed, horrified.

"Plutogrim." Came the deeply rumbled response from Natsu, and she was frightened to hear a note of actual fear in his voice. "It's known as the destroyer of worlds."

"Say what!? Wh-what do you mean the destroyer of worlds?!"

"Exactly what it sounds like. That thing is fully capable of blowing Earthland apart, piece by piece. That little tremor just now was barely a hiccup."

"Well what do we do? How can we stop it?!"

"I…don't know. But we've gotta try. Rogue! You ready?!"

An affirmative came from the other dragon, and suddenly both were taking of and heading right for the thing at full speed.

Yukino and Sting soon ran over to join Lucy, and the three of them watched as their dragons attacked Plutogrim…with shockingly little success. The giant demon just shook them off like they were fleas. In fact, they _were_ actually quite small next to the enormous thing, which was even bigger than Lucy had suspected. Even when they roared at it – a joint magical attack that had enough force to level entire mountain ranges – the monster barely even flinched. The only thing they did manage to do was somehow push it, obviously trying to move it away from the spot where their guild had landed.

It didn't respond in any way, as if it didn't even notice Natsu and Sting gradually making it drift to one side.

Then, when it did move, it was to do that weird silent roar thing again, but this time even bigger. The tremor was so large that there was practically no hope of anyone under it surviving, and a wave of fear nearly strangled Lucy. After a moment, she looked at the others, and matching expressions of shocked horror were stamped across their faces.

The only thing that stopped them from spiraling into an instant pit of despair was a glimmer of gold showing through the dust, and then as the air cleared a magical dome gradually appeared. Someone had managed to activate the same Fairy Shield that had saved them from destruction on Tenrou Island, and now it was protecting them from the continued attacks of this crazy flying monster fish box. Relief swamped her, and – based off the sighs and muttered thanks of her comrades – she knew they felt the same overwhelming happiness that at least their guildmates were currently safe.

However, that still left the issue of how to defeat the thing…and that task was looking more and more impossible to accomplish by the second. It looked almost hopeless, and as she helplessly watched Rogue and Natsu continue to attack it with no success, a cold sense of desolation started to creep up on Lucy again. If _dragons_ couldn't take this thing down…what could?

A tingle of magic shot down her spine then, snapping her out of the semi-numbed state, and when she turned to look she flinched with surprise to find Crux floating in the air behind her.

"Grandpa Crux…what…?"

"There's no time to explain. As I'm sure you can tell, the situation is dire, and your world is in danger of being destroyed. We all felt the reverberations of that monster being woken, even in the celestial realm."

"I see…but…is there anything we can do about it?" she asked, barely daring to hope. The last time he'd shown up like this it was to save her life with a spell…she could only hope that this time would be the same somehow.

"There is only one thing that can save you now…. a spell as ancient, forgotten, and dangerous as the being you now face. It is not a spell to be taken lightly, for the price is steep. Only those truly pure of heart and steadfast in their conviction can accomplish it…and once you start, any falter will result in your death."

Normally such a statement would have had her second-guessing it, or questioning the intelligence of accepting such a spell, but in this case Lucy had no doubts whatsoever.

"I'll do it."

Crux must have seen the resolve in her eyes, because he didn't waste any time second-guessing her either. Instead, he turned to Yukino and said, "It will require both of you I'm afraid."

She also didn't hesitate. "I'll help."

"Good." the old spirit said with what seemed to be a proud gleam in his eyes. Then, he gestured them both forwards and laid his palms over their heads. Immediately, golden magic filled the air and their minds, and both shouted in stunned shock as pain ran them through.

Lucy thought it was the worst headache in the world…as if her brain had just been dunked in a vat of boiling lava. The potent knowledge of this spell made her feel like her mind was about to overload and burst apart at the seams, as if it was simply too small to contain such enormity. It wasn't any short fleeting pain either, the sensation only grew more and more intense as the minutes dragged on…which made them feel like hours and then days. But eventually, the knowledge transfer was complete, and the pain dulled somewhat, though it didn't completely abate.

"I wish you the best of luck Miss Lucy…" Crux said softly, concern deeply set in his gaze as he poofed back to the celestial realm.

This was one spell that you didn't wait to cast, because the ball had already been started. If they waited, Lucy somehow could sense that they would simply self-combust.

Yukino must have felt the same way because she quickly urged Sting to get back and then turned to face Lucy. Both surrendered utterly to the spell and followed the instructions etched into their minds. Their palms clasped and they knelt, then started chanting together the words that came to their lips.

" _I ask that the heavens make the stars descend to earth. Illuminate... by all means... this land... this world! By your hand, let everything be illuminated. Twinkling, shooting, falling... Let the stars descend before us! Gottfried!"_

As they cast the spell, pressure began to build and the ground around them started to glow until both mages had to shut their eyes tightly or risk being blinded. Soon, a ray of pure radiance hit them, a shaft that could be seen from thousands of miles away in every direction. As that light landed on their shoulders, so too did an intense pain quite unlike anything either girl had ever felt before…as if their very souls were being ripped to shreds. It was ethereal…but utterly excruciating, and both screamed until they were hoarse. Yet they still somehow managed to hold the spell in place through the pain, bearing down with their magic until a matching beam of light appeared over the giant crusty Plutogrim. It froze, as if startled by the sudden brilliance, while the two dragons that had been attacking it fell back in shock.

"What the fuck?" Natsu exclaimed, and then his eyes were drawn to the other shaft of light that pierced his mate.

"Oh…shit." Rogue breathed beside him, and the fire dragon completely agreed.

It had taken him a moment, but he recognized the feel of this particular spell. It wasn't something you forgot in a big hurry…. though the last time he saw it used, the caster had been burnt to ashes and the spell hadn't actually gone through. It hadn't been his mage that had cast it though, so he'd been unable to help. However, this time he could, and he very quickly gave Lucy all his power to get her through the ordeal he knew she was enduring. Her pain was clearly projected across their bond, and he was quick to fly to her side, leaving the enemy at the mercy of her spell.

Rogue did the same and landed next to Sting, who had staggered back a good distance and was staring at his girlfriend with shock written all over his face. The three of them watched in awe as something began to form in the second beam of light. High in the sky, at the very apex of what seemed to be the heavens, an enormous golden sword began to take form, growing larger and more awe-inspiring by the second. The stars themselves began to wheel around the hilt, creating a spiral of lights that lit up the sky even though it was full day.

The sword of the heavens…. a weapon that even the celestial king couldn't wield freely, hung point down, poised over the big ugly fish like a guillotine ready to carry out the sentence of its summoner. In this case, Lucy and Yukino had obviously determined that the sentence was destruction, because a few moments later it fell, slicing through the destroyer of worlds like a hot knife through butter. The tip never touched the earth… the sword of the heavens never would unless it was to cut the earth in two. Rather, it stopped after doing what it had been called to do, and then - with a brilliant flash that blinded everyone and everything for miles around - it dispersed.

Plutogrim, or the remains of it, hung in midair for a few moments longer and then crumbled to ash, leaving behind nothing more than nightmares and a bad taste in everyone's mouths.

As for Lucy and Yukino, the grip of agony dispersed with the sword, leaving them both utterly weak and dizzy. After staring into each other's eyes for a long disoriented moment, both heads swung to look at where Plutogrim had been, and they managed to catch the sight of the last bit crumbling to nothing.

"We…. did it." Lucy whispered, her voice barely more than a breath.

"It's over." Yukino agreed in an equally inaudible manner.

They shared a relieved grin, and then everything went utterly black as Lucy felt her consciousness slipping away. The last thing she sensed before the darkness consumed her entirely was a pair of warm arms wrapping around her in a secure embrace, and she knew that everything was finally okay.

* * *

 **Sneak Peek**

 _Usually after such a triumph, the Fairy Tail guildhall would be obnoxiously loud and violently busy with all the celebrations. However, things were a bit dulled by the fact that so many of their guild had been seriously injured and hospitalized. So, in true Fairy Tail logic, the party had come to the invalids in the hospital, and the entire guild had been coming and going throughout the entire week._


	56. Chapter 56

**Author's Note:**

Hey all! Yay! I'm on time! XD

First of all, as always, HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed this chapter! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: sakshishetty3003, illleashya, TheJSmooth, valerioux, Donthedarkdragon26, Firefly9917, quidditchChick6, Lucinda, Leomae2.0, FranFranWriter, and agirl0ntheinternet. Thank you! And thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed this story from beginning to end. It's been a true pleasure to hear your input.

Now, as you all know, this is the last chapter, so I have a few important notes. First of all, the result of the poll on which story would come next is…unsurprisingly, Natsu going into heat. ;D However, The Princess and the Arsonist was almost a tie, so I may write them sort of at the same time, we shall see. Either way, it will definitely be coming out second if not at the same time. Also, in terms of writing time, I've already started on the first story. I write out the rough draft fully (or try to anyways, sometimes on my longer stories I don't always get the last few chapters done before I go back up to the top to start editing.) So, that's going to take at least a couple weeks, just depending on how nice my muse is. So expect a slight delay before the next story is out. I'm going to try to get it out asap for you guys. ;D

Along those lines, I also have a sequel to this story planned out. I actually wasn't intending to make one, but I got so many requests for a look into Natsu and Lucy having kids that I plotted one out. It'll be short probably, just a series of one-shots looking into their future life rather than a sequential story. If you have any requests about particular scenes you'd like to see, let me know and I'll think about incorporating them. ;D I'm not sure when that one will be out, maybe a chapter here and there in between other stories, or something.

Also, speaking of requests, I'm starting on some fanart for this story. So let me know if you guys have any specific scenes you'd like me to draw. ;D I'll post links on my profile and also in future stories.

Okay...well, I guess that's about it. I really hope you all enjoy this last chapter. :D Goodbye for now, but not forever!

(also, I'll do my best to keep on top of my PMs and such even while I'm not posting, so if you have any questions or anything outside of this story, just hit me up. I'm always happy to chat, although I sometimes have trouble remembering to check my inbox, so it may take a little while for me to reply.) :3

* * *

Almost a week later found Natsu sitting at Lucy's bedside, which is where he'd been located since the defeat of Acnologia.

Usually after such a triumph, the Fairy Tail guildhall would be obnoxiously loud and violently busy with all the celebrations. However, things were a bit dulled by the fact that so many of their guild had been seriously injured and hospitalized. So, using true Fairy Tail logic, the party had come to the invalids in the hospital, and the entire guild had been coming and going throughout the entire week. Of course, everything was a _bit_ tamed down thanks to the setting…. They might be a wild and crazy guild, but even the wildest of them knew better than to cut completely loose in a hospital full of sick people. Mostly.

Much to everyone's surprise, Laxus had actually been largely responsible for cracking down on any guildmembers who got too rowdy and disturbed their neighbors during this time. Cana's room in particular had been scolded multiple times by now, thanks to the drunken parties she insisted on holding there. How and where she was procuring said alcoholic beverages was still yet to be discovered.

Despite not fighting, she had still been injured by the massive earthquakes caused by Plutogrim at the conclusion of the battle, and both legs were fully in casts. Still, considering some of the alternatives, she'd gotten off fairly light. Most combatants sported broken bones of some sort, or very nasty sprains at the very least, and quite a few had sustained much worse injuries. Master Makarov himself had been in serious shape, and he'd been in the ICU for the better half of the week dealing with blunt force trauma to the head and neck which had resulted in a concussion. Plus, his skin had been so badly abraded by sand that he was practically raw on most of his body. Laxus also possessed raw patches and third degree burns where his lightning had melted the sand to his skin. Technically he should really be in bed as well, but being Laxus, he simply refused to be admitted and tended to his injuries by himself. It was a good thing that dragon slayers also inherited speedy recoveries from their dragon magic, otherwise he would have been up a creek.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Thunder Legion spent most of their time in Evergreen's room, since - out of all of them - she had been injured the worst. Her petrification magic had seriously pissed off some random demon, and she'd paid the consequence. She was currently blind, with bandages wrapped around the upper half of her head, and everyone was waiting with bated breath to see if she would come out of this with any vision at all.

Porlyusica had been grudgingly helping out where she was most needed – much to the hospital's irritation, but there really wasn't anything they could do to stop her. In some situations though, even the doctors had conceded that there was nothing more they could do and welcomed her aid… like in Evergreen's case.

Elfman had also been spending a lot of time in that room, and everyone was pretty sure that he and the green-haired woman had finally confessed their feelings to each other, which was at least one happy consequence to a horrible situation. The other half of his time was spent in Lisanna's room alongside Mira. Both siblings doted on their younger sister and constantly spoiled her with flowers, stuffed animals, and way too many sweets. She was bedridden with her leg amputated below the knee and a long line of stitches along her side where the doctors had performed emergency surgery to patch up some internal injuries. Everything was healing very well thankfully, and despite her loss she maintained a cheery attitude and told everyone she would practice with her transformation magic until she could make a new leg for herself.

Elfman and Mira had sustained much less serious injuries, but they were still bandaged up and had stiches in places just like everyone else.

Even metallic Gajeel was in that boat and actually possessed some stitches… a whole line of them down the right side of his face where the poison demon had really sliced him open. He also had a broken arm and bandages on various other parts of his body, but like Laxus he refused to be bedridden. He'd been admitted – simply because he hadn't had a choice in the matter. There was way too much poison in his bloodstream, and he had to be hooked up to a heavy duty IV that pumped him full of antitoxins. But he still refused to stay in his room and just lugged his IV machine along with him as he relocated himself. There had been a temporary freak out when he'd been discovered missing, but he was soon found in Levy's room and refused to be budged. After a great deal of hassle, the doctors and nurses eventually just gave up on it and treated him there.

As for Levy, she was another bedridden patient who'd gotten the bad end of the stick. Gajeel only needed an IV to deal with the poison, and Juvia didn't even need that because her water body could filter out the poison on its own if she drank enough fluid, but Levy didn't have any such thing. In fact, she'd gotten dangerously close to dying and had suffered through a series of bad seizures within the first few days. The later part of the week had been better, but she was still in and out of consciousness…mostly out. Whenever she did wake up, it was usually just to violently throw up blood at first, but thankfully it was now just regular bile.

The only reason she had actually survived was the fact that Wendy had spent the entire first two days working on her to remove as much poison from her system as possible.

The sky dragon slayer was banged up a bit, but mostly she was just exhausted and suffering from losing too much magic. She had already used up a lot of magic on the field of battle doing emergency medical work, so treating Levy had used up everything she had left… and then some. In the end, the sky dragon slayer had passed out as soon as Levy had gotten out of the danger zone and then had to be treated for magic depletion sickness for a couple of days.

…

Meanwhile, Natsu had visited the others a little, but most of his information was gathered from overhearing things in other rooms. He knew that Erza was badly cut up because her room was right next to Lucy's, and he had overheard his redheaded comrade talking to Jellal about the others. Of course Jellal wasn't a patient and had to tend to his own wounds, since his identity needed to remain a secret. From what Natsu could tell from their conversations, he was apparently keeping himself invisible while staying with Erza in her room.

Gray and Juvia visited them often and also payed Natsu and Lucy visits almost every day. Thankfully those two had managed to escape with relatively minor injuries, although Gray sported a cast and sling on his right arm which he'd apparently badly broken in several places. They were also a source of information on how the others were doing and updated them on their visits.

On the other side, Natsu could hear what was going on in Yukino's room. Sting and Rogue were keeping vigil just like Natsu was doing with Lucy, despite their extensive injuries. Rogue in particular was bad off. He'd had a hole punched through his shoulder that shattered the joint and made it nearly impossible to move that arm when in human form. Thanks to the reduction in size, injuries that they got while in their dragon forms were often much larger after shifting back.

Aside from the hole, Rogue also possessed a nice new set of scars across his body from both Acnologia and Plutogrim, but with the speedy recovery of a dragon even his shoulder was almost totally healed up by now. What wasn't healing so fast were his eyes, which had been seriously damaged by the light attacks that Acnologia had blasted him with. As a shadow dragon, he was particularly sensitive to light, and though his skin was healing quickly, his eyes weren't. He was still basically blind as a bat, and likely would be for a good long while. His vision would probably come back eventually, little by little, but it might take years.

Sting was also beat up good, though the worst of his injuries were actually the second to third degree burns that he'd gotten from trying to ride Natsu. He looked kinda like a mummy thanks to all the bandages, and the fire dragon could hear him screaming and cussing every time they had to be changed. It was a good thing he was a dragon slayer, because after a week his burns were already starting to close up. Natsu didn't know how much longer he could have heard the pain his friend went through, especially since it was kinda his fault.

As for Natsu, he'd also sustained pretty nasty injuries, though he didn't really pay them much attention. After a week, he now possessed a new set of shiny pink scars – claw marks across his chest and belly, a bite on his left arm, some talon marks on his right thigh, and some small nicks on his neck which were almost invisible.

But all three of them were much more worried about the celestial mages in their parties. Both Lucy and Yukino had been put into what looked like a coma from that spell they'd done together to take down Plutogrim, and so far they hadn't shown any sign of waking up.

Nothing Natsu had done had made Lucy so much as twitch an eyelash…and he'd tried plenty of things. Happy had also helped out, as had Amy, Kurama, and even Bart. Happy had slapped her with a fish – gently of course – but even the clammy smelly situation hadn't gotten a flinch. Amy hid licked her feet, which were her most ticklish spot, but nothing. Natsu had filled her to the brim with fire more than once, but despite her skin turning pink and sweaty and the machines hooked up to her beeping in alarm, she still didn't wake up.

At least, aside from being in a coma, she was completely healthy. Both her hands had been surgically fixed and put in casts, and then Natsu had significantly sped up the healing process with his flames. By the end of the week, she was fully healed and her casts were no more than ashes. So as soon as she woke up she could go home… but she had to wake up first of course.

And so he waited, not too patiently, at her side.

He wasn't exactly worried. Something told him that she would wake up, that she wasn't permanently gone or anything like that. He could still sense her there, so he knew she would come back to him sooner or later…he just wished it was sooner. Seeing her like this, all limp and pale, was very difficult for him even though he knew she was okay. It took a great deal of willpower to force himself to sit and wait and not pace around like a caged animal. If he let himself do that, he'd likely get more and more wound up and then stuff would start getting set on fire…. And he really didn't want _that_ to be the first conversation they had when Luce woke up.

…

As for Lucy, she drifted in an out of semi-awareness. From time to time she could hear voices speaking close to her, and almost always one of those voices was Natsu's. Happy and Amy were other constants in the background noise of her dreamscape, which helped her to be unafraid while drifted in a sea of not very much. Sometimes she dreamed, but mostly she just existed in a strange place of semidarkness, which she suspected was the space behind her eyelids since the light was generally somewhat pink. Her other senses came and went… occasionally she felt the weight of her body pressing down into something soft, other times she felt warmth or cold, and sporadically she could smell something sharp and pungent.

A deep exhaustion kept her immobile, barely lucid, but ever so slowly that lull began to lift. Each time she surfaced, things were a little clearer, a little crisper. She had no concept of time really aside from vague memories of surfacing before and everything being a bit fuzzier.

This time, she clearly heard Natsu's voice, much more so than any other time she remembered since being in this strange state of affairs. Her mind was clearer too, so much so that she started to wonder just what sort of place she was in, why it was so dark, and what had happened. After an indefinite period, she began to strain her memory to recall the cause of her current situation. Vague images of dragons and monsters and all sorts of scenes from a fantasy began to drift through her mind's eye… none of them making much sense at first.

Then, suddenly, like a switch had been flipped, it all rushed back to her. Acnologia, Tartarus, the floating castle, the invasion, and finally Plutogrim. She remembered performing an ancient magic spell with Yukino, and then nothing…as if her synapsis had been fried by the power of that spell. Or maybe the pain had simply shut her brain down.

Whatever the case, she finally remembered what happened. Now, the next order of business was to figure out where she was currently, though that didn't take a genius to deduce. Undoubtedly she was in the hospital – a theory not solely based on her memories, but also on the sound of consistent blips and beeps and the smell of rubbing alcohol and various other disinfectants.

She'd never been a humungous fan of being in the hospital, so the realization of where she was caused a slight huff of disgruntledness to escape from her throat. The sound was barely audible, even to her own ears, and should have gone utterly unnoticed by everyone around her. However, the tiny vocalization did get someone's attention, and the bed instantly bounced as two hands landed on either side of her.

"Luce! Are ya finally coming around?" Natsu asked eagerly, sounding extremely relieved.

At the sound of his voice, she willed herself even more awake and attempted to peel her eyes open, but found that task exceptionally difficult to accomplish.

"Is she?!" a new and equally familiar voice sounded from right next to her head as small paws landed on her shoulder. She could feel what she knew were cat whiskers tickling her cheek as Happy leaned in close. "It looks like her eyes are twitching…maybe she's trying to open them!"

"Here, let me have a go."

That was Amy, and her comment became clearer when the sensation of a warm wet tongue swiped over her eyelids several times. It was both sweet and a little gross. However, sanitary or not, Lucy had to admit that her eyes did feel less sticky and crusty afterwards.

"Look! Her eyebrows are scrunching up, she _must_ be awake!" Happy exclaimed excitedly as he watched the proceedings.

Natsu laughed, and she made a mental note to sick Amy on him sometime and see how he liked it.

As soon as wolf breath no longer puffed right in her face and the tongue-bath abated, she decided to give it another go. This time, she managed to crack her eyes open just a hair, though the sliver of light immediately made her wince. She must have had her eyes closed a long time for it to be this unpleasant. Her face scrunched up in discontentment and she rasped a groan, still very low in volume, but significantly louder than the last sound of displeasure she'd made.

"Come on Luce, it can't be that bad." Natsu cheered from the sidelines.

A splash of pink appeared in her sliver of blurry golden vision as she peered through her eyelashes. She could tell he was practically nose to nose with her, based off the soft tickling of hair on her forehead and the shade that suddenly soothed her eyes. But his face was still blurry for a long moment. It took some more blinking and squinting before his features came into fuzzy focus.

"Hi…" she croaked, but it didn't really sound like a word so much as another guttural rasp.

"It's good to see you Luce." Natsu said back with a grin that turned tender while still being excited.

She smiled back, then yawned and grimaced as her throat croaked again. With some grunts, she started sitting up and rubbed at her eyes, clearing her vision. Natsu sat back to give her space to do so but stayed sitting on the side of her bed, and Happy relocated to her lap. Amy parked her furry behind practically on Lucy's feet, which forced her to move them slightly to the side.

"How long was I out?"

"About two weeks now." Amy said solemnly, and Lucy's jaw dropped in shock.

"Seriously? That long?"

"Yep, I nearly went stir crazy waiting. Took ya long enough."

A flash of glowing orange ooze later and Kurama joined the party, throwing himself in the chair Natsu had just vacated.

"Yeah he's not kidding. It's a miracle he didn't set anything on fire." the demon chuckled.

"Hey Kurama." Lucy greeted with a smile, and then changed her expression to apologetic and eyeballed everyone in the room. "I'm sorry for worrying you all."

"Nah, I wasn't worried." Natsu said with a dismissive hand flap, and she blinked at him in surprise. Really, she might have even been a little hurt by the comment if he hadn't followed it up with, "I knew you'd come back to me. I could sense it."

"To _**us**_ you mean." Amy said with a somewhat haughty sniff as she corrected the dragon.

"Well I don't care what he says! _**I**_ was worried about you Lucy."

She glanced down at Happy and cuddled him closer as he nuzzled into her belly.

After a moment, she asked, "So how's everyone else?"

"They're doing good. Most have recovered enough to be let outta the hospital, but they're still popping by to cheer on everyone still stuck here. The worst off were Levy, Lisanna, and Master Makarov, but they're doing great now."

"That's good to hear." she said with a sigh, happy to hear that.

"Yeah, but your celestial mage friend is in the same boat as you were." Kurama pointed out from his seat.

"Speaking of, Sting and Rogue are in the room next door with her, and they're listening in on our conversation. They're wondering if it'd be okay to pop by and ask some questions about it." Natsu interjected, his eyes glancing at the wall.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Of course."

Almost instantly, there was a tap on the door, and then Sting poked his head in. He looked a little sheepish. "Yeah, so uh…sorry about this. I didn't mean to interrupt or anything."

That was definitely a bit out of character for the normally boisterous and impulsive dragon slayer, but she appreciated the thoughtfulness. "No, it's totally fine. I'd be happy to help if possible."

He nodded and came fully into the room then. Some of his confidence returned and he got right to the point. "I was just wondering if you could tell me what it was like. I wanna know what Yukino's going through and if there's anything we can do to help her."

"Well…it was very strange. I kind of drifted in and out of dreams, and then there were long gaps of just…nothing. But a lot of times I could hear everyone around me talking, and I recognized their voices even when I was really out of it. It helped me to not be scared. And from time to time I could feel things. So I'd say just talk to her, maybe hold her hand, stuff like that. If she's experiencing anything like I was, she'll be surfacing more and more frequently."

Sting's expression smoothed out some, and she hadn't even realized how tense he had been until then. "So she's not in any pain or anything?"

"Based off my experience, no."

He breathed out a sigh of relief and then shot her a thankful grin. "Awesome. Thanks Lucy, we really owe you one."

And with that, he was scooting out of the room at top speed, obviously eager to return to Yukino and test out her suggestions.

"I hope she comes around soon." Lucy murmured as she watched the door close, worry making her chew her lip a little. She grimaced when the dry skin twinged.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. You two cast the same spell after all, so she should be waking up soon. It might just take her a little longer since she isn't as advanced as you." Amy pointed out.

"Yeah, you worry too much Luce." Natsu stated as he leaned forwards and reached for her tubes and various other things attached to her.

Predicting what his next move would be, she gently swatted his hand away as he went to grab, obviously aiming to free her from all the entangling wires and tubage. "Stop that Natsu! We can't just yank all that stuff off me."

"Why not? You're awake now, and you're all healed up! Let's get outta here!"

"Not until the doctors have seen me and cleared me to leave." she said firmly.

He scowled and pouted, obviously displeased about the hold up, but thankfully stopped trying to untangle her. For a moment, she ignored his sulking while she looked for the button to call a nurse, but once she'd located and pressed it, she turned back to him.

"Cheer up Natsu, this won't take long. We'll be done before you can say you're fired up."

His expression predictably switched to cheerful once again and he shot her an eager grin. "Yeah!"

Only a few minutes later, the nurse showed up. He did a brief checkup, asked Lucy how she was feeling, took a bunch of notes, and then hustled off to find the doctor. It had all been very quick and professional, and Lucy got the sense that he was trying to be done with her as quickly as possible.

As soon as he left, she asked the others, "Um…quick question? Is it just me, or did he seem like he was in a real hurry to process me?"

"Yep. The hospital staff are kinda fed up with us Fairy Tail wizards. Apparently the others have been holding some pretty wild parties in their rooms." Natsu answered with a laugh in his tone that said he was utterly unrepentant about their guild's antics.

"I should've known."

With that new information, she wasn't at all surprised when the doctor acted the same way…very brusque, professional, and quick. After a speedy evaluation and examination, she said, "Miss Heartfilia, you seem to be in good health. We'll hold you for observation for an hour or two to make sure you remain stable, and then you can go home."

"Oh thank you so much!"

The doctor nodded and then left, to a round of excited cheers and talking amongst themselves. The noise attracted their neighbors of course, and soon Juvia and Gray stopped by to see how she was doing. Of course, when they saw she was awake they were ecstatic, and soon the news spread to the rest of the guild.

So, for those last couple of hours in the hospital, her room became a celebration zone. Cana, who was now in a wheelchair, brought the booze of course. Lisanna hobbled in on a crutch, assisted by Mira and Elfman. Erza looked like the relative of a mummy when she made an appearance, but she still seemed in high spirits, and Jellal popped by but stayed invisible most of the time. Laxus and Master Makarov even showed up, though the later was in a serious looking neck and upper back brace. Gajeel wheeled Levy in at some point to join in the festivities, though she didn't consume any of the party foods and drink that had magically appeared. She also looked pretty frail, and couldn't stay very long, which Lucy understood after hearing everything she'd been through. Frankly, she was just happy that Levy seemed to be doing so good.

While she was horrified to see how badly everyone had been hurt, she was also happy to see that those injuries were healing so well after two weeks. And everyone seemed in such high spirits that she felt invigorated and got swept away in the celebrations.

Things grew a little rowdy of course, especially after booze was mixed with people still on pain medication, and soon hilarity ensued. Erza determined that she was a queen and began trying to remove all her bandages – along with her clothes. It took Jellal to convince her that she was an ancient mummy queen, and that the bandages were part of her accoutrement. Of course then she sought out more bandages, which was fairly hilarious considering she summoned a nurse and ordered more bandages in a highly regal manner.

Lisanna ended up a giggling limp mess, and soon Elfman had scooped her up bridal style and took her back to her room. Mira began to flirt heavily with Laxus, which magically summoned Freed, and soon the two were bickering over the dragon slayer like a pair of old grannies over a game of bridge. That resulted in a series of contests attempting to woo him, while he mostly just ignored their antics. However, when Freed cast an enchantment on Mira to make her mute, she grew enraged and entered Satan Soul mode, which prompted Freed to go into Dark Ecriture mode. At that point, Laxus intervened and grabbed them both by the back of the neck and smacked their heads together – with a little flash that suggested he'd tased them as well. Both mages went a little silly and limp, and the lightning slayer dragged them both out of the room by their scruffs.

A similar situation probably would have occurred with Natsu and Gray…if Erza hadn't already latched onto them and was currently forcing them to carry her around on their backs like a pair of horses. Drunk Erza was scary. Then a very intoxicated Juvia ran over to Erza and hung off her while sobbing hysterically and begging, ' _her majesty_ ,' to give back darling gray. The redhead seemed to take pity on her and - in a very queenly manner - granted Juvia the pleasure of riding Gray, while she continued to ride Natsu.

Juvia ended up riding him like a koala though as he immediately stood and staggered out of the room post haste to escape the insanity. Poor Natsu though was still on all fours under the reequip mage and looked just about ready to start something nasty. Lucy took pity on him – despite finding the sight absolutely hysterical – and sent Amy to get Jellal. He'd left when the room got too crowded for an invisible person, but it was time for him to come back and take care of Erza. He was the only person who could talk some sense into her while she was drunk… or at the very least he could carry her off and distract her until she'd sobered up.

Thankfully, with the wolf's sensitive nose, she was able to track him down and drag him back with little trouble. And not a moment too soon… by the time the masked man became visible in the room, Natsu was exuding copious amounts of heat and then abruptly lost his temper. Both wings popped out and knocked Erza clean off his back, which naturally infuriated her, and she reequipped into her purgatory armor. Luckily, Jellal immediately spied the disaster about to happen and quickly slid up behind her. He ducked his head close to hers and whispered something into her ear… and suddenly the armor melted off her as she completely lost interest in Natsu. They both shortly disappeared, and Lucy couldn't help but wonder what the hell he'd said to bring about such an abrupt change in her demeanor.

The festivities continued on from there…up until Sting burst into the room looking pissed off. "All of you shut it! Yukino's starting to wake up, and she said the noise is giving her a headache!"

That immediately made everyone quiet down, but they all very softly cheered and promised to come and visit her as well once she was more awake and feeling better. Lucy in particular felt a wave of happiness and relief wash over her at the good news, and she asked Sting to tell Yukino she'd be by to say hello as soon as she could.

After that, the festivities fizzled down and most left the room, though undoubtedly the party would restart in Yukino's room as soon as she was up to it. That was probably a good thing, because it wasn't long before the doctor returned, looking a bit miffed as she took in the chaotic state of the room. She then rather sourly proceeded to tell Lucy that she was free to go… though it felt more like an eviction notice with the stern way she delivered the good news.

Soon Lucy found herself dressed and packed up, and then hopscotched over to Yukino's room.

"Hey! How're you feeling?" she asked as she stopped by the other mage's bedside.

"Crusty and tired."

"Yeah, that's about how I felt a couple hours ago. Still feel pretty tired actually."

Yukino grinned up at her and reached out for her hand. Lucy quickly laced their fingers together and smiled back down at her. "It's good to see you up. I mean, I haven't been awake long, so I haven't been waiting or anything, but when I heard you were still out I was really worried."

"Yeah, well, who could sleep through a Fairy Tail party right next door?" Yukino said with a tired laugh.

"True. It's enough to wake the dead."

Rogue entered the conversation then and said, "We should really thank you Lucy. If you hadn't woken up and everyone hadn't congregated in your room to celebrate, who knows how much longer Yukino would have been unconscious?"

"Yeah…even if it gave her a headache." Sting groused, but did so with a smile.

The whitehaired mage still looked a little shell-shocked, so they didn't stay too long. After some more well wishes and promises to come and visit if she didn't get out today, Natsu proceeded to drag Lucy out of the hospital entirely. Normally she would have protested and said she wanted to visit everyone else still in the hospital, but under the circumstance she was just too tired and also wanted to get home asap.

Still though, she had one objection. "Natsu! Slow down!" she panted, having trouble keeping up.

He immediately halted and actually looked contrite for once. "Oops, sorry Luce. I got a little carried away there."

And then of course he scooped her up and proceeded to carry her the rest of the way home despite her grumbles and protests about how embarrassing it was. In the end though, she just settled in and decided she might as well enjoy it… even if they did receive a bunch of stares and Happy teased them from above.

Soon, they finally arrived at her room in Fairy Hills, though she supposed she'd have to move back into her old apartment soon, since the requirements for her to be here were no longer applicable. But not today. Today, she fully intended to rest and recover her flagging energy.

As such, she didn't complain too much when she was unceremoniously deposited on her bed by Natsu and the few protests she did have all quit when he plopped down on the bed next to her. Happy followed soon after, landing on her chest and cuddling up between them like a little blue ball. Even Amy hopped up on the foot of the bed and joined the big pile in process.

With a sigh, they all snuggled down, and Happy was the first to pass out. Frankly, it seemed like he was asleep almost as soon as his head hit her chest, and she eyeballed him with a little concern.

"Wow…he was out fast." she whispered.

Natsu nodded. "Yeah, he hasn't really slept much the past two weeks."

"Oh…" she gently started to pet his head and a sleepy purr started up in his chest, though he was still obviously out cold.

Then, after a brief moment, Natsu rumbled softly, "He wasn't the only one."

Before Lucy could comment, he gently tilted her head up and his lips landed on hers in a soft kiss. Some fire snuck between them, an extra heated flicker that hinted at what would probably happen later, once she was fully recovered and they were alone. But for now, it remained sweet and tender, a simple expression of all their love and happiness that they were both safe.

It was a fairly quick kiss, despite the depth of emotions it conveyed, and then Natsu tucked her head under his chin and wrapped his tail around her, coiling around her like the cuddly reptile he was. The deep thrumming sound he made when he was completely content started up in his chest as they dozed.

For a long moment, they were all quiet – aside from Natsu and Happy purring – and the atmosphere was simply peaceful and homey. In fact, it was so homey and familial, that it prompted Lucy to imagine what their family would look like in the future, now that they no longer had to worry about Tartarus or Acnologia breathing down their necks.

Fantasies of a home with little blond and pink-haired troublemakers running around her knees flitted through her head and she smiled. Someday she fully intended on making that dream a reality, and she let herself relish the joyful images that appeared in her mind's eye.

Interestingly enough, she and Natsu had ended up talking about kids fairly early on in their relationship. A few days after they'd first consummated their physical relationship, Natsu had caught her taking a birth control potion. If she remembered correctly, his exact wording had been, "What the hell _**is**_ that stuff?! Smells like feet and cough syrup!"

She'd told him what it was, and he'd promptly responded by laughing his butt off. Then he told her, "You don't have to take that! You won't get pregnant unless I want ya to, and I figured you'd probably wanna wait." The he had sweat-dropped and huffed a relieved sigh. "Phew! Glad I haven't been pumping you full of seed. If I'd been doing that, those dinky potions wouldn't have done anything anyways. Dragon sperm is potent shit, you'd be knocked up after one mating session."

The memory made her smile and chuckle softly. Natsu always did have a way with words… it was one of the things she loved about him. He never failed to make her laugh with his bluntness.

After that, he'd confessed that he would love to have kids someday, and she had also told him that she had always wanted a family of her own. Which was true… it was one of her biggest dreams to have the family she never had as a child.

Of course the topic had come up again after they'd 'mated,' but Lucy had told him she wanted to wait until they got married the human way too. At the time, she just hadn't quite been ready for that yet. Now though, things were different, and she wanted to start thinking about the future. She even felt like she might be ready to start planning out a wedding, and the burst of happy butterflies at the thought confirmed it.

"Hey Natsu?" she quietly asked after a while, and got a grunt of recognition in response. "How many kids do you want?"

That got his eyes open and he gave her a slightly surprised look as she tilted her head up to eyeball him. Unlike a normal person who would ask where the heck that question came from, he just smiled and said, "As many as we can! Or as many as you want I guess."

"I was thinking no more than three. You know any kids of ours are going to be a handful."

From the foot of the bed, Amy commented, "Of course, you'll have tons of babysitters."

"Oh, but I wouldn't want to impose on all of you."

The wolf snorted in amusement. "Hardly. We'll probably all be fighting over the privilege. Aside from Aquarius of course…she hates kids."

At the last comment, Lucy had to laugh a little, but the first part was so touching she found herself a little flustered. After a slightly awkward pause, she finally said, "It sounds like our babies will have lots of aunts and uncles then."

"Aunt Amy. Sounds good on ya." Natsu chimed in, giving the wolf a fond grin.

"Yes…I think so too." she said, giving a wolfish grin with her tongue hanging out.

After that, there was a little more silence, and then a new thought occurred to Lucy. It was one she'd mulled around before, but she had always been a little scared to bring it up. However, now seemed the appropriate time to broach the subject.

"Um…Natsu? Speaking of the future and stuff…how exactly will it work out between us? I mean, you're a celestial spirit, and I'm a human. You're immortal….and I'm not."

"We can do whatever you want, Luce. You can come live with me in the celestial realm. After a while you'd basically become a celestial spirit if the king allowed it, which I'm sure he would. Or, I could come and live with you here and choose to age alongside you."

"What? But I thought you didn't age?"

He snorted. "Nah. Dragons get old. I don't age in the celestial realm, but I'd age here. And if I stayed human, I'd age like a human."

Lucy was quite honestly overwhelmed by the unexpected information and had absolutely no idea what to do with it. So, after a long moment of just staring at him with a gaping mouth, she simply sighed and decided not to worry about that right now. Whatever happened, at least now she knew that Natsu would be by her side. And with him, she knew that whatever life she chose, it would be full of joy, love, happiness, craziness, chaos, exciting missions, stupid mistakes, and plenty of fun.

After all, they were both members of Fairy Tail… how could their future be anything less than a crazy adventure?

~ End


End file.
